DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Solar manufacturers petition U.S. to impose tariffs on imports from four Southeast Asian nations
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A coalition of U.S. solar manufacturers petitioned the federal government on Wednesday to impose tariffs on imports from four Southeast Asian nations, alleging that the countries are flooding the U.S. market with cheap products that threaten the domestic industry. The other six parties to the petition are Convalt Energy, Meyer Burger, Mission Solar, Qcells, REC Silicon and Swift Solar. They are requesting that the Commerce Department impose tariffs on solar cell imports from the four countries as a remedy. "This case is bad news for clean energy jobs and American solar manufacturing," Array CEO Kevin Hostetler said in a statement Wednesday. The ITC and Commerce Department investigations will take about 12 months to conclude, Brightbill said.

Persons: Meyer Burger, Tim Brightbill, Joe Biden, Brightbill, Kevin Hostetler, Janet Yellen, Biden Organizations: U.S, Convalt Energy, International Trade Commission, Commerce, ITC, Initiative, Commerce Department, Solar Energy Industries Association, American Clean Power Association, Advanced Energy, American Council, Renewable Energy, Technologies, International Energy Agency, IEA, CNBC Locations: Zhangye city, Gansu province, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, U.S, The U.S, Beijing's

☆ China's internet is filled with well-wishes for earthquake-stricken Taiwan — and veiled references that the PLA can help
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Taiwan's 7.2-magnitude earthquake has drawn seemingly friendly messages on China's social media. But they're also indicative of China's ambitions for Taiwan, and what Chinese people think of the island. AdvertisementA 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan on Wednesday morning prompted a wave of concerned messages on mainland China's social media, diverting from the usual hostile rhetoric toward the self-governed island. Like many of China's social media platforms, Weibo is heavily censored and moderated. However, kinetic conflict is still widely viewed on social media as only one of several options for unification.

Persons: they're, —, Fabian Hamacher, Xi Jinping, Zhang Yongjin, Xi Organizations: Service, Wednesday, Reuters, REUTERS, Business, Taiwan, People's Liberation Army, PLA, Getty, Observers Locations: Taiwan, Hualien, New Taipei City, Weibo, Beijing, China, Shiyuan Township, Jishishan County, Gansu Province, Xinhua, Sichuan, Taipei

☆ China's youngest-ever crew of astronauts heads to space station
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreBEIJING, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The youngest-ever crew of Chinese astronauts departed for China's space station on Thursday, paving the way for a new generation of "taikonauts" to advance the country's space ambitions in the future. Leading the six-month mission was former air force pilot Tang Hongbo, 48, who was on the first crewed mission to the space station in 2021. By contrast, his fellow Shenzhou-17 crew members Tang Shengjie, 33, and Jiang Xinlin, 35, both travelling to space for the first time, joined China's third batch of astronauts in September 2020. The Shenzhou-17 astronauts will replace the Shenzhou-16 crew, who arrived at Tiangong at the end of May. Shenzhou-17 marks China's 12th crewed mission since Yang Liwei's solo spaceflight in October 2003, the first Chinese national in space.

Persons: Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, Jiang Xinlin, Tang, Tiangong, Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, Gui Haichao, Zhu, Gui, Yang Liwei's, Ryan Woo, Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle Organizations: taikonauts, People's Liberation Army, NASA, Space, U.S, Thomson Locations: Jiuquan, Gansu province, China, BEIJING, Hong Kong, Macau, Tiangong

☆ China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China spent 1.4 trillion yuan ($191 billion) replacing foreign hardware and software in 2022, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, according to IT research firm First New Voice. Two firms awarded the Harbin tenders were subsidiaries of China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation - both heavily targeted by U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Department of Commerce, China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation did not return requests for comment. Despite heavy spending on domestic substitution, however, foreign firms are still dominant suppliers for banking and telecoms database management. Non-Chinese companies held 90% of market share for banking database systems at the end of 2022, according to EqualOcean, a tech consultancy.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Kendra Schaefer, Mo Jianlei, Eric Zheng, Brenda Goh, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Beijing, Reuters, New, Trivium China, Liberation Army, Tech, Chinese Academy of Sciences, BMC, U.S, Cyberspace Security, China Telecommunications Corporation, Qualcomm, U.S . Treasury, Google, Apple, China Electronics Corporation, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Microsoft, Adobe, China Tobacco, Microsoft Windows, Chinese Academy of Engineering, European Union Chamber of Commerce, of Commerce, Shanghai, U.S . Department of Commerce, HUAWEI, Huawei, IDC, Financial, Lenovo, HK, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Washington, State, Beijing, Gansu province, Harbin, Xiamen, U.S, American, Shanghai

