Year: 2023

Chinese Spy Agency Rising to Challenge the C.I.A.

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The Chinese spies wanted more. In meetings during the pandemic with Chinese technology contractors, they complained that surveillance cameras tracking foreign diplomats, military officers and intelligence operatives in Beijing’s embassy district fell short of their needs. The spies asked for an artificial intelligence program that would create instant dossiers on every person of interest in the area and analyze their behavior patterns. They proposed feeding the A.I. program information from databases and scores of cameras that would include car license plates, cellphone data, contacts and more. The A.I.-generated profiles would…

Emergency scramble brings crippled China communications satellite under control

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The financial losses of the stricken craft – also known as ChinaSat 6C – are expected to reach 260 million yuan (US$36.4 million) – nearly 30 per cent of the company’s net profit in 2022, according to the statement. The company said it has kicked off the insurance process with its main underwriter. Meanwhile, the satellite is operating in its normal work mode. China launches satellite internet that could challenge SpaceX’s Starlink The five-tonne satellite has been broadcasting television and radio signals to China and other regions – including Southeast…

Import-reliant China makes rubber extraction innovation amid rising demand from car industry

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China imports more than 80 per cent of the natural rubber it needs each year, according to official figures. It is an ideal rubber material to replace natural rubber and petroleum synthetic rubberZhu Mingqiang The research team from the Northwest A&F University also identified the conditions required for compatibility of eucommia gum with natural and nitrile rubber – another commonly used rubber – the report said. The development is expected to be a “blessing” for the high-end rubber market in China, thanks to the long list of advantages in using…

Junta attack kills 8 civilians, injures 25 in Myanmar’s Laukkaing city

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Junta’s recent deployment of heavy weaponry in Laukkaing, a city within the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar’s Shan State, has resulted in the death of eight civilians and left 25 others injured, according to the anti-junta Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) on Tuesday.  The MNDAA said in a statement that the military junta’s two heavy weapons landed near the Crown hotel in Dong Cheng neighborhood in Kokang, bringing civilian casualties. It added that the injured individuals were transported to the hospital, while those who passed away were cremated. A…

Half of Russia’s 2023 Oil and Petroleum Exports Went to China – Russia’s Novak

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Half of Russia’s oil and petroleum exports in 2023 will have gone to China while India’s share has risen in two years to 40%, Russia’s state news agencies cited Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying in remarks published Wednesday. “The main partners in the current situation are China, whose share has grown to approximately 45-50%, and, of course, India,” said Novak, who is in charge of Russia’s energy sector. “Earlier, there basically were no supplies to India; in two years, the total share of supplies to India has come…

Northwest China Cities Halt Heavy Industries to Curb Pollution

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BEIJING —  Two cities in northwestern China, Xian and Yinchuan, advised residents to stay indoors, limited heavy industrial production and halted coal processing, warning of heavy pollution over the coming days with thick fog expected. China’s Central Meteorological Observatory also predicted dense haze for the country’s north and east from early Thursday to Saturday before a cold wave arrives Saturday afternoon to dissipate the heavy fog. In Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, authorities issued a red alert on Wednesday expecting serious pollution until Friday, and enforced mandatory emergency measures…

Beijing blames Taiwan trade moves on ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s independence stance

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He also said it had started “attacking” the ECFA before it came to power in 2016 and taken “discriminatory trade-restrictive measures” against the mainland, which had led to Beijing’s suspension of tariff concessions on 12 products effective from January 1. Chen also said the Taiwan Affairs Office will support further trade measures if the DPP insists on a pro-independence stance. TikTok teams up with fact checkers to stop election disinformation on site Chen’s comment is the first official confirmation from Beijing that political considerations were behind Thursday’s announcement on tariffs.…

Strong demand from US and Europe helps Toyota hit annual production record

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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. Global production for Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker by sales, has reached an all-time annual high with one month left of 2023, in a vindication of a strategy often criticised for not putting enough emphasis on selling pure electric vehicles. Strong sales of hybrids have compensated in 2023 for its slow rollout of electric vehicles. For the January to November period, worldwide production rose 11 per cent from a year…

Tencent and Netease Rally on Signs China May Ease Gaming Proposal

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The stock prices of Chinese video game companies rebounded Wednesday after investors seized on signals that the government was having second thoughts about proposed regulations on gaming. Since the weekend, regulators have attempted to calm the market after shares of the two largest video game companies, Tencent and Netease, plunged on Friday. When trading resumed after the four-day holiday weekend in Hong Kong, Tencent rose about 4 percent and Netease jumped 12 percent, recovering some of their losses. The events of the past several days underline the push-and-pull forces in…

‘Revolutionary’ design: Chinese scientists invent the most powerful detonation engine for hypersonic flight

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According to the paper, the engine operates in two distinct modes: below Mach 7 speed, it functions as a continuous rotating detonation engine. Air from the outside mixes with fuel and is ignited, creating a shock wave that propagates in an annular, or ring-shaped, chamber. The shock wave ignites more fuel during rotation, providing a powerful and continuous thrust for the aircraft. Above Mach 7, the shock wave stops rotating and focuses on a circular platform at the engine’s rear, maintaining thrust through a nearly straight-line oblique detonation format, according…