Day: October 18, 2023

Biden Visits Israel and Putin Visits China Amid Gaza and Ukraine Wars

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As President Biden visited Israel on Wednesday, seeking to display steadfast American support for the country, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was in Beijing, seeking to display his “no limits” partnership with China’s top leader, Xi Jinping. The two contrasting trips show how vastly the global political landscape has been redrawn by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and how that changed landscape is on full display in the war in Gaza. Russia, China and Iran were already forming a new axis over Ukraine, one they have pursued diplomatically, economically,…

US, South Korea warn global companies of covert Pyongyang hackers

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The United States and South Korea have issued an alert to the international community on North Korean hackers posing as non-North Korean job seekers, whose objectives are to undertake cyber missions that could accelerate Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. The authorities from the two countries issued a joint public service announcement late Wednesday that these hackers impersonate “IT workers” and non-DPRK nationals, who could potentially infiltrate global companies. “DPRK IT workers continue to take advantage of demand for specific IT skills such as software and mobile application development while fraudulently obtaining employment…

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen Criticized for Comments on Reporter’s Chinese Nationality

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Gov. Jim Pillen of Nebraska is facing criticism after he dismissed a news article about environmental concerns at his hog farms, saying that the reporter who wrote it was from “Communist China.” The reporter, Yanqi Xu, 27, revealed her findings in an article published Sep. 7 by The Flatwater Free Press that detailed nitrate levels “far above” the legal drinking water limit at more than a dozen farms owned by Mr. Pillen, a Republican. While the farms had brought prosperity to Platte Center, a village about 60 miles northwest of…

Xi Jinping urges more sci-tech collaboration to further belt and road ambitions

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The action plan – an eight-point vision for the infrastructure scheme – includes harnessing the markets and talent of participating countries to power their technological advancement. “The cutting-edge technologies that China desires to develop the most now cannot be achieved through the Belt and Road Initiative,” a scientist from the Chinese Academy of Science, who requested not to be named, told the Post. However, he added that Xi’s new action plan could help overcome current challenges. China is focused on applying its technology and experiences to other nations; but feedback…

BYD: The top electric car maker that is not Tesla

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But, on the less bright side, Beijing’s tensions are also growing with many of the countries – not least the US and European Union nations – that are export markets for its electric vehicles or EVs. As the world shifts to new, cleaner technologies, this is yet another example of how tough it will be for Western countries to move away from their reliance on Chinese goods. BBC

China Renaissance retrenches after influential founder’s detention

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Tech-focused investment bank China Renaissance is struggling to win business from start-ups and new money from investors as the detention of its influential founder Bao Fan enters its ninth month. China Renaissance was once at the centre of the country’s tech boom, but the sudden disappearance of its founder and chief executive in mid-February, part of a crackdown by Beijing, has created uncertainty. A half-dozen people close to the bank…

China’s economy ‘turned a corner’: 7 takeaways from third-quarter GDP, September data

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“We’ll focus on boosting effective domestic demand, invigorating market entities and implementing already-released policies … to accomplish this year’s social and economic development goals,” Sheng said on Wednesday. China’s economic recovery regains momentum, edges closer to annual target Sequentially, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.3 per cent from the previous three months, up from the sequential rise of 0.8 per cent in the second quarter. “Overall, data in the third quarter supports our narrative that a stimulus-led cyclical pickup in China was under way, with credit impulse picking…

Chinese AI drone system aims to hit fires in hard-to-reach places before they turn into big blazes

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The new firefighting drones aim to address slow response times typically associated with urban and forest fire rescues during the initial stages of an emergency. XCMG Group employees at the expo said the system had undergone two high-rise rescue drills in Chongqing province in southwestern China. It had also been deployed in forest fire prevention and proved efficient at tackling re-ignition points and inaccessible terrain, according to the staff at the event. For forest deployments, the base system could be integrated into a laptop-sized terminal with a control system equivalent…

China GDP: economic resilience questioned as property cloud lingers, even with 2023 growth target in sight

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“[A] hard landing in the property sector has not met with effective responses, meaning that it will remain the biggest downside risk in 2024”, said Tianchen Xu, senior China economist with The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). A local government debt crisis, weak investor and consumer confidence and intensifying US-led tech curbs are also adding to questions over China’s economic growth sustainability. And despite increasing tailwinds, including a robust industrial sector, improving consumer spending and the bottoming out of global trade, policymakers should not sit on their laurels, added Xu. The…

Police arrest former opposition councilor amid call to boycott poll

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Hong Kong police have arrested a former pro-democracy member of the city’s District Council and prison welfare activist — amid calls for a boycott of forthcoming district elections, which are open to “patriots only.” Derek Chu, a 46-year-old former directly elected councilor who resigned in 2021 before being forced to take an oath of loyalty to the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, was arrested in Shatin on Tuesday on suspicion of breaching the city’s mandatory pension law, police told the paper. His arrest comes as the government moves ahead with…