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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi, Putin pledge to enhance bilateral ties, safeguard world peace

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks Tuesday and agreed to firmly promote bilateral ties, and safeguard world peace and stability.

Xi arrived in Vladivostok earlier today for the fourth Eastern Economic Forum at the invitation of Putin.

It is the first time for the Chinese head of state to attend the EEF, which was proposed by Putin in 2015.

Xi was warmly welcomed by senior Russian officials, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui at Vladivostok International Airport.

Xi, during his seventh trip to Russia since 2013, is scheduled to attend several bilateral and multilateral events, including his third meeting with Putin this year. The two heads of state will also attend some activities on people-to-people exchanges and economic and local cooperation.

Xi will deliver a speech at the annual meeting of the forum and meet with some other state leaders.

This year's forum, with the theme of "The Russian Far East: Expanding the Range of Possibilities," is being held from Tuesday to Thursday. (Xinhua)

DPRK top leader meets China's top legislator again

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea top leader Kim Jong-un on Monday met China's top legislator Li Zhanshu again and hosted a special arts performance and a grand reception for Li and the Chinese delegation led by Li.

On the very important festive occasion when the DPRK is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its founding, the arrival of the Chinese delegation led by Li as special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping fully shows the profound feeling of China's party, government, and people towards him as well as the party, government and people of the DPRK, said Kim.

The DPRK will regard the visit as an important opportunity to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and contribute to the benefits of the peoples of the two countries as well as regional peace and prosperity, Kim said.

Li said that he, as special representative of President Xi, felt the grand hospitality and sincerity of the party and people of the DPRK immediately once he arrived in the country as well as the warmth of the China-DPRK friendship. (Xinhua)

Palestinians file new complaint against Israel in response to US closure of PLO office

Palestinians raised a new submission against Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in response to the US shutting down the PLO delegation office in Washington, according to Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat on Tuesday.

The submission urged the ICC to speed up the opening of a judicial investigation into "Israeli war crimes" that fall within the court's jurisdiction.

Erekat stressed that the Palestinians are committed to the peace process on the basis of the two-state solution but will not accept the current US administration team to be the peace mediator. (Xinhua)

China slams a Japanese man for kicking 'comfort women' statue

Mitsuhiko Fujii, a citizen of Japan who was in Taiwan representing 16 civilian groups who objected to the building of a "comfort women" statue, was captured by surveillance cameras kicking the statue last Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said China hopes Japan will take responsibility and handle the incident properly.

Geng said he hopes the Japanese right-wing member will re-examine his behavior and gain self-respect. (CGTN)

Chinese spending on pets rises 27 percent to reach $25 billion

A recent report found that China's consumer market related to pets reached 170.8 billion yuan (roughly $25) in 2018, an increase of 27 percent from a year earlier, according to the 2018 White Paper on China's Pet Industry.

The number of pet owners in China's cities and towns now totals 73.55 million, the white paper says. Among them 33.9 million are dog owners, 22.58 million are cat owners, and there are also aquarium pet owners.

The report also estimated that annual spending on pets reached 5,016 yuan for each animal in 2018, up 15 percent from the year previous. (ECNS)

Chinese storyteller master Shan Tianfang dead at 84

Renowned Chinese storyteller master and writer Shan Tianfang died on Tuesday at the age of 84.

Shan was born on December 17, 1934 in Yingkou, Liaoning Province. He started telling stories in 1954 and in 2012, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 7th China Quyi Peony Awards.

Storytelling is one of the forms of entertainment in China. It is an ancient Chinese traditional oral art which became popular during the Song Dynasty. (People’s Daily app)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What are the world’s largest two countries by area?

(Answer: Russia and Canada.)

Today’s quote is from Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

"Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, Raymond Mendoza, and Terry Guanlin Li.)