This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China.
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Xi stresses unswerving support for development of private enterprises
Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the country will unswervingly encourage, support and guide the development of the non-public sector and support private enterprises to develop a broader stage.
Xi made the remarks at a symposium on private enterprises.
He said the private sector has become the main contributor to job creation and technological innovation and an important source of tax revenue.
He added that the sector has played an important role in developing the socialist market economy, transforming government functions, transferring surplus rural labor and exploring the international market.
He underlined the important role that the private economy plays in pushing the development of the socialist market economy, promoting the supply-side structural reform, seeking high-quality development and building a modern economy. (Xinhua)
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Trump slaps new sanctions to target Venezuela's gold exports
US President Donald Trump slapped new sanctions against Venezuela's gold exports, as National Security Adviser John Bolton unveiled a hard-line policy toward Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
Trump informed U.S. lawmakers that he has signed an executive order to bar U.S. citizens and entities from involvement in the gold export trade from Venezuela.
In a speech delivered in Miami, Bolton elaborated the new U.S. sanctions as he lashed out at Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
Labeling the three nations as "the troika of tyranny in this hemisphere," Bolton accused Cuba of helping Venezuela, saying the State Department will sanction over two dozen entities owned or controlled by the Cuban military and intelligence services. (AP)
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New round of tariff cuts takes effect
A new round of tariff cuts on a wide range of industrial products and raw materials began on Thursday, which will drive down China's overall tariff level to 7.5 percent from 9.8 percent in 2017.
New tariffs, on average, are slightly higher than the European Union standard, but lower than most developing countries, which matches China's current development status.
On the tariffs cut list, there are 1,585 categories of goods, including textiles, metals, electromechanical equipment and other raw materials and products. (China Daily)
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US charges Malaysian financier in multibillion-dollar scheme
The Justice Department announced charges against a fugitive Malaysian financier and two former Goldman Sachs bankers accused in a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions of dollars from a Malaysian investment fund.
A three-count indictment charges Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, with misappropriating money from the state-owned fund and using it for bribes and kick-backs to foreign officials, to pay for luxury real estate, art and jewelry in the United States and to help finance Hollywood movies.”
Also charged was a former Goldman Sachs banker who pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and to conspiring to violate foreign bribery laws. (Xinhua)
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Brazil's Bolsonaro to move Israel embassy
Brazil's far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro confirmed that the country will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, making the Latin American country the largest after the United States to make the controversial switch.
The move from Tel Aviv is the latest controversial announcement by the former army captain, who has wasted no time implementing his hardline conservative agenda since his election win Sunday. (AFP)
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Russia blames rocket failure on technical malfunction
A Russian space investigation has found that the sensor that was damaged during assembly forced a Russian rocket to abort its trip two minutes after it was launched.
The Soyuz-FG rocket carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin failed shortly into the Oct. 11 flight, sending their capsule into a sharp fall back to Earth.
The two men landed safely on the steppes of Kazakhstan despite the failed launch.
The head of the Russian space agency had earlier blamed the failure on a malfunction of a sensor, but didn't explain why it didn't work. (AP)
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China launches high-orbit BeiDou-3 satellite
And China's home-grown global satellite navigation system came a step closer to completion with the launch of another BeiDou-3 satellite.
Launched on a Long March-3B carrier rocket, it is the 41st of the BeiDou navigation system, and will work with 16 other Beidou-3 satellites already in orbit.
It is also the first BeiDou-3 satellite in high orbit, or about 36,000 kilometers above the Earth.
A basic system with BeiDou-3 satellites orbiting will be in place by the end of the year to serve countries in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. (Xinhua)
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And that’s People’s Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.
(Produced by David Nye and Zhao Dantong)