The Beijing Hour

China's top leadership has announced that the CPC will hold the fifth plenary session of its 20th Central Committee in Beijing in October (01:04). Pakistan says negotiations between Iran and the US are ongoing, especially concerning the Strait of Hormuz and the de-escalation of regional tensions (08:28). Firefighters continue to battle against wildfires burning across France and Spain, scorching vast lands and forcing evacuations (23:49).

Rescue efforts are underway following an explosion at a shopping mall in southwest Japan, triggered by a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake (01:02). The European Commission says the fast-spreading fires in France and Spain have exceeded their capacity to respond, prompting calls for cross-border firefighting aid from member nations (23:52). Beijing has slammed the Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan for rejecting the entry applications of a Shanghai delegation to Taipei for a ceremony marking the public debut of two red pandas gifted by the mainland (32:21) .

During talks with his Slovak counterpart, the Chinese president said the country stands ready to work with Slovakia to foster a partnership featuring mutual respect, trust, and resilience (01:09). Iran says it is not currently negotiating with the US, while Washington is threatening to restart strong military action if negotiations with Tehran fail (12:46). China has condemned a new US Section 301 investigation into alleged overcapacity (20:53).

The Iranian military says it has suspended its strikes after the US halted attacks on Iran, following nearly two weeks of tit-for-tat strikes between the two sides (01:06). Authorities are searching for survivors after a rain-triggered flash flood hit Gansu Province in northwest China, and killed at least 10 people (10:16). China's industrial profits surged 18.7 percent on a yearly basis to nearly 4 trillion yuan in the first half of 2026 (36:17).

The Chinese foreign minister is attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kyrgyzstan, where he has met with his counterparts from Belarus and Uzbekistan (01:12). Washington is considering restarting major combat operations on Iran, while Tehran has warned of more retaliatory attacks (08:40). Chinese mathematicians Deng Yu and Wang Hong have made history as the country's first winners of the Fields Medal, the highest international honor in mathematics (17:55).