☆ Shares of Alibaba tumble over 3% after outgoing CEO unexpectedly quits cloud business
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The move comes months after Alibaba said in June that Zhang was departing as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group to focus on the cloud intelligence unit. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart iconIn a surprise leadership reshuffle in June, Alibaba announced that Zhang was bowing out as both CEO and chairman on Sept. 10 to focus on the cloud intelligence business. Zhang was Alibaba Group CEO since 2015 and the group chairman since 2019. He has also been chairman and CEO of the Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group since 2022. "The board of our Company expresses its deepest appreciation to Mr. Zhang for his contributions to Alibaba Group over the past 16 years," Alibaba said in the Sunday statement.

Persons: Daniel Zhang Yong, Daniel Zhang, Alibaba, Zhang, Eddie Wu, Wu, Joseph Tsai Organizations: Alibaba, Fund, Visual China, Getty, Alibaba Group, Cloud Intelligence Group, Company Locations: Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, Hong Kong

☆ Cities brace for floods as heavier-than-usual storms drench China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) - Rescue services braced for flooding as heavier-than-expected summer storms rolled across China as forecast on Friday, drenching Beijing and other major cities. Historically, China enters its peak rainy season in late July, but extreme weather has made storms more intense and unpredictable, exposing heavily built-up megacities with poor drainage to sudden floods and waterlogging. In Beijing, authorities have deployed this week over 2,600 people to drain 87 pumping stations in advance and clear thousands of water drainage outlets along roads, municipal authorities said in a statement on Friday. In July 2021, extreme rain in the central Henan city of Zhengzhou killed nearly 400 people, including 14 who drowned in a submerged subway line. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: drenching, Ryan Woo, Liz Lee, Miral Organizations: Beijing Public Transport, Authorities, Xinhua, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, drenching Beijing, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Wuxi city, Gansu, Zhengzhou

☆ China beats SpaceX and Blue Origin to reach orbit with a methane-fueled rocket, edging ahead of the US in the space race
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China pulled ahead in the space exploration race by reaching orbit with a methalox rocket first. The fuel, based on methane, is coveted by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. SpaceX's own methalox-fueled rocket Starship exploded before reaching this milestone in April. Chinese firm LandSpace launched their Zhuque-2 rocket from the Gobi Desert on Tuesday, reaching orbit shortly after. Meanwhile, the future of New Glenn, Blue Origin's methalox rocket, is uncertain after its BE-4 engine exploded during testing in June, per Space.com.

Persons: LandSpace, Jonathan McDowell, Relativity, New Glenn, Blue, Jonathan Newton Organizations: SpaceX, Service, Privacy, China, US Space Force, Washington, Getty, Reuters Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, New, Starbase, Jiuquan, Gansu Province

☆ From ice cream to cattle feed: Here are the winners and losers as the summer heat bears down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

With temperatures hitting all-time highs, consumers are turning to ice cream and chilled drinks to beat the heat — and analysts say some sectors could benefit. Several Southeast Asian cities hit record high temperatures in May as global climate change exacerbates heat waves and air pollution in the region. A street vendor selling bottles of chilled water amid high temperatures in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. "Use of air-conditioning will skyrocket, benefiting the HVAC industry but leading to extremely high levels of energy usage," said Allison Malmsten, public research director at Daxue Consulting. Cattle feeding at a cattle farm on December 13, 2020 in Pingliang, Gansu Province of China.

Persons: Bain, Zara Lightowler, Kuo, David Kuo, Allison Malmsten, Daxue, Rice Organizations: Getty, Company's, Vitasoy, Cola, PepsiCo, Bloomberg, Unilever, Smart Investor ., Daxue Consulting, Visual China, Co's, Sustainability Locations: Srinagar, Indian, Kashmir, Asia, El, Southeast Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Pingliang, Gansu Province, China, Laos, Malaysia

☆ China launches Shenzhou-16 mission to Chinese space station - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China Daily via REUTERSBEIJING, May 30 (Reuters) - China sent three astronauts to its now fully operational space station as part of crew rotation on Tuesday in the fifth manned mission to the Chinese space outpost since 2021, state media reported. The astronauts on Shenzhou-16 will replace the three-member crew of the Shenzhou-15, who arrived at the space station late in November. China has already announced plans to expand its permanently inhabited space outpost, with the next module slated to dock with the current T-shaped space station to create a cross-shaped structure. Leading the Shenzhou-16 mission was Jing Haipeng, 56, a senior spacecraft pilot from China's first batch of astronaut trainees in the late 1990s. Also by the end of 2023, China is due to a launch space telescope the size of a large bus.

