Monday, November 18

CHINA

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Pressure Of Debt Piles Up On LeEco’s Jia Yueting, Summoned To China
CHINA

Pressure Of Debt Piles Up On LeEco’s Jia Yueting, Summoned To China

China’s securities regulator has formally ordered the founder of indebted tech conglomerate LeEco to return to China and sort out a mounting debt pile linked to his firms, ramping up pressure on the head of the embattled entertainment-to-autos group. The Beijing branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a notice late on Monday that LeEco Chief Executive Jia Yueting must return to China before Dec. 31 to “fulfill his obligation” and protect investors’ rights. LeEco, an entertainment, electronics and electric vehicles group founded by Jia, has struggled to pay its debts after rapid expansion into multiple sectors sparked a cash crunch, a plunge in the shares of a listed unit and led to multiple defaults. The watchdog said it had previously asked Jia to retu...
China Closes More Than 13,000 Websites In Past Three Years
CHINA

China Closes More Than 13,000 Websites In Past Three Years

China has closed more than 13,000 websites since the beginning of 2015 for breaking the law or other rules and the vast majority of people support government efforts to clean up cyberspace, state news agency Xinhua said on Sunday. The government has stepped up already tight controls over the internet since President Xi Jinping took power five years ago, in what critics say is an effort to restrict freedom of speech and prevent criticism of the ruling Communist Party. The government says all countries regulate the internet, and its rules are aimed at ensuring national security and social stability and preventing the spread of pornography and violent content. A report to the on-going session of the standing committee of China’s largely rubber stamp parliament said the authorities ha...
Google Launching Artificial Intelligence Research Center In China
CHINA

Google Launching Artificial Intelligence Research Center In China

Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Wednesday it is opening an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in China to target the country’s local talent, even as the U.S. search firm’s products remain blocked in the country. Google said in a statement the research center is the first of its kind in Asia and will comprise a small team operating out of its existing office in Beijing. Chinese policy makers have voiced strong support for AI research and development in the country, but have imposed increasingly strict rules on foreign firms in the past year, including new censorship restrictions. Google’s search engine is banned in the Chinese market along with its app store, email and cloud storage services. China’s cyber regulators say restrictions on foreign media and internet platforms ...
Know About World’s Biggest Floating Solar Project In China
CHINA

Know About World’s Biggest Floating Solar Project In China

The world's biggest 1 billion yuan($151 million) floating solar project in China, has connected to the grid. according to press-statement on December 10. Started by a unit of China Three Gorges Corp., China Three Gorges New Energy Co. the 150MW project started in July, 2017 is located in Panji District, Huainan City, Anhui Province. The plant is situated on a man-made lake which formed after collapsing and flooding a coal mine. The project will have 166,000 solar panels, producing clean energy, in a country that has some of the world's worst air pollution. Coal burnt for power and steel smelting is the principle cause of air pollution in these areas. "The coalmine was very hot and the air was bad. But here I feel safe. The new energy is safe." said a coal-miner. China is now wo...
These 5 Companies Dominate China’s Smartphone Market, Samsung Is Not Among Them!
CHINA, Tech

These 5 Companies Dominate China’s Smartphone Market, Samsung Is Not Among Them!

Chinese market is the most popular smartphone maker and market in the world. China is now the world’s largest smartphone market and continues surging forward as its economy and people ramp up their consumption of things to match their already vast production. Kantar Worldpanel shows that now China's top five phone vendors own the market accounting for 91 percent of the overall market. The top five brands are; Huawei Xiaomi Apple Vivo Oppo That’s up from 79 percent a year earlier, extending a lead that now sees companies like ZTE, Meizu, and Lenovo struggling to find a foothold in their home country. Global smartphone leader Samsung is now at a 2.2 percent share in China and deteriorating, according to Kantar’s Dominic Sunnebo. Each of these companies have selected...
China To Establish Robot Station On Moon
CHINA

China To Establish Robot Station On Moon

China is planning to establish a robot station on the moon to conduct bigger and more complicated experimental research on lunar geography, a media report said today. The station could slash the costs of returning rock samples to Earth, said Jiao Weixin, a Peking University space science professor. A sustainable robot station would enhance lunar geography studies and "have better energy efficiency than lunar rovers as the station can deploy a much bigger solar power- generator," he said. The base can conduct bigger, more complicated research and experiments, state-run Global Times quoted space officials who announced the plan at an international symposium in Shanghai earlier. China's ambitious space programme included several manned missions, building permanent space station and re...
Apple’s Tim Cook Says Developers Have Earned $17B From China App Store
CHINA

