Day: August 9, 2023

Shanghai-based CellX a step closer to bringing cultivated meat to market with launch of China’s first pilot plant

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Shanghai-based cell-grown meat start-up CellX launched China’s first cultivated meat pilot factory on Wednesday, a significant breakthrough in the nation’s quest for a sustainable source of animal protein to feed its population. The pilot plant represents a step closer to bringing cultivated meat to dining tables before large-scale production, co-founder and CEO Ziliang Yang said in an interview. The plant in Shanghai has a 2,000 litre bioreactor with a capacity to produce “single-digit tonnes” of cultivated meat per year, Yang said, with more bioreactors to be added soon. “The insights…

China taps thinner coal seams as energy security drives push for fossil fuel

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China has built a powerful machine for exploiting ultra-thin coal beds, achieving record output with the device as the country turns to harder-to-mine deposits of the fossil fuel to ensure energy security. The coal seam shearer, developed by the Shanghai Research Institute of China Coal Technology and Engineering Group Corporation (CCTEG), can be used on a coal bed as thin as 1.3 metres (4.3 feet), according to state media. More than 70 of the machines have been deployed by major coal mining companies in mainland China. At a mine run…

Biden’s China investment ban: who’s targeted and what does it mean for the 2024 US election?

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Joe Biden has moved to restrict US investment in Chinese technology, signing an executive order which focuses on a few, sensitive hi-tech sectors including semiconductors, quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI). It is the latest in a series of measures taken by the US to restrict China’s access to the most advanced technology and comes as the president has embarked on a multi-state tour of the south-west to tout his plans to revive American manufacturing after decades of decline. The restrictions are expected to take effect next year – and…

North Korea’s Kim Dismisses Top General, Calls for War Preparations

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed the military’s top general and called for more preparations for the possibility of war, a boost in weapons production, and expansion of military drills, state media KCNA reported Thursday. Kim made the comments at a meeting of the Central Military Commission, which discussed plans for countermeasures to deter North Korea’s enemies, which it did not name, the report said. General Ri Yong Gil was named to replace the military’s top general, chief of the General Staff Pak Su Il,…

Global law firm Dentons’ retreat exposes China risks

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Receive free Professional services updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Professional services news every morning. Months before global law firm Dentons decided to decouple from its Chinese affiliate Dacheng, its staff in western nations were advised against travel to the country. Some professionals who had visited China were “delayed by many weeks” when they attempted to leave, a person close to the firm said, prompting a policy change. Chinese authorities also made multiple “visits” to Dacheng sites, two people familiar with Dentons’ decision…

‘The ground rules have changed’: Dentons’ retreat exposes China risks

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Receive free Professional services updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Professional services news every morning. Months before global law firm Dentons decided to decouple from its Chinese affiliate Dacheng, its staff in western nations were advised against travel to the country. Some professionals who had visited China were “delayed by many weeks” when they attempted to leave, a person close to the firm said, prompting a policy change. Chinese authorities also made multiple “visits” to Dacheng sites, two people familiar with Dentons’ decision…

Lotus produces record 2,200 sports cars in first half of 2023

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The British carmaker Lotus produced a record number of sports cars in the first half of 2023, as it gears up for a huge push behind sales of a new electric SUV under its Chinese owners’ expansion plans. Lotus, which marked its 75th anniversary this year, produced 2,200 vehicles in the first six months of the year at its factory in a former second world war bomber factory at Hethel in Norfolk. The bulk of the vehicles built were the Emira sports car, the first new Lotus product since the…

Former Hong Kong stock exchange boss Charles Li pushes for enhanced mobility in Greater Bay Area to speed up business interconnectivity

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The former boss of Hong Kong stock exchange, Charles Li Xiaojia, on Wednesday said wider adoption of advanced technology such as facial recognition has the potential to enhance mobility in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), as he shared his vision of a programme that would allow easier travel for businesspeople and other groups within the megalopolis, without violating tax, emigration or labour laws. “The interconnectivity between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau boils down to the exchange of people, money and thoughts,” Li said in a conference organised by Singaporean multinational…

In effort to engage Asean members, US hosts new fellowship training programme

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The first cohort of a new annual US fellowship for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has arrived in Washington to a warm welcome – and a growing debate about how Southeast Asia will balance its relationships with China and the US. The US–Asean Institute for Rising Leaders Fellowship, announced at a special US-Asean Summit in Washington last year, features 31 mid-career professionals, largely government officials, from all 10 Asean member states. On the rooftop of the new building housing the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)…