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☆ China Bans Some Sales of Chips From U.S. Company Micron
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Chang Che | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Beijing on Sunday told Chinese companies that deal with critical information to stop purchasing products from Micron Technology, the U.S.-based manufacturer of memory chips used in phones, computers and other electronics. Many analysts viewed the move as retaliation for Washington’s efforts to cut off China’s access to high-end chips. The decision to bar Micron from selling its chips to key companies could have a ripple effect through China’s supply chains as Micron’s Chinese customers seek to replace the U.S. memory chips with homegrown or Korean versions. South Korean chip makers like Samsung and SK Hynix are Micron’s competitors and already do significant business with China. Micron said at the time that it was “cooperating fully” with the investigation and that its China business was operating as normal.

The agreement came after the European Union, which participates in the G7, inched closer this month to passing legislation to regulate AI technology, potentially the world's first comprehensive AI law that could form a precedent among the advanced economies. The G7 leaders said they "need to immediately take stock of the opportunities and challenges of generative AI", a subset of the technology popularised by the ChatGPT app. A month later, EU lawmakers urged world leaders to find ways to control AI technologies, saying they were developing faster than expected. The United States so far has taken a cautious approach on governing AI, with President Joe Biden last month saying it remained to be seen whether AI is dangerous. While acknowledging differences on how AI should be regulated, the G7 leaders agreed on Friday to create a ministerial forum dubbed the "Hiroshima AI process" to discuss issues around generative AI, such as copyrights and disinformation, by the end of this year.

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.

BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) - Baidu Inc's (9888.HK) experience in tailoring its search engine to Chinese regulatory requirements makes it confident its AI-driven chatbot won't make mistakes on "important and sensitive topics", the company said on Tuesday. "For important and sensitive topics, we have to make sure artificial intelligence will not hallucinate," Li said, using the industry term for when AI models generate outputs different from what is expected. Li said industry regulation was not final yet, and the company would continue to update its strategy as it evolves. "Baidu has been operating search in China for more than 20 years and has extensive experience with Chinese culture and the regulatory environment," he said. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing, Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ -China's steps to control its data and information
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Below is a timeline of main events in China’s effort to tighten its grip on data and information and especially over their export. July 2015: China passes a national security law that broadened the scope to protect its cyberspace and also emphasised a need to develop key technologies. June 2021: China passes a data security law on the protection of “important data” and “core data”, including information involving national and economic security, people’s welfare and on issues of important public interest. July 2022: China unveils cross-border data review measures that require a security review for “important” offshore data transfers. September 2022: Regulators ask China's biggest financial data provider Wind Information Co to stop providing offshore users with certain data, sources told Reuters.

☆ ChatGPT: Chinese police detain man for allegedly using it to spread rumors online
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

According to a statement from police in the northwest province of Gansu, the suspect allegedly used ChatGPT to generate a bogus report about a train crash, which he then posted online for profit. ChatGPT, developed by Microsoft (MSFT)-backed OpenAI, is banned in China, though internet users can use virtual private networks (VPN) to access it. State broadcaster CGTN says it was the country’s first arrest of a person accused of using ChatGPT to fabricate and spread fake news. Formally known as deep synthesis, deep fake refers to highly realistic textual and visual content generated by artificial intelligence. The new legislation bars users from generating deep fake content on topics already prohibited by existing laws on China’s heavily censored internet.

☆ It's riskier than ever to be a foreign business in China, as evidenced by a series of recent sanctions, detentions, and an updated anti-espionage law that has watchdogs on edge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The updated law doesn't clearly define what constitutes China's national security or interests. The new law follows a recent spate of sanctions, probes, and detentions into foreign firms in China. Even now, the terms relating to national security and interest are still "not explicitly defined," the Eurasia Group wrote. The updated law is also particularly concerning because of the recent developments surrounding foreign firms in China. China's recent crackdown on foreign businesses is spurring concernsIn April, Chinese police questioned staff at American consultancy Bain in Shanghai.