Apple’s Tim Cook Says Developers Have Earned $17B From China App Store

Apple Inc’s chief executive Tim Cook said developers using its platform in China number 1.8 million and have earned a total 112 billion yuan ($16.93 billion), representing roughly a quarter of total global App Store earnings. Cook shared the data on Sunday during a speech at China’s top public cyber policy forum, organised by the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), which oversees internet regulation including censorship. Earlier this year, Apple said that developers had earned roughly $70 billion in total revenue through the store. Apple is facing criticism from local users and rights groups for bowing to pressure from Beijing cyber regulators after it decided to remove hundreds of apps from its Chinese store this year, including messaging apps and virtual private network (VPN)...
Users Opting Mobile Payments Exceed 520 Million In China
CHINA

Users Opting Mobile Payments Exceed 520 Million In China

The number of Chinas mobile wallet users has exceeded 520 million with combined payments of over USD 6 trillion, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibabas financial services affiliate said today. According to the Peoples Bank of China, Chinese banks dealt with 8.6 billion payments from mobile services in the second quarter of this year, up 40.5 per cent from a year ago. The combined value of mobile payments jumped 33.8 per cent to 39.2 trillion yuan (USD six trillion). The growth came as user-friendly platforms such as WeChat Pay encourage online transactions. Also Read Google Will Track Your Location Even When You Turn It Off!     In April, Ant Financial, Alibabas financial affiliate which runs the popular Ali Pay -- Chinas leading third-party online payment ...
Alibaba Goes Offline With $2.9B Stake In China’s Top Grocer
CHINA

Alibaba Goes Offline With $2.9B Stake In China’s Top Grocer

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nternet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Monday it would invest HK$22.4 billion ($2.87 billion) for a major stake in China’s top hypermart operator, Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, part of a wider push into offline retail. As part of an alliance with Auchan Retail S.A. and Ruentex Group, Alibaba would buy the stake from Ruentex while Auchan Retail would boost its stake, the three companies said in a joint statement. The alliance would target opportunities in China’s $500 billion food retail sector, as Alibaba races to build big-data capabilities in the offline retail market where roughly 85 percent of sales are made. “Physical stores serve an indispensable role during the consumer journey, and should be enhanced through data-driven technology and personalized ...
Qualcomm Files Lawsuits In China To Ban iPhones
CHINA

Qualcomm Files Lawsuits In China To Ban iPhones

Qualcomm Inc confirmed an earlier report that the chipmaker had filed lawsuits in China, seeking to halt the manufacture and sale of Apple Inc’s iPhones in the country. Qualcomm filed the suits in a Beijing intellectual property court, claiming patent infringement and is seeking injunctive relief, a company spokeswoman confirmed on Friday, but did not provide further details. Bloomberg had earlier reported about the lawsuits in China. Apple’s shares were marginally up, while Qualcomm shares were marginally down in late-afternoon trading. The iPhone maker has always been willing to pay fair and reasonable rates for the patents it uses, Apple told Reuters in an email. “In many years of ongoing negotiations with Qualcomm, these patents have never been discussed and in fact were o...
Chinese State Media Report Bloated Battery in Apple’s iPhone 8
CHINA

Chinese State Media Report Bloated Battery in Apple’s iPhone 8

A fresh case of Apple Inc’s new iPhone popping open due to a swollen battery has been reported in state media in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market where the U.S. firm is seeking to revive faltering sales. The incident comes as Apple investigates similar cases reported in Taiwan and Japan of batteries in its latest iPhone 8 Plus becoming bloated, causing the device’s casing to open. On its website on Thursday, China’s state-backed ThePaper.cn cited an iPhone buyer surnamed Liu as saying his newly purchased iPhone 8 Plus arrived cracked open on Oct. 5. There was no sign of scorching or an explosion. Liu told ThePaper he bought the handset through online marketplace of JD.com Inc. He said he did not charge the new device and returned it to the seller. Pictures taken by ...