Monday, November 18

CHINA

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China Aims to Build up 212 National Logistic Hubs
CHINA

China Aims to Build up 212 National Logistic Hubs

China plans to build 212 national logistic hubs and form a national logistics hub network in line with the advanced economic system by 2035. About 30 hubs will be established by 2020 and another 150 will be built by 2025, reducing the ratio of total logistics expenses to GDP to about 12 percent, according the overall arrangement and construction plan for national logistic hubs. The plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport on Monday also named 127 qualified cities to host the project of building six kinds of hubs, including land port, harbor port, airport, service-oriented port, commerce and trade-oriented port and land border port. Air express, high-speed rail express, cold-chain express, e-commerce express and cross-border comp...
China to Expand Advanced Manufacturing Domestic Market
CHINA

China to Expand Advanced Manufacturing Domestic Market

China's top economic planner has pledged to strengthen the advanced manufacturing sector and foster a stronger domestic market amid efforts to stabilize economic growth. He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China will narrow the gap in major technical equipment capabilities to tap into the huge domestic market potentials in this sector. Efforts will also be made to accelerate upgrading of traditional industries to make them more digitalized, connected and smart, which will also unleash gigantic domestic market potentials. China will also speed up development of world-class technological innovation centers to foster new growth drivers, and expand investment in infrastructure related to key areas such as poverty relief, agriculture and energy to st...
China’s Digital Economy repotedly Hit $2.3 Trillion in H1
CHINA

China’s Digital Economy repotedly Hit $2.3 Trillion in H1

China's digital economy hit 16 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion) in the first six months of 2018, which accounted for 38.2 percent of the country's overall GDP growth. Lu Chuncong, director of the academy, said despite booming growth, China's digital economy suffers from unbalanced and inadequate development. Data shows that in 2017 the province with the biggest digital economy was 64 times the size of the most underdeveloped province. Lu also mentioned that the service sector has undergone the biggest digital transformation in China, but that the industrial and agricultural sectors have been less affected by the inevitable trend. Development of the digital economy is listed as an important task for building a modern economic system in China and achieving high-quality development. In ...
Chinese Phonemaker Gionee Officially Files for Bankruptcy
CHINA

Chinese Phonemaker Gionee Officially Files for Bankruptcy

A second-tier Chinese smartphone company Gionee, which owes 20.2 billion Chinese Yuan (nearly $3 billion) to648 creditors, has officially filed for bankruptcy.According to the reports, a court in Shenzhen has accepted the Gionee application for liquidation bankruptcy. It had been stated that the founder of Shenzhen-basedGionee admitted he may have used company assets to gamble at a Hong Kong-listed casino in Saipan.Liu Lirong, Gionee's Chairman and Chief Executive, "admitted that Gionee's total debts amount to 17 billion yuan, with 10 billion yuan of this owed to banks, 5 billion yuan to upstream suppliers and about 2 billion to advertising agencies".When asked how much he lost gambling, Liu said, "a bit more than 1 billion yuan", which may actually be to the tune of 10 billion y...
China’s Yiguo Group Launches Order-based Tracking System
CHINA

China’s Yiguo Group Launches Order-based Tracking System

China based fresh grocery e-commerce company Yiguo Group has announced the launch of an order-based tracking system to increase the transparency of fresh food logistics and food safety. To solve the problems confronting the nation's fresh grocery market, including lack of standards, short shelf life and high reliance on cold chain, the company aims to build the traceability of fresh food from suppliers to clients. China's fresh grocery market value has exceeded 4 trillion yuan, and is expected to keep growing in the coming years. However, such a promising market is under unstable quality of products due to segmented quality controls. "Setting up a complete tracking system for fresh groceries that connects material producers to end consumers with detailed information is necessary,"...
Bank of China to Expand Lending Services to Small Businesses
CHINA

Bank of China to Expand Lending Services to Small Businesses

Bank of China has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce to further expand financing channels for private companies, especially small businesses, to expand their footprints globally. "As part of BOC's efforts to support private companies, the strategic cooperation will help the bank to improve its channels of communication with private small businesses, better understand the demand of its clients, and improve its financial services accordingly," said Zhu Jun, general manager of the inclusive finance department at Bank of China. Each of the bank's branches will strengthen communication with local federations of industry and commerce, set aside an overall credit quota for small and microenterprises at the local level, deepen its ...
BMW Launches Online Ride-hailing Service in China
CHINA

