The Beijing Hour

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi begins an official visit to Africa, with stops in Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, and Lesotho (01:07). The Trump administration faces heavy criticism from over 30 Western hemisphere countries as the Organization of American States holds a special session to discuss the Venezuela crisis (14:54). The Chinese mainland adds two individuals to its list of die-hard secessionists seeking separatism in Taiwan (32:24).

The president of South Korea and the prime minister of Ireland continue their visits to China (01:04). Many countries have condemned the U.S. military attacks on Venezuela at a UN Security Council emergency meeting (12:17). China is tightening export controls on dual-use items to Japan that could be used for military purposes (23:48).

Chinese President Xi Jinping calls on China and Ireland to maintain friendly exchanges, enhance understanding, and address each other's major concerns (01:05). China is urging the U.S. to immediately release the Venezuelan president who was forcibly seized by U.S. forces over the weekend (13:51). The world's biggest group of oil exporters has decided to keep its oil output unchanged despite the U.S. attacks on OPEC member Venezuela (25:23).

People across China and the world are reacting to President Xi Jinping's New Year speech that highlighted innovation, high-quality development and a shared future for humanity (01:07).Switzerland is in mourning after the New Year fire at a ski resort that resulted in at least 40 deaths (17:21).China's New Year holiday box office has topped 500 million yuan, or about 71 million U.S. dollars (52:32).

Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered a New Year speech, calling for efforts to achieve new progress in "the story of China's miracle" (01:03). Cities and towns across China have held celebrations to ring in 2026, as have many others all over the world (10:33). Swiss authorities fear that an explosion at a ski resort has killed dozens of people and injured more than 100 others (23:31).