☆ New rules compel leading China financial data provider to limit offshore access, sources tell Reuters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's leading financial data provider Wind Information Co is limiting offshore access to some business and economic data, in response to new rules from the country's cybersecurity regulator finalized last September. China's biggest financial data provider Wind Information told some customers late last year that it was restricting offshore users from accessing certain business and economic data as a result of the cybersecurity regulator's new data rules, two sources said. Restricted access to Wind by offshore users comes as China sharpens its focus on data usage and security amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns about privacy in the world's second-largest economy. A Wind salesperson told the source in September the company had made the changes as per instructions from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which asked it to stop providing offshore users with certain data. The second source was also told by another Wind salesperson that the restrictions were put in place after the CAC unveiled new data rules last year.

☆ U.S. issues guidelines on defending Philippines from South China Sea attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Karen Lema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The guidelines said the bilateral treaty commitments would be invoked if either is attacked specifically in the South China Sea and also if coast guard vessels were the target. 'WARNING' TO CHINAThe South China Sea, a waterway vital to global trade, has become a major flashpoint in the increasingly testy relationship between China and the United States. China's foreign ministry on Thursday said it opposed the use of bilateral defence treaties to interfere in the South China Sea, which "should not be a hunting ground for external forces". The guidelines were released during visit to Washington this week by Marcos, which included talks with counterpart Joe Biden. Marcos also met Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who told him "we will always have your back, in the South China Sea or elsewhere in the region."

HONG KONG, May 4 (Reuters) - China's biggest financial data provider Wind Information Co told some customers late last year that it was restricting offshore users from accessing certain business and economic data as a result of the cybersecurity regulator's new data rules, two sources said. Restricted access to Wind by offshore users comes as China sharpens its focus on data usage and security amid rising geopolitical tensions and concerns about privacy in the world's second-largest economy. A Wind salesperson told the source in September the company had made the changes as per instructions from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which asked it to stop providing offshore users with certain data. The restrictions on offshore users' access to certain Wind data have expanded since last September, said the first source. Reuters has reported, citing sources that Chinese data providers including company databases Qichacha, partially owned by Wind, and TianYanCha have stopped opening to offshore users for at least months.

☆ Biden to reassure Philippines' Marcos as China tensions flare
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden listens during the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2023. Marcos, who became president last year, has sought warm relations with both the United States and China, who are vying for influence in the Asia-Pacific region. "Some of the steps that China have taken have concerned (Marcos), probably even surprised him," said one senior Biden administration official. Experts say the United States considers the Philippines a potential location for rockets, missiles and artillery systems to counter a Chinese amphibious assault. "We're standing shoulder to shoulder in the South China Sea, where our alignment has never been stronger," said one U.S. official.

☆ China's Didi sees 2022 revenue hit by COVID, net loss narrows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) - Chinese ride hailing giant Didi Global on Saturday reported a 19% year-on-year fall in 2022 revenue, as the country’s COVID lockdowns and a regulatory crackdown took a toll. Net loss attributable to Didi Global narrowed to 23.78 billion yuan in 2022, compare with the net loss of 49.34 billion yuan in 2021, helped by factors such as investment gains, the report said. Its China mobility business swung to a loss in 2022, though Didi said it has returned to growth this year, citing a rapid recovery in travel across China after the ending of COVID curbs. Its net loss for 2022 included the $1.2 billion fine. ($1 = 6.9110 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Albee Zhang and Brenda Goh; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Micron case causing concern for US companies in China, business chamber says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, April 26 (Reuters) - Leaders from a top U.S. business lobbying group said on Wednesday that Beijing's probe against U.S.-based chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) marked a "major concern" for other companies operating in the country. "It is a major concern because China lacks transparency in many conventions of law and policy, and this is one," Ross said. The survey results showed respondents were more optimistic about the business outlook in China compared to the previous survey conducted in late 2022, before the government lifted COVID-19 controls. Michael Hart, president of AmCham China, said the survey showed that American companies feel the overall environment for investment in China is becoming less predictable than before. Micron has said it would cooperate with the probe and that its shipments and operations in China remain unaffected.

