People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (11/13/2018 Tue.)
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This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China.

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China and Canada agree to double trade revenue by 2025

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China and Canada agreed to double trade revenue made in 2015 by 2025 with a focus on agricultural products.

They reached agreements in trade, global governance and investment during the first China-Canada economic and financial strategic dialogue in Beijing.

Although Canada raised concerns over a clause in the new US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that allows the two other countries to terminate the USMCA agreement, the two countries seemed confident in their potential for trade cooperation.

China is Canada’s second largest trading partner. (CGTN)

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World's first underground hotel to open in Shanghai this month

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The world's first underground hotel will open to the public on November 20 in Shanghai.

The hotel has been built in a formerly abandoned quarry that plunges 80 meters below the ground level. Of the 18 floors in the hotel, 16 of these are underground, while two floors are completely underwater inside the hotel's 10-meter deep aquarium.

As the world's first five-star hotel built in a waste crater, the hotel will not only create the world record for the lowest five-star hotel built globally, but also its concept of "reverse sky" development will become a revolutionary architectural design.

The whole construction project has taken nearly 10 years with approximately 5,000 architects, engineers, designers and construction workers involved.

As of now, the hotel is fully booked on the opening day. (CGTN)

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US Vice President Pence seeks 'update' on trade talks with Japan

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US Vice President Mike Pence told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he was looking forward to an "update" on talks about a bilateral trade agreement that US President Donald Trump hopes will cut Tokyo's trade surplus with Washington.

Pence also said he would discuss with Abe how Tokyo and Washington could work to advance the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

He said the US remained committed to a "free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Trump has criticized Japan over trade, claiming that Tokyo treats the US unfairly by shipping millions of cars to North America while blocking imports of US autos and farm products. (CGTN)

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Shanghai-London Stock Connect expects December rollout

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The much-anticipated Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme is expected to take effect in December with much more cooperation between fintech companies, a London official said on Tuesday.

If the scheme takes effect, more Westerners can buy Chinese stocks, setting a good example of cooperation between cities and enterprises for better results, said Rajesh Agrawal, deputy mayor of London for business, during a visit to China with 12 leading fintech companies from the city.

Agrawal said more fintech companies are developing fast in Asian cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Chinese company Alibaba's Singles Day shopping spree hitting a record high of $30.7 billion was another good example.

He believes cities with leading fintech companies should not compete with each other but instead cooperate for greater achievements together. (China Daily)

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China-Afghanistan-Pakistan dialogue stresses connectivity for regional development

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The participants of the 4th China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Dialogue have vowed to enhance connectivity among them for peace, stability and economic development in the region.

The chairman of Pakistan Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, Mushahid Hussain, said China, Pakistan and Afghanistan should increase cooperation on multiple fronts for peace, stability and development.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing hailed the trilateral dialogue as a significant and important initiative which can play a positive and conducive role in sorting out regional issues.

Yao said said peace is the basic foundation of development, and that a political solution is more relevant and appropriate for peace in Afghanistan. (Xinhua)

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ICBC opens representative office in Vietnam

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China's largest State-owned commercial bank by assets officially opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Monday.

The establishment of the new organization will further refine the business layout of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited in Vietnam. It will also enhance the bank's cross-border financial service capability for countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The establishment of Ho Chi Minh City Representative Office will effectively extend the bank's service scope in Vietnam to provide more efficient and convenient financial service for clients of the two countries, Gu Shu, president of ICBC said. (China Daily)

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Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man and other Marvel superheroes, dead at 95

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And Stan Lee, who dreamed up Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk and a cavalcade of other Marvel Comics superheroes that became mythic figures in pop culture with soaring success at the box office, died at the age of 95.

As a writer and editor, Lee was key to the ascension of Marvel into a comic book titan in the 1960s when, in collaboration with others, he created superheroes who would enthrall generations of young readers.

Lee was widely credited with adding a new layer of complexity and humanity to superheroes.

His characters were not made of stone - even if they appeared to have been chiseled from granite.

They had love and money worries and endured tragic flaws or feelings of insecurity. (China Daily)

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And that's People's Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.

(Produced by David Nye and Wang Xiangyu)