People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (1/18/2019 Fri.)
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This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China.

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China revises 2017 GDP growth 

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The statistics authority on Friday revised China's GDP growth for 2017 from 6.9 percent to 6.8 percent in its final verification.

The GDP was 82.08 trillion yuan in 2017, down 636.7 billion yuan from the preliminary calculation, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The growth pace of industrial sectors was lowered from 6.1 percent to 5.9 percent, and that of the services was adjusted from 8 percent to 7.9 percent. The expansion of agricultural sectors on the contrary was revised up by 0.1 percentage point to 4 percent.

The bureau revises each year's GDP twice, the preliminary and final verifications, as more information becomes available. (Xinhua)

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Trump cancels US delegation's trip to Davos

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US President Donald Trump has canceled the US delegation's trip later this month to an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.

It was the latest development in Thursday's back-and-forth over whether lawmakers and Trump administration officials should travel during the partial government shutdown.

Earlier, Trump postponed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Afghanistan. That was in response to Pelosi asking Trump to postpone his State of the Union address to the nation — set for Jan. 29 — until the government reopens.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that out of consideration for the 800,000 federal workers not getting paid, the president has nixed his delegation's trip to the World Economic Forum. Trump had earlier pulled out of attending the forum because of the shutdown. (AP)

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DPRK's top envoy heads to US for talks over 2nd Kim-Trump summit

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Kim Yong-chol, top envoy of the DPRK, is expected to arrive in Washington by the weekend and set to stay in the US for two days.

Kim is vice chairman of DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea  Central Committee.

According to CNN, Kim is expected to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US special representative to the DPRK Steve Biegun on Friday. The group is expected to discuss the details of a planned summit between DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Kim Yong-chol last visited the US in June, during which he personally delivered a letter from Kim Jong-un to Trump. (CGTN)

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Scientists win award for cooperation

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Three foreign scientists have received the 2018 International Scientific Cooperation Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Thursday for their contribution to China's scientific development.

The winners are Singaporean fracture mechanics expert Shih Choon Fong, Norwegian ecologist Nils Stenseth and Japanese climatologist Toshio Koike. Their certificates and medals were presented by Bai Chunli, president of the academy, in a ceremony in Beijing.

The winners are long-term participants and contributors to the academy's scientific endeavors, academy Vice-President Zhang Yaping said during the ceremony.

The award was first presented in 2007 and has been given to 34 foreign experts, 24 of whom went on to win the China International Science and Technology Award, the nation's top honor for foreign scientists. (China Daily)

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Tesla recalls 14,000 cars in China over Takata airbags 

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Electric-vehicle maker Tesla will recall over 14,000 Model S cars in China as part of the global automotive sector's effort to replace potentially dangerous airbags made by Takata which went bust in 2017 after defective airbags were blamed for a number of deaths.  

According to the State Administration of Market Regulation, these Model S cars were made between February 2014 and December 2016.

The Chinese regulator said the passenger-side airbags of the affected Model S cars were equipped with a Takata-made device containing an ammonium nitrate propellant. Under certain conditions that the device can break, ejecting debris that can cause injury.

Tesla does not announce how many cars it sells in China overall. (AFP)

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China unveils pilot 'group-buying' plan to cut drug prices

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China has unveiled a pilot medicine procurement program to be tried in 11 major cities to lower drug prices and reduce the burden on patients.

Details of the program was released by the General Office of the State Council Thursday.

As a major reform of the current centralized procurement system, the program asks public hospitals in the pilot cities to purchase 60 to 70 percent of their total annual demand for certain medicines in order to get a lower price.

Previously, the bidding usually only determined the price, but could not guarantee the purchase quantity.

The pilot program aims to cut drug prices, reduce medicine costs for patients and transaction costs for enterprises, and improve the "ecology" of the pharmaceutical industry, said the official document.

The 11 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, account for about one-third of the national medicine market. (Xinhua)

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Promotional video for Peppa Pig movie goes viral

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A promotional video for the upcoming film Peppa Pig Celebrates Chinese New Year was released on the film’s official Weibo account on Thursday. This 5-minute short video quickly went viral and has been widely shared on Chinese social media.

Titled What’s Peppa, the promo film is centered around an old man who lives alone in rural area and waits for a reunion with his son during the Spring Festival. After learning his grandson wants “Peppa” as a gift, he goes on a hilarious and touching journey to find out exactly what “Peppa” is and creates a metal model of the popular pig for his grandson.

This video received a lot of praise as well as views. Many netizens call it the“the best advertisement of the year.”  (People's Daily app)

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

(Produced by Wang Xiangyu and Zhan Huilan)