Day: March 21, 2024

Thuong became president just 14 months ago after the departure in similar circumstances of Nguyen Xuan Phuc in January last year due to what were described as “violations and wrongdoing” by officials under his control. Thuong, 53, was the youngest member of the Politburo and widely seen as a protégé of Vietnam’s top leader Nguyen Phu Trong, who secured a third term as party general secretary in 2021 despite his widely rumoured health issues. Some analysts have described the move as a political earthquake and scores of other officials have…

China should spend more on public services for its nearly 300 million migrant workers, rather than on lavish infrastructure projects, a former central bank adviser has argued, as the country struggles to pivot towards a consumption-driven growth model. Liu Shijin, former deputy director of the Development Research Centre of the State Council, said the key to expanding spending lies in bridging the gap between the income and demands in basic public services for China’s 900 million low to medium income group, which includes migrant workers. The comments followed debates over…

The KwaiYii LLM from Kuaishou, a top Chinese short-video platform operator, has “significantly surpassed GPT-3.5 in overall performance … and is approaching the levels of GPT-4 in certain metrics”, said Cheng Yixiao, company founder and CEO, during its post-earnings call on Wednesday. 01:45 Chinese AI-generated cartoon series broadcast on state television Chinese AI-generated cartoon series broadcast on state television GPT-4 is OpenAI’s most advanced LLM that is accessible by the public. Kuaishou is confident that KwaiYii can match GPT-4 in the next six months, Cheng said. The company also said…

Analysts speculate that “ultra-long-term” could refer to durations of 30 to 50 years. And the “special” nature of the bonds means that the funds may be designated for some very specific purposes and/or used in a one-off manner. Beijing has set its deficit-to-GDP ratio at 3 per cent for 2024, with the government deficit set to rise by 180 billion yuan (US$25 billion) from 2023. However, the 1 trillion yuan worth of funds raised under the new arrangement is “off-budget”. As such, the issuance of the ultra-long-term special bonds will…

American policymakers were warned on Thursday not to misinterpret one of ancient China’s best-known quotes about the highest form of skill in warfare: the ability to subdue an enemy without fighting. That was one of the key messages witnesses told the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) in Washington on Thursday, along with dire calls to reestablish American shipbuilding ports lost to “movie studios and craft breweries” and to be “visibly prepared for a protracted war”. While the essential quotation in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War might suggest…

Spokespeople for the governments of China and Russia, as well as the Houthis, including Abdel Salam, did not reply to Bloomberg’s requests for comment. 03:21 US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen US-led coalition strikes Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen While the Houthis have already signalled Moscow and Beijing’s assets would not be targeted, the talks underscore the increased nervousness among world powers about the group’s missile and drone attacks in and around the southern Red Sea since mid-November. The Houthis, an Islamist group, say they are targeting ships…

The committee approved the bill 50-0; a specific date for a vote on the House floor has not been set, nor one for the Senate. Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping and US President Jimmy Carter at a news conference on January 31, 1979 in Washington after signing the agreement on cooperation in science and technology. Photo: VCG/Getty Images Renewed every five years, the STA received a six-month extension instead of a full renewal last August. It was extended again in February but only for another six months. That extension was not…