☆ Shenzhou-16 launch: China sends first civilian astronaut to space
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —China sent its first civilian astronaut into orbit on Tuesday, as it launched the Shenzhou-16 mission to its space station for its second in-orbit crew rotation, marking another step forward for the country’s ambitious space program. It is China’s fifth manned mission to the space station since 2021. Several media outlets on Monday responded to the online discussion over how a person without perfect vision could be physically cleared for a space mission. This could make it the sole in-orbit outpost for scientific research after the expected end of operations for the International Space Station in 2030. Tiangong’s core module first entered orbit in 2021, marking the first major step in a space station dream envisioned by the government since 1992.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a special campaign to clean up online information, focusing on social media accounts that disseminate "fake news" and impersonate state-controlled media. The regulator said it had wiped 107,000 accounts of counterfeit news units and news anchors and 835,000 pieces of fake news information since April 6. The cleanup comes as China and countries across the globe grapple with an onslaught of fake news coverage online, with many implementing laws to punish culprits. News dissemination on Chinese social media, however, is already heavily controlled, with platforms like the Twitter-like Weibo favouring topic hashtags produced by state media, while censoring hashtags on issues or incidents considered sensitive by Beijing, even if they go viral. China recently arrested a man in Gansu province for allegedly using ChatGPT to generate a fake story about a train crash.

☆ China reports first arrest over fake news generated by ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, May 10 (Reuters) - A man in China's Gansu province has been detained for allegedly using ChatGPT to generate a fake story about a train crash, marking China's first arrest in an AI-related probe as Beijing tightens deepfake technology. China's new rules for deepfake bar service providers and users from using such technology to produce, release and fabricate untrue information. The rules, which took effect from Jan. 10, are designed to curb the use of generative AI technology to alter online content. Hong allegedly edited ChatGPT-generated news and uploaded it on the Baidu-owned platform, local police reported, adding that investigations were continuing. Reporting by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese police arrest man who allegedly used ChatGPT to spread fake news in first case of its kind
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

This photo illustration shows the ChatGPT logo at an office in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2023. Chinese police arrested a man they allege used ChatGPT to create a fake news article about a train crash, in what appears to be the first case of enforcement action being taken in China under an unprecedented law related to artificial intelligence. The case highlights Chinese authorities' push to regulate and control uses of AI as the technology gets more advanced. Hong allegedly used ChatGPT to create slightly different versions of the fake news article to pass duplication checks on the Baidu-owned platform. For example, users can ask ChatGPT to come up with a story based on specific instructions.

☆ Great Wall of China: Six sections with beautiful views
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Whether you’re planning to visit the Great Wall for the first time or the 50th, the following destinations are sure to make your trip to China even more worthwhile. The juxtaposition of its ruins against the rammed-earth Great Wall makes Bataizi a unique place to spend a morning or afternoon. Laoniuwan (aka the Old Ox Bend Great Wall)Laoniuwan, where the Great Wall and the Yellow River meet. Alex SherrAs the locals say, Laoniuwan is where the Great Wall and the mighty Yellow River shake hands. The piled-stone wall at Dushikou is unique, as many other sections of the Great Wall close to Beijing were constructed using kiln-fired bricks.

Persons: CNN —, I’ve, Alex Sherr, ”, Alex Sherr Mutianyu, you’ll, William Lindesay, Pan, Zuoyun, You’ll, Simatai, Yatou’s, Emperor Jiajing, Lamb Organizations: CNN, Tourism, UNESCO, Northern Barbarians Locations: Beijing, China, Turtle, Gansu, Sitan, Jingtai County, City, Jingtai, Lanzhou, Gansu province, Turtle City, Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport, it’s, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Xizhazi, Bataizi, Datong, Shanxi province’s, Zuoyun, Zuoyun County, Laoniuwan, Pianguan County, Xinzhou, Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia, marveling, Pianguan, Tangjiazhai, Beijing’s Miyun, Miyun, It’s, Dushikou, Chicheng, Hebei province, Hebei, Liuliqiao

☆ China and NASA are racing to the moon. Side-by-side photos hint NASA has the edge, but China's secrecy makes the race hard to call.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China and NASA are racing toward the first human moon landing in 50 years. Side-by-side images show how NASA and China are overlapping in the new space race for the moon. NASAChina, meanwhile, launched a new crew of taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) toward its new space station on Tuesday. The International Space Station, top, and an illustration of China's Tiangong space station, bottom. The secrecy of China's lunar program makes it difficult for outside analysts to assess that timeline, but NASA's chief has expressed a sense that the race is tight.

