Day: February 9, 2023

China’s youngest millennials told they’re too old for jobs, and elder Gen Z workers are next

Chin@Strategy

Ms Yang, a 31-year-old living in Shanghai, says she has received almost no responses from the more than 100 firms to which she has applied since last month. With a master’s degree in social science, she is seeking work in the internet industry. 02:14 Chinese reluctant to have children as China reports first population fall in 61 years Declining to give her full name out of fear that it could further harm her ability to find a job, Yang said a number of companies are explicitly requiring candidates to be…

Flexing its military muscle, North Korea shows off missiles–and potential new leader

Chin@Strategy

With his wife and daughter at his side, supreme leader Kim Jong Un looked on as missile after missile paraded past the podium – including what experts said was probably part of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile – as North Korea flexed its military muscle during a military parade on Army Foundation Day. Wednesday night’s parade showcased more long range missiles than ever before and hinted that North Korea is developing a solid-fuel ICBM, which would give it a tactical advantage because it needs substantially less time to prepare to…

Biden Says Chinese Spy Balloon Not Major Security Breach

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washington —  President Joe Biden, under fire from some lawmakers, said Thursday that he did not view the Chinese spy balloon that transited the United States before it was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean as a major security breach. Biden, who has sought to maintain communications with China and not allow tensions with Beijing to get out of control, said in a Noticias Telemundo interview that he did not regret waiting until the balloon was over water to shoot it down. “It’s not a major breach,” Biden said. “I…

In Bolivia, China Signs Deal For World’s Largest Lithium Reserves

Chin@Strategy

Advertisement In late January, Bolivia’s Luis Arce government signed a $1 billion agreement with the Chinese firms CATL, BRUNP, and CMOC (CBC) and the Bolivian state company Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) to explore lithium deposits in the South American nation. The CBC are Chinese firms with past involvement in lithium extraction, battery recycling, and metal mining, respectively. Arce and YLB estimate that lithium will be able to be exported by the first trimester of 2025. Arce called for the “era of industrialization of Bolivian lithium” in his announcement speech…

ChatGPT is a ‘moon landing’ moment for AI, Chinese experts say, as tech firms try to dampen enthusiasm

Chin@Strategy

“I think there wasn’t much real artificial intelligence in any similar technologies [that preceded ChatGPT],” Duan said in the webinar. “Only [ChatGPT] coming to the fore nudged us one step closer to real AI”. As has happened in many other countries, people in China have been captivated by the capabilities of ChatGPT since it was launched at the end of November. The chatbot, based on OpenAI’s GPT-3 language models, has proven adept at giving convincing and sometimes detailed answers to sophisticated prompts, although it also often gives answers full of…

UK pays EU £2.3bn to settle China import row

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The UK government has paid £2.3bn to the EU as part of a long-standing dispute over textiles and footwear imported into the UK from China. The final payment of £1.1bn, made this week, brings the case to a close. The chief secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, confirmed the payment in a written statement to the Commons. “Whilst the UK has now left the European Union and this is a legacy matter from before our departure, the government is keen to resolve this long-running case once and for all and…

Suffering from near total blindness, Vietnamese activist granted early prison release

Chin@Strategy

Vietnamese authorities on Thursday freed activist Do The Hoa for “good behavior” seven months before the end of his five-year sentence, but the political prisoner emerged nearly blind because he was denied medical treatment while in prison. Hoa, also known as Facebooker Bang Lĩnh, was arrested on Sept. 1, 2018, along with seven other members of the so-called “Constitution Group” of activists promoting rule of law and constitutional reform in Vietnam. The 55-year-old was sentenced to five years in jail for “disturbing security” and sent to Binh Duong province, where…

What Was the Chinese Spy Balloon Trying to Collect?

Chin@Strategy

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is combing over a variety of intelligence — debris, reconnaissance plane photos and old observations — to learn what the Chinese spy balloon was after as it made its way across the United States in early February, before being shot down by a Sidewinder missile fired by a stealth fighter jet last weekend. The Chinese spy balloon was equipped with an antenna meant to pinpoint the locations of communications devices and was capable of intercepting calls made on those devices, according to declassified intelligence released…

China using spy balloon drama to drum up nationalistic fervour

Chin@Strategy

Amid the diplomatic spat over the high-altitude balloon that flew across North America before being shot down by the US air force, China is taking the opportunity to drum up nationalistic fervour among its citizens – and the tactic appears to be working well. The balloon incident has burst the facade of a three-month, uneasy peace between China and the US since the summit between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in November. With China shifting away from the aggressive and nationalistic rhetoric that became characteristic of Xi’s diplomatic style during…

Why the high cost of conflict may be the best hope for peace in the Taiwan Strait

Chin@Strategy

But some experts said the Beijing leadership would be careful to manage the ongoing crisis across the Taiwan Strait and would only consider using force as the last option because of the enormous costs. It will try to de-escalate tensions and alleviate fears among neighbouring countries, making it harder for Washington to rally regional support. At the same time, Beijing could continue building up its capacity to make it more costly for the US to intervene, making it more difficult for Taiwan to pursue its pro-independence agenda without US support.…