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

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14th G20 summit kicks off with focus on global economy, multilateral trade

The 14th Group of 20 summit kicked off in Osaka, Japan on Friday, with issues pertaining to the global economy, multilateral trade and development taking the center stage.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the leaders of the G20 economies and other participants prior to the start of the summit.

Established in 1999, the G20 is a central forum for international cooperation on financial and economic issues.

It comprises 19 countries plus the European Union. (Xinhua)

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US nuke envoy says ready for talks with DPRK to advance Singapore agreement

Stephen Biegun, US special representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) affairs, said Friday that his country was ready for talks with the DPRK to advance an agreement reached at the first DPRK-US summit in Singapore last year.

The US envoy made the remarks during a meeting with South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs.

Biegun confirmed the stance that the United States was ready for constructive discussions with the DPRK to advance the Singapore agreement in a simultaneous and synchronized way.

After the Singapore summit last June, top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump agreed to complete denuclearization of and lasting peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula and normalized relations between the two countries.

The second Kim-Trump summit ended with no agreement in February. (Xinhua)

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US tells NATO it wants to avoid war with Iran: diplomats

Acting US Defense Secretary Mark Esper told NATO allies that Washington does not want to go to war with Iran but also could not tolerate any further incidents.

Speaking to NATO defense ministers at a closed-door session, Esper said the US held Iran responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman but did not want the situation to escalate.

A week after US President Donald Trump called off air strikes on Iran minutes before impact, European defense ministers led by France sought to use their first formal NATO meeting with Esper to cool the confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

Esper did not present any new intelligence.

However, NATO countries now have shared intelligence showing it is highly likely the tanker attacks were carried out by Iran, or militia linked to Tehran. (CGTN) 

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Nearly 900b yuan in 2019 tax cuts through May

China has slashed 893 billion yuan (about 129.96 billion US dollars) in fiscal revenue from January to May, with 109 million people's salaries free from taxation, data from the State Taxation Administration showed on Thursday.

Compared with the annual target of 2 trillion yuan in reducing tax and fee burdens, the figure in the first five months indicated the task was 44 percent complete.

Specifically, the newly issued tax-cut policies this year whittled down 351.1 billion yuan. Of the figure, 221.8 billion yuan boiled down to the deepening reform on value-added tax and 91.7 billion to inclusive policies for small and micro enterprises and special expense deductions for individual income tax. Meanwhile, 460.4 billion yuan were attributed to carryover effects of tax-reduction policies implemented since last year. (chinadaily.com.cn)

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Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership established in Beijing

The Belt and Road Economic Information Partnership founded by more than 30 institutions around the world was established in Beijing on Thursday.

Initiated by Xinhua News Agency, the partnership's founding members include well-known news agencies, information service providers, research institutions, chambers of commerce and associations from more than 20 countries and regions.

A senior IMF official said that with the increase in the number of Belt and Road partners, the demand for economic information is rising, which has made it pressing to establish an international economic information exchange and cooperation mechanism. (Xinhua)

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'Spider-Man: Far from Home' hits cinemas on Chinese mainland

"Spider-Man: Far from Home," the latest American superhero film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hit cinemas on the Chinese mainland Friday.

A sequel to films "Spider-Man: Homecoming," it sees protagonist Peter Parker take on new threats in a world that has changed forever following the events of "Avengers: Endgame."

Chinese mainland filmgoers will be among the first to see the film, which will have its debut in the United States and most of the European countries between July 2 and 5.

As of the release of this story, the film has generated a box office of about 76 million yuan (about 11 million US dollars) on the Chinese mainland Friday, in addition to the nearly 22 million yuan it earned in presale. (Xinhua)

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Liquor firm Kweichow Moutai's shares break through 1,000-yuan barrier

And China's iconic high-end spirit maker, Kweichow Moutai Company, saw its share price exceed 1,000 yuan in Thursday trading.

That makes it the most expensive stock in the A-share market, aided by continuously growing demand and its good earnings.

Most investors attributed the company’s success to China's sustained supply-side reforms and consumption upgrade, which have boosted investor sentiment toward such consumer stocks. (China Daily)

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

(Produced by David Nye and Wang Xiangyu)