BMW Launches Online Ride-hailing Service in China

The BMW-owned car-sharing service called ReachNow has reportedly launched a ride-hailing service in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, on Friday. The move makes BMW the first foreign enterprise given the green light for online ride-hailing operation in China. Aiming at the huge high-end online car-hailing market, the company stated that a fleet of 200 BMW 5 Series models had hit the road in Chengdu at the preliminary stage, and half of the vehicles were plug-in hybrid ones. Customers can hail a car after installing the ReachNow app. Jochen Goller, president and CEO of BMW Group Region China, said China's high-end car-hailing service market has great development potential. China's ride-hailing market is dominated by Didi Chuxing, which offers services to 550...
Kim Kardashian Planning to Open Her Store in China
CHINA

Kim Kardashian Planning to Open Her Store in China

Reality television star and lifestyle mogul Kim Kardashian has her sights set on the Chinese market with plans to open a pop-up store, state media reported Friday. Kardashian, whose rapper husband Kanye West briefly lived in China as a child, recently launched her makeup brand KKW Beauty and told China's official news agency about her plans to do business in the world's second largest economy. But with a fraction of the followers on local social media platforms compared to her Instagram fans, she has a long way to go. "China has the best make-up, and I would love to explore more of it," she said from Los Angeles in the interview published Friday. Having "great interest in Chinese culture", Kardashian said she would like to film part of her reality TV show in the country. The...
China’s AI Startup is Helping 280 Hospitals Worldwide Detect Cancers from Images
CHINA

China’s AI Startup is Helping 280 Hospitals Worldwide Detect Cancers from Images

Beijing-based AI startup Infervision is among a handful of AI companies around the world racing to improve medical imaging analysis through deep learning, the same technology that powers face recognition and autonomous driving. The startup, which has to date raised $70 million from leading investors like Sequoia Capital China, began by picking out cancerous lung cells, a prevalent cause of death in China. At the Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference in Chicago this week, the three-year-old company announced extending its computer vision prowess to other chest-related conditions like cardiac calcification. “By adding more scenarios under which our AI works, we are able to offer more help to doctors,” Chen Kuan, founder and chief executive officer of Infervision state...
Chinese Brand Gionee to go Bankrupt, Chairman Gambles $144 Million
CHINA

Chinese Brand Gionee to go Bankrupt, Chairman Gambles $144 Million

A Chinese smartphone brand called Gionee that came into existence a few years back is now stooping down. The company seems to be in trouble and is reportedly on the verge of going bankrupt. However, the reason for the company going bankrupt has not been disclosed yet. On the other hand, a report by Chinese website Jiemian claimed that gambling habit of Gionee chairman Liu Liron seems to have brought Gionee in such a situation. Taking this into consideration, the company’s chairman lost more than 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) gambling in Saipan. Lirong clarified this with Securities Times, saying the figure was closer to over one billion yuan ($144 million) instead. With this, Gionee's fortunes have shifted unfavorably. Also, the company is said to have failed paying suppliers. Aroun...
Shanghai and Baidu Enter an Agreement Focusing AI Development
CHINA

Shanghai and Baidu Enter an Agreement Focusing AI Development

The Shanghai municipal government and Chinese technology major Baidu have reportedly signed a strategic cooperation agreement for the purpose of developing artificial intelligence (AI) industry in the city and giving it a boost. Following the agreement, a Baidu innovation center will be built to make Shanghai a major AI development center. The company will also help Shanghai in building smart city. Shanghai has talent from home and abroad and is open to the world, which provides a conducive environment for the company's future development, said Robin Li, chairman and CEO of Baidu. "Baidu will increase its research and development investment, land more new modes, applications and products in Shanghai so as to make bigger contributions to the AI industry development and mega-city mana...
China’s Emerging Space Startup to Launch Another AI Satellite Soon
CHINA

China’s Emerging Space Startup to Launch Another AI Satellite Soon

A young Chinese commercial space firm called Chengdu GuoXing Aerospace Technology has sent two satellites into space within 100 days after its establishment, and now the company is preparing for a new launch in December. The firm was set up in the capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province in May. It has developed two experimental satellites integrated with AI technology. "The AI technology could give the satellite a stronger capability of automatic data analysis," said Zhao Hongjie, vice president of the startup firm. The company has around 40 employees most of whom are under 30. It is one of the best examples of China's emerging commercial space industry. Launching rockets and satellites has long been the goal of China's state-owned aerospace companies, but private space firms ar...