Archive for ‘automotive’

  |  
08/04/2020

Internet giant Tencent pledges to invest in Wuhan as city emerges from coronavirus lockdown

  • Wuhan, where the first cases of the novel coronavirus were detected, is ending a 76-day lockdown
  • A day before the lockdown was fully lifted, Tencent announces a slew of initiatives focused on helping to revive the digital industry in the city
Passengers leaving Wuhan city are pictured at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan city, central China's Hubei province, on Wednesday morning, April 08, 2020. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song
Passengers leaving Wuhan city are pictured at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan city, central China’s Hubei province, on Wednesday morning, April 08, 2020. Photo: SCMP/Simon Song
A day before China lifted a months-long lockdown of Wuhan city, the initial epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings pledged to invest in digital government, online education and artificial intelligence (AI) in the city, among other fields.
“During the epidemic, Tencent has been supporting Hubei and Wuhan’s fight against the virus through funds and technology,” the company best known for its gaming business said in a statement posted on Tuesday on WeChat. “In the future, we will also fully support Wuhan’s post-pandemic reconstruction and continue to support the development of Wuhan’s digital industry.”
China’s major tech companies have played a big role in the fight against the coronavirus, and are now playing their part in the economic recovery of Wuhan and other areas that have suffered under extended travel restrictions and business closures.
Last week, China’s biggest e-commerce services providers Alibaba Group Holding, 
JD.com

and Pinduoduo each announced their own initiatives to help revive sales of farm goods from Hubei as the province emerges from its months-long lockdown.

Popular mobile payments app Alipay also created a dedicated section for Wuhan merchants to allow users to buy from merchants in the city, and offered loans to small local merchants in need of financial support, according to an Alipay statement. Alipay is operated by Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.
How tech has helped China in its public health battle with coronavirus
23 Mar 2020

Wuhan, an industrial powerhouse for the steel, semiconductors and automotive sectors, is emerging from an unprecedented lockdown which began on January 23 and prevented people from moving in and out of the city.

Since restrictions began easing gradually in late March, business activity has shown signs of recovery: Tencent’s mobile payment platform WeChat Pay recorded a 162 per cent increase in offline transactions in a 10-day period from March 25, compared to the same period the previous month, according to a separate statement by Tencent on Wednesday.

Searches for “work resumption certificates” – which businesses need to submit to local authorities to prove their staff can safely restart work – also increased 320 per cent on Baidu, China’s biggest search engine, in the past month, Baidu said in a report on Wednesday.

Tencent declined to provide specific details regarding the size of its latest investment in Wuhan or a timeline for its implementation, but said in the statement that it will involve closer cooperation with city authorities in the areas of digital government, education, smart mobility, AI and cybersecurity to help the city with its digital industries.

Among these initiatives, it will push ahead with a plan to build a headquarters focusing on digital industries in Wuhan, specifically digitalisation for the government and smart city initiatives.

It will also establish a base in Wuhan for its online education initiatives, set up an AI lab and cybersecurity academy and build a school focusing on smart mobility in collaboration with Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor Corporation, the company said in the statement.

Source: SCMP

Posted in academy, AI, Alibaba, Alibaba Group Holding, Alipay, artificial intelligence (AI), automotive, “work resumption certificates”, Baidu, businesses, carmaker, City, coronavirus, Coronavirus pandemic, cybersecurity, digital government, digital industries, digitalisation, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, E-commerce, economic recovery, education, emerges, epicentre, financial support, Hankou Railway Station, headquarters, hubei province, Internet giant Tencent, invest, JD.com, loans, local authorities, lockdown, merchants, mobile payments app, online education, Pinduoduo, pledges, reconstruction, restart, school, search engine, sectors, Semiconductors, services providers, small local merchants, smart mobility, south china morning post, Steel, TENCENT, Uncategorized, WeChat, work, Wuhan | Leave a Comment »

02/03/2020

Think-tank report on Uighur labor in China lists global brands

BEIJING (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of ethnic Uighurs were moved to work in conditions suggestive of “forced labor” in factories across China supplying 83 global brands, and Australian think tank said in a report released on Sunday.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report, which cited government documents and local media reports, identified a network of at least 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces where more than 80,000 Uighurs from the western region of Xinjiang have been transferred.

“Under conditions that strongly suggest forced labor, Uighurs are working in factories that are in the supply chains of at least 83 well-known global brands in the technology, clothing and automotive sectors, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Huawei, Nike, Samsung, Sony and Volkswagen,