Hello and welcome to this edition of on Saturday, July 14th. I'm Zheng Chenguang in Beijing.
Hello and welcome to this edition of on Saturday, July 21st. I'm Qi Zhi in Beijing.
Let's take a look at some of the major events that have happened in China and around the globe during the past week.
CHINA'S National Bureau of Statistics released its latest economic data Thursday. The GDP rose 11.5 percent in the first half of the year, the fastest pace in 11 years.
Bureau spokesman, Li Xiaochao, said consumption, previously the weakest sector compared with exports and investment, made an evident contribution to the growth.
"In the past, our economic growth depended too much on investment. But there have been changes since this year, that is, the gap between investment growth and consumption growth is shrinking. That means consumption now plays a bigger role in promoting the economy."
Meanwhile, the spokesman said that China's consumer price index, or CPI, rose 3.2 percent in the first six months, as a result of food price rises.
The spokesman says that the government will strengthen and improve macro-controls, readjusting the economic structure and changing growth modes to achieve fast and sustainable economic development.
CONTINUOUS rains, which hit east and southwest China recently have affected more than 100 million people and damaged at least 300,000 houses.
The worst rainstorms in over 100 years hit southwest China's Chongqing Municipality early in the week, claiming a total of 37 lives, while in east China's Shandong province, the capital city Jinan and its vicinity also saw record levels of rainfall on Wednesday. 32 people died as a result.
At the moment, most of those affected have access to preliminary relief efforts.
Pang Chenmin, a senior official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, says their major responsibility is providing basic living necessities.
"Our target is to ensure that people who have been hit by the disaster get effective relief from local governments within 24 hours, that is, to ensure they have water, clothing, accommodation and medical services."
THE Six-Party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue ended in Beijing on Friday, with a schedule for next round of negotiation but without a disarmament deadline.
Delegates decided to convene in early September for another round of talks. And the five working groups would meet by the end of August to discuss technical details concerning the disablement of North Korea's nuclear facilities.
Chief US envoy Christopher Hill described this session as the "very best".
"I must tell you, of all the six-party meetings I've gone to, this was for me the best meeting because everyone was very much focused on the task ahead. And very little polemics, very little wandering off into other areas, I think we really stayed on task."
Washington has said it hopes that North Korea can give UN inspectors a full list of its nuclear programmes and disable the facilities by the end of the year.
The talks were held to discuss future steps after North Korea shut down its Yongbyon nuclear facilities on Saturday.
A BRAZILIAN passenger jet crashed on landing Tuesday night in a driving rain in Sao Paulo, killing all 186 people on board. There were also some fatalities on the ground.
Marco Bologna, chief executive of the TAM airline which owned the ill-fated Airbus-A320, announced the casualty figures at a press conference on Wednesday.
"We had 161 passengers on board, 18 TAM staff members and six crew members. Unfortunately, there are no signs of survivors."
While trying to land in heavy rain at the country's busiest airport, the plane narrowly cleared the perimeter fence and leapt over a major highway before slamming into a gas station and a TAM building, setting off a huge fire.
And that concludes this edition of . Remember, if you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to listen to any of our programs online, you can visit our website at: www.crienglish.com. I'm Qi Zhi in Beijing. Thanks for listening. Stay tuned for more on China Radio International.