China – Lanka Talents

Completely driverless cars are being tested in China for the first time

Lanka Talents Creation — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 03:20:17 +0000

Driverless “stress tests” to see how the vehicle performs in various road situations were conducted over the past six months, the company said in the press release.

Jewel Li, the firm’s chief operating officer, told CNBC that more than 100 robotaxis are being tested across Chinese cities, with 25 fully autonomous vehicles in Shenzhen.

To be clear, AutoX’s completely driverless robotaxis are not open to the general public yet. They are only available to employees and private guests, such as media, business partners, investors and auto-makers, according to CEO Jianxiong Xiao.

Plans to test outside China

The next step would be to increase the number of cars and the test area size, and to carry out tests in more cities, she said on “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday. “We have a plan in the next six months to expand to 10 cities globally.”

Li said one of those cities will likely be in Southeast Asia, but did not specify which.

“We’re very excited about the Southeast Asia market, we think this is the next rising market,” she said.

It’s close to a sci-fi kind of experience for most of our riders. When you really experience the vehicle fully driving itself, the level of excitement is overwhelming.
Jewel Li
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, AUTOX

She noted that AutoX has an advantage in Southeast Asia compared to other autonomous driving systems developed and tested in the West, because streets in Asia are more similar to those in Chinese cities.

AutoX also has a pilot self-driving taxi service in Shanghai and a permit to test driverless cars without a safety driver in parts of San Jose, California.

‘Sci-fi’ experience

Li said passengers found the fully driverless trials exciting.

“It’s close to a sci-fi kind of experience for most of our riders,” she said. “When you really experience the vehicle fully driving itself, the level of excitement is overwhelming.”

Beyond the novelty, she said autonomous vehicles will help to solve privacy issues and safety concerns in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal

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China: Looted horse head returns to Beijing’s Old Summer Palace

Lanka Talents Creation — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 05:04:24 +0000

It is one of 12 famous bronze animal head sculptures stolen from Beijing when British and French troops invaded China during the Second Opium War.

More than half of the pieces have already been found and returned to China, but are currently on display in other museums.

Five sculptures are still missing.

The horse head was donated by the late Macau tycoon Stanley Ho, who bought the artefact for US$8.9m (£6.63m) at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in 2007 and later donated it to the Chinese government in 2019.

The Chinese government then spent a year refurbishing a temple in the Old Summer Palace grounds and turned it into an exhibition venue, reported state news outlet Xinhua.

“There is international consensus on returning lost cultural relics to their original homes, and China’s efforts to bring relics home in recent years have enhanced that consensus,” He Yan, of the Beijing Urban Planning Society told Xinhua.

The 12 Chinese zodiac animal sculptures once topped a water clock in the royal garden of the Old Summer Palace.

Over the years art collectors and companies have purchased the pieces and returned them to China, though the whereabouts of five sculptures remain unknown.

The palace of shame that makes China angry

Also known as Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace was built in the 1700s and has been described as the country’s most beautiful palace.

The massive palace grounds and its buildings were looted of their treasures and burned down by British and French troops in 1860.

The incident remains a hugely sensitive topic in China to this day, and constantly resurfaces in Chinese popular films, angry social media debates, and furious rows over international art sales.

It has also left a controversial legacy in British art collections – royal, military, private – full of looted objects.

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China-US trade war: Beijing escalates tit-for-tat with Washington

Lanka Talents Creation — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 05:10:37 +0000

The rules primarily focus on the export of military technologies and other products that might harm China’s national security.

The export controls are widely believed to be in response to similar actions by the US.

TikTok, Huawei and Tencent are among the casualties of Washington’s Chinese technology crackdown.

There are concerns the new regulations, which came into effect on Tuesday, could escalate the ongoing trade war with the US.

Trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies began in 2018 but have ramped up this year.

Tech cold war

President Donald Trump’s administration has introduced executive orders against a range of Chinese firms arguing they could share data with the Chinese government.

China’s new export laws are “a reaction to this escalation of the tech war and it’s China looking to cover its own advantages”, said Alex Capri, visiting professor at the National University of Singapore.

Speaking on BBC’s Asia Business Report, Mr Capri added: “The other thing I find really interesting is China has placed AI and algorithms under these export controls.

“This was prompted by the US ban on TikTok. The Chinese government does not want to share this AI.”

Mr Capri believes the ongoing trade war between the US and China will follow the “same trajectory” under Joe Biden. “We’re in a cold war with China – it’s a tech cold war,” he said.

What do the new laws do?

The Export Control Law establishes several categories of “controlled items”, which include nuclear, military items and “dual use” items that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

The law also covers items that are considered vital to the protection of China’s national security.

Exporters must apply for a license in order to export any item listed on a control list or subject to temporary controls.

Data associated with the controlled items is also covered by the law.

The law imposes penalties of ten times the value of the offending transaction up to $760,000 (£569,000).

It also allows for the punishment of overseas organisations or individuals, suggesting Beijing might attempt to use it to restrict the sale of sensitive technology globally.

Rare earth

Prices for rare earth minerals have increased in anticipation that the law could affect their export.

China is the world’s biggest supplier of rare earth minerals, which are used in products ranging from consumer electronics – like smart phones – to wind turbines.

“China has a massive overwhelming advantage when it comes to rare earths,” said Mr Capri. “Essentially, over the past 30 years, the ability to extract rare earths lies with China. It’s going to be hugely important when it comes to jet fighters, automotive, etc.”

By BBC Business News.

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