☆ China Says Chatbots Must Toe the Party Line
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Chang Che | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Five months after ChatGPT set off an investment frenzy over artificial intelligence, Beijing is moving to rein in China’s chatbots, a show of the government’s resolve to keep tight regulatory control over technology that could define an era. The Cyberspace Administration of China unveiled draft rules this month for so-called generative artificial intelligence — the software systems, like the one behind ChatGPT, that can formulate text and pictures in response to a user’s questions and prompts. According to the regulations, companies must heed the Chinese Communist Party’s strict censorship rules, just as websites and apps have to avoid publishing material that besmirches China’s leaders or rehashes forbidden history. systems will need to reflect “socialist core values” and avoid information that undermines “state power” or national unity. Companies will also have to make sure their chatbots create words and pictures that are truthful and respect intellectual property, and will be required to register their algorithms, the software brains behind chatbots, with regulators.

☆ China wants its AI to only say nice things about the communist party. Good luck with that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AI systems must reflect China's "socialist core values," according to new rules reported by The New York Times. Proposed regulations could make it harder for Alibaba, Baidu and other Chinese tech companies to chase OpenAI. Bytedance and Tencent are also competing in the new AI race against Google and Facebook. A new wave of AI models is already beginning to disrupt Western business and society by automating some tasks and convincingly lying about important topics. Tencent, Bytedance, Baidu, Alibaba, Sensetime, and other big Chinese tech companies have the technical prowess to develop their own generative AI models.

☆ US urges South Korea not to fill China shortfalls if Beijing bans Micron chips, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 23 (Reuters) - The United States asked South Korea to urge its chipmakers not to fill any market gap in China if Beijing bans memory chipmaker Micron (MU.O) from selling chips, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The United States made the request as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol prepares to travel to Washington on Monday, the newspaper reported, according to four people familiar with the talks. China's cyberspace regulator Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in March that it would conduct a cybersecurity review of products sold in the country by Micron. In a response, Micron said that it is cooperating with the Chinese government and that its operations in China are normal. It has blacklisted a number of China's largest chip firms, including Micron rival Yangtze Memory Technologies Co Ltd.

☆ The Saudi crown prince wants to build a trillion-dollar utopia in the desert. His deals with China reveal a darker vision.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's modernizing vision of the country. But behind the outlandish plan, developed by Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a much darker reality. Crown Prince Mohammed appears keen to replicate those projects on a grander scale. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announces a zero-carbon city called "The Line" to be built at NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia, January 10, 2021. It appeared to be the beginning of a fruitful partnership for Crown Prince Mohammed.

BELFAST, April 19 (Reuters) - China is aiming for "global technological supremacy" in cyberspace and is using its cyber capabilities to conduct intelligence and surveillance campaigns, Britain's cyber chief said on Wednesday. Lindy Cameron, director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said Britain had a "legitimate concern" about the effects Chinese technology may have on cybersecurity. "China is not only pushing for parity with Western countries, it is aiming for global technological supremacy," Cameron told an annual government cybersecurity conference in Belfast. China is also using its cyber capabilities to acquire intellectual property, achieve its strategic geopolitical goals, and conduct global spying campaigns, Cameron added. Last month, Britain banned the use of TikTok on government phones, following other Western countries in barring the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.