Summary Shenzhou-15 marks last of 11 missions since April 2021 in building of space stationShenzhou-15 crew to take over from Shenzhou-14 astronauts on space stationChinese space station to be second permanently inhabited outpost after NASA-led ISSBEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Three Chinese astronauts arrived on Wednesday at China's space station for the first in-orbit crew rotation in Chinese space history, launching operation of the second inhabited outpost in low-Earth orbit after the NASA-led International Space Station. Shenzhou-15 was the last of 11 missions, including three previous crewed missions, needed to assemble the "Celestial Palace", as the multi-module station is known in Chinese. The "Celestial Palace" was the culmination of nearly two decades of Chinese crewed missions to space. The astronauts will live and work on the T-shaped space outpost for six months. The next batch of "taikonauts", coined from the Chinese word for space, to board the station, in 2023, will be picked from the third generation of astronauts with scientific backgrounds.

Shenzhou-15 was the last of 11 missions, including three prior crewed missions, that began in April 2021 needed to assemble the "Celestial Palace", as the multi-module station is known in Chinese. The space outpost took on its current "T" shape in November with the arrival of the last of three cylindrical modules. The "Celestial Palace" was the culmination of nearly two decades of Chinese crewed missions to space. FUTURE 'TAIKONAUTS'Leading the Shenzhou-15 mission was Fei Junlong, 57, who hailed from China's first batch of astronaut trainees in the late 1990s. During the space station's operation over the next decade, China is expected to launch two crewed missions to the orbiting outpost each year.

☆ What the Club is watching Friday — China locks down (again), Black Friday sales
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

☆ China Covid: Death of boy in lockdown fuels backlash against zero-Covid policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The boy’s father said his wife and child both fell ill around noon on Tuesday, showing signs of gas poisoning. The mother’s condition improved after receiving CPR from the father, but the boy fell into a coma, according to the man’s social media post. The father claimed in his social media post that the police did not show up until after he had taken his son to hospital. Demand for answersThe boy’s death also ignited anger from local residents. Videos circulating on social media show residents taking to the streets to demand an answer from authorities.

☆ China is caught in a zero-Covid trap of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The new political ecology also provided more incentive for local governments to impose more draconian Covid control measures,” Huang said. Chinese health officials maintain that changing tack now would risk a huge surge in infections and deaths that could overwhelm the country’s fragile health care system. Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million, imposed sweeping lockdown measures last month after identifying dozens of Covid-19 cases. On Wednesday, the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, where the Foxconn plant is located, announced new lockdown measures. As the winter approaches, experts warn that China could be hit by a new wave of infections – and a new cycle of draconian lockdowns.

☆ Li Xi gets graft-busting role on China's new Standing Committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Li Xi, the Communist Party chief of the economic powerhouse Guangdong province, assumed two new titles on Sunday when he was elevated to the elite Politburo Standing Committee and put in charge of the party's influential graft-busting body. Li's ties to Xi stem in part from his indirect links to Xi's late father, the Communist Party revolutionary Xi Zhongxun. His career took off in 2015 when he was appointed party secretary of Liaoning province in China's northeast. In 2017, he was named Guangdong party boss, a coveted role that propelled him onto the 25-member Politburo. All but one of the last five party chiefs in Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, have subsequently joined the Standing Committee.

☆ Indonesia’s Battery Success Runs on China and Coal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

More than half of the world’s nickel is produced with coal-fueled energy, such as from this plant in China’s northwestern Gansu province. Indonesia’s ambition to move up the battery and electric vehicle supply chain is coming together, but it largely has China to thank—and is powered by dirty coal. That may cause headaches for Western governments eager to simultaneously decarbonize and shift the battery supply chain out from under Beijing’s thumb. Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel supplier, accounts for 32% of global nickel mining capacity, according to Norwegian consulting firm Rystad Energy. By banning raw nickel exports in 2020, Indonesia has also spurred investment downstream by foreign companies in nickel processing and battery production.

Search resuls for: "Gansu province"

22 mentions found