①We explore the potentials for cooperation between China and Vietnam, as President Xi Jinping makes a two-day trip to the Southeast Asian nation. (01:02) 
②China's consumer and factory prices fell in November, mainly due to lower commodity prices. (14:01) 
③Hong Kong has held its first District Council election since the restructuring of the council's system. Why is the election seen as a key milestone in improving local governance? (24:58) 
④Egyptians are heading to polls in a presidential election overshadowed by the war in Gaza. (33:12) 
⑤Nearly half US voters think Biden is spending too much on Ukraine aid, according to a new poll. Will this perceived public skepticism prompt the Biden administration to reassess its policy on the Ukraine crisis? (44:39)

Why nearly half US voters think Biden spends too much on Ukraine aid

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China and Arab states have wrapped up a major forum in Beijing in a sign of deepening cooperation. 

What factors are driving the deepening ties between China and Arab states? How can they work together towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, as well as a more equitable, multipolar world order?

Host Zhao Ying is joined by Zhang Chuchu, Deputy Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Fudan University; Steven Wright, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University; Mher Sahakyan, Director of "China-Eurasia" Council for Political and Strategic Research, Armenia; and Timothy Niblock, Emeritus Professor of Middle East Politics, Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.

Panel: What's behind the deepening ties between China and the Arab world?

① Xi Jinping has proposed five cooperation frameworks to step up the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future. What is drawing the two sides closer? (00:51) 
② Liu Jianchao, a senior official of the Communist Party of China, is on a visit to Japan, with resuming ruling party talks being at stake. (14:20) 
③ We look at possible central issues at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. (25:27) 
④ Why does Thailand aim to become a BRICS member? (35:42)
⑤ Will the ruling ANC fail to win majority in South Africa’s election? (44:15)

How can China and Japan foster an objective mutual understanding?

① In a recent session of senior CPC officials, Xi Jinping stressed youth employment and said that full employment is a priority goal for social and economic development. What are the opportunities and challenges in China’s job market? (00:50) 
② We take a look at a new report released by the Chinese government on human rights violations in the US in 2023. (14:40) 
③ We explore why the US is not in a leading position in the EV sector. (24:44) 
④ A former intelligence chief will lead a right-wing coalition in Netherlands. What could be the new government’s policy directions? (34:51)
⑤ We look at Haiti’s political process where its transitional council has tapped a former prime minister to lead the country again. (42:06)

Xi Jinping’s emphasis on employment in policy priority

① Member states of the World Health Organization have decided not to invite Taiwan to the organization's annual assembly in Geneva. Who is politicizing a health issue to advance their own agenda? (00:54) 
② A decade after China launched the first phase of its semiconductor investment fund, the investment vehicle is now officially into its third phase. We discuss China’s goals on semiconductor. (13:02) 
③ What was behind the rise in China's industrial profit in April? (24:57) 
④ Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is in China to mark a decade of strategic partnership. (33:49)
⑤ The UN Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Rafah after a deadly Israeli airstrike killed 45 Palestinians sheltering in a refugee camp. Are there still means to rein in Israel? (45:16)

What’s at stake in China’s new semiconductor investment fund?

① Leaders of China, South Korea, and Japan meet for their first trilateral talks in more than four years. We explore the signals from this move? (00:49) 
② Emmanuel Macron is in Germany for the first state visit to the country by a French president in 24 years. What are the issues where Paris and Berlin don’t really see eye to eye? And what can they agree on? (13:44) 
③ China is to host a major China-Arab cooperation forum this week. What are the issues expected to be the central topics for discussion during the meeting? (24:48) 
④ The International Court of Justice, an arm of the UN, has ordered Israel to suspend its military campaign in Rafah. How might the rulings affect the war in Gaza? (35:01) 
⑤ Nvidia, powered by AI boom, has reported soaring revenue and profits. (42:41)

Why nearly half US voters think Biden spends too much on Ukraine aid

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