World Today

①Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao meets German Vice Chancellor and Economic Minister Robert Habeck in Berlin. What's been discussed? (00:50) ②European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has named six executive vice presidents who will work with her in the new five-year term.(13:26) ③Pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously across Lebanon, killing at least 12 people and injured more than 2,700.(25:16) ④Boeing announced sweeping cost cuts, including a hiring freeze, a pause on nonessential staff travel, and a reduction on supplier spending to preserve cash.(35:15) ⑤Authorities say the scale and added value of China's sports industry have jumped rapidly in recent years.(45:20)

①Germany has tightened border control, expanding checks to all land borders, a move the government says aims to curb illegal migration. What's the impact? (00:47) ②Seven candidates are vying for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee next year.(13:45) ③China's top legislature has adopted a decision to gradually raise the country's statutory retirement age. What are the details? (25:02) ④ChatGPT creator OpenAI has released a new series of artificial intelligence, or AI models that it says are capable of reasoning.(36:50) ⑤Amazon has told staff that they had to return to the office five days a week from the start of next year.(48:20)

①The Chinese Ministry of Commerce says China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes U.S. abuse of Section 301 to hike tariffs on some Chinese goods. (00:46) ②The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a sweeping package of bills with the aim to counter China's influence. What's the possible impact? (13:26) ③China's economy continued its steady growth trend in August. What are the details? (26:30) ④Our exclusive interview with Christopher Raciti, the Country Head for ANZ China. (38:30) ⑤British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Joe Biden have failed to reach consensus to let Ukraine fire long-range Western-supplied missiles into Russia.(48:00)

Elon Musk may soon face tough questioning from the UK parliament about his social media platform X.

This comes at a time when authorities globally grapple with the outsized influence of social media platforms.

Earlier this month, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered the suspension of X in the country, following Musk's refusal to comply with local regulations.

In the same week, Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France over how he manages his platform.

While these events took place in different countries, do they signal a shift in the balance of power between governments and tech companies? Are we witnessing a turning point in the regulation of social media platforms?

Host Zhao Ying is joined by Pascale Fung, Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Edward Lehman, Managing Director, LEHMAN, LEE & Xu Law Firm; Einar Tangen, Senior Fellow at Taihe Institute.

① China’s premier is making a trip to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. What is bringing China closer to the two Gulf countries? (00:49)

② The Hong Kong government has criticized the US House of Representatives for twisting facts in passing a bill that could close the city’s trade offices in the US. We explore why the bill is probably misguided. (13:35)

③ Antony Blinken is on a trip to Europe, with eyes on whether the US will lift restrictions on Ukraine using Western-supplied long-range arms in Russia. (25:16)

④ We talk to the CEO of a Swiss air quality technology company about the challenge of aligning corporate actions with environmental goals amid cost concerns. (34:09)

⑤ The European Union has launched a call for setting up Artificial Intelligence Factories to boost the development of the AI technology. What will be the key to turning this vision into reality? (44:28)

① What is the goal of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s 4-day visit to China? (00:47)

② The US House of Representatives has passed legislation that would blacklist Chinese biotech companies and their US subsidiaries. We explore why this bill is controversial – even disruptive – in many aspects. (13:50)

③ We take a look at Huawei’s new tri-fold smartphone model and the ongoing race in the market for this phone model. (24:58)

④ Israel has proposed giving Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar safe passage out of Gaza in exchange for the group releasing hostages and giving up control of the strip. Will Hams accept it? (35:02)

⑤ Brazil has hosted the first China-Latin America human rights roundtable. Why are human rights issues a possible source of unity between China and Latin America? (43:20)

① On China's annual Teachers’ Day, we explore how China can fulfill its goal of becoming a powerhouse in education by 2035. (00:48)

② In a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, Xi Jinping emphasized China’s willingness to collaborate with Norway to promote environmental protection and advance green technology. How can the two sides complement each other in these areas? (13:17)

③ We look at what was at stake in a recent meeting of the China-US commercial and trade working group in Tianjin. (24:51)

④ The World Anti-Doping Agency has renewed its call for the US Anti-Doping Agency to better protect clean sport in the United States. Does WADA have a legitimate concern? (35:19)

⑤ Germany has announced plans to tighten controls at all borders in immigration crackdown. We explore the issues at play in this move. (43:34)

① We explore the timing of China’s decision to fully open up its manufacturing sector to foreign ownership, as well as what opportunities might await foreign investors. (00:50)

② In the US, the House of Representatives may vote on more than two dozen bills targeting China this week. What dangers will they pose to the US-China relations and the domestic climate in the US? (12:44)

③ A conversation with Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi about China-Botswana ties. (24:57)

④ Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has paid a two-day visit to China. How will Singapore’s China ties look like under its new prime minister? (34:52)

⑤ Is there US coercion behind new Dutch export controls on ASML? (43:13)

The 2024 FOCAC summit in Beijing has concluded. Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted 50-plus leaders from African nations and leaders from regional and global organizations such as the United Nations, African Union, etc. The summit adopted the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era. The leaders also approved a three-year action plan till 2027, in which China committed 360 billion yuan, or about 50.7 billion dollars, in financial assistance for Africa.

What does the Beijing Declaration entail? How will this summit direct the future of China-Africa relations? Host Liu Kun joins Hannah Ryder, the CEO of Development Reimagined, an international development consultancy; Mubarak Mugabo, a Uganda journalist at Vision Group; and Zha Daojiong, a Professor of international political economy at the School of International Studies at Peking University.

①China proposes action plans to jointly advance modernization with Africa. How can these plans be effectively implemented? (00:40)

②A WMO report says China and Europe measured below-average PM2.5 levels in 2023. (25:00)

③South China Morning Post article suggests that while the US doubles down on its hard power, China is making its mark with soft power. We delve deeper into the implications of China’s growing soft power on the global stage. (31:37)

④Telegram apologizes for its handling of deepfake porn material. (43:13)