This is People’s Daily Tonight, your news source from China.  

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China marks 40th anniversary of reform and opening up

Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the country’s reform and opening up as a “great revolution in the history of the Chinese people and nation” at a grand gathering to mark the policy’s 40th anniversary.

Xi said the reform and opening up propelled a quantum leap forward in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Xi also said it is a great reawakening of the Communist Party of China, and nurtures great creativity in both theory and practice for the CPC. 

China awarded 100 Chinese reform pioneer medals and 10 foreigners with reform friendship medals. (Xinhua)

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China urges US to fulfill its obligations under multilateral trading system

China is willing to work with all members, including the US, to push for necessary reforms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), said Zhang Xiangchen, China's ambassador to the WTO.

Zhang said the US contributed a lot to the establishment of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and WTO rules, but the country failed to fully fulfill its obligations.

It’s unacceptable that the steel and aluminum tariffs by the US are based on the “national security” concerns, said the diplomat, adding that putting the Appellate Body in a paralysis will not make it more effective.

A joint proposal for the WTO Appellate Body reform has been submitted. Zhang said that China hopes that the US will engage in the discussion constructively. (CGTN)

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UK opposition launches parliamentary confidence maneuver against PM May

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn scheduled a non-binding no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Theresa May after she told MPs they will only get a delayed vote on her Brexit deal next year.

May said a vote on the deal would be held the week of January 14.

The government must agree to the non-binding vote.

Even if successful, it would not automatically trigger May's downfall.

House of Commons authorities said the government will decide whether the motion is debated and voted on, but noted it is "parliamentary convention that any such request be granted". (AFP)

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Tesla's $7b Shanghai plant shifts into high gear

Electric carmaker Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai is about to begin construction.

This is Tesla’s first plant outside the US and expected to partially start operating in the second half of 2019.

The plant’s total investment reaches 50 billion yuan ($7.25 billion) and will have a production capacity of 500,000 units in two to three years. The first phase of the factory, with an initial investment of 16 billion yuan, targets 250,000 units of Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles annually. 

The plant, located in Shanghai's Lingang area, remains a critical step in Tesla's expansion. It will provide a better environment for Tesla's development in China. (Chinadaily.com.cn)

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China remains largest foreign buyer of US Treasury bonds in Oct.

China's holdings of US Treasury bonds in October hit the lowest in a year, but remains the largest foreign buyer of US government debt.

The US Treasury Department said China's holdings of US Treasuries totaled $1.14 trillion in October, down by $12.5 billion from the previous month.

The second largest foreign buyer, Japan, was a net seller of US Treasuries in October, with its holdings slipping to a one-year low of $1.02 trillion, down $9.5 billion from the previous month.

The two countries together still accounted for about a third of the total foreign holdings of US Treasury bonds. (Xinhua)

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Police believe gas from spray cans may have sparked explosion in Japan

An explosion in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo may have been caused by gas leaking from spray cans at a real estate agency. The blast injured 42 people. 

The explosion occurred after bacteria- and odor-eliminating gas was removed from over 100 spray cans at the real estate agency, said Japanese media. 

This has led Hokkaido Prefectural Police to suspect that the gas caught fire that took six hours for firefighters to extinguish. The wooden building which housed the agency collapsed in the blast. (CGTN)

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Goldman says former Malaysia govt lied, after charges filed

And Goldman Sachs accused the former Malaysian government and state fund 1MDB of lying to the bank,.

This comes after Kuala Lumpur charged the Wall Street titan over a massive financial scandal.

Malaysia's attorney-general filed criminal charges against the US bank and two of its ex-employees over the alleged looting of 1MDB.

Billions of dollars were allegedly stolen from the fund and used to buy everything from yachts to artwork. (AFP)

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

(Produced by David Nye, Chen Lidan and Wang Xiangyu)