April 17 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers urged world leaders on Monday to hold a summit to find ways to control the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT, saying they were developing faster than expected. The 12 MEPs, all working on EU legislation on the technology, called on U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to convene the meeting, and said AI firms should be more responsible. "We are nevertheless in agreement with the letter's core message: with the rapid evolution of powerful AI, we see the need for significant political action," they added. The letter urged democratic and "non-democratic" countries to reflect on potential systems of governance, and to exercise restraint in their pursuit of very powerful AI. The Biden administration has also been seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for AI systems as questions loom about their impact on national security and education.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges at a news conference in Washington, alongside Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram and other top federal prosecutors. The fentanyl trafficking, weapons and money laundering charges in three indictments involved a total of 28 defendants: 23 of whom are based in Mexico, four in China and one in Guatemala. A senior administration official on a call with reporters on Friday called the reward offers “unprecedented.”“These targets traffic fentanyl from around the world including from Mexico, (China) and Guatemala. These reward offers are part of a government wide attempt to put a halt to trafficking in illicit fentanyl and its precursor,” they added. And in late March, the US Food and Drug Administration approved an over-the-counter version of the opioid overdose antidote Narcan for the first time.

☆ China's Didi Global to roll out self-developed robotaxis by 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company said that it is collaborating with multiple new energy carmakers in China on developing robotaxis. "We hope they can enter Didi's network and provide services by 2025," Didi Autonomous Driving COO Meng Xing said at a company event that was livestreamed online. He also showed off a robotaxi concept car called "Didi Neuron", with robotic arms that can help passengers pick up luggage. Didi allows users in some parts of Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou to hail self-driving cars through its main app. Swedish carmaker Volvo, owned by Geely (GEELY.UL), supplies Didi's self-driving fleet.

☆ Senate leader Schumer pushes for AI regulatory regime after China action
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday he had launched an effort to win bipartisan agreement for a new regulatory regime to address concerns about artificial intelligence. Schumer's office said "given the AI industry’s consequential and fast-moving impact on our society and global economy" he believes it is a matter of high urgency to act. The Biden administration on Tuesday said it is seeking public comments on potential accountability measures for artificial intelligence systems that have raised national security and education concerns. Schumer's office said he has for months been "discussing and circulating a high-level framework that outlines a new regulatory regime for artificial intelligence, engaging leading artificial intelligence experts to help inform the proposal." Schumer wants to create a "flexible and resilient AI policy framework across the federal government that can adapt as the technology continues to advance."

☆ Factbox: Governments' efforts to regulate AI tools
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Italy's data protection agency said on Wednesday it would lift its temporary ban on OpenAI's ChatGPT artificial intelligence (AI) technology if the U.S. company complied with data protection and privacy demands by end-April. Rapid advances in AI such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT are complicating governments' efforts to agree on laws governing the use of the technology. Lawmakers have proposed classifying different AI tools according to their perceived level of risk, from low to unacceptable. On Wednesday, its data protection agency set an end-April deadline for OpenAI to meet its demands on data protection and privacy before the service can be resumed in the country. SPAINSpain's data protection agency has asked the EU's privacy watchdog to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding ChatGPT, the agency told Reuters on April 11.

☆ China reluctantly keeps sanctions powder dry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet most trade measures Xi has taken so far are best seen as defensive tactics to protect market share from aspirant rivals in the West and India. The easiest option is picking on America’s $120-billion-plus of direct investment stock in China. Of course, that is no way for China to revive the decaying quantity and quality of the investment it receives. Chinese officials consistently say they welcome U.S. trade and investment and there is no reason to doubt them. The move comes after the United States implemented multiple restrictions on sales of chipmaking tools and components to China.

☆ Alibaba unveils Tongyi Qianwen, its AI-powered answer to ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —Alibaba showed off its answer to the ChatGPT craze on Tuesday, demonstrating new software that it plans to eventually roll out across all its platforms. The Chinese tech giant unveiled Tongyi Qianwen, a large language model that will be embedded in its Tmall Genie smart speakers and workplace messaging platform DingTalk. Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang speaking Tuesday as the Chinese tech giant showed off its answer to the ChatGPT craze, demonstrating new software it plans to integrate across its enterprise and consumer platforms. In draft guidelines issued Tuesday to solicit public feedback, the country’s cyberspace regulator said generative AI services would be required to undergo security reviews before they can operate. Most of those units, including its cloud services business that oversees AI projects, will be authorized to raise capital and pursue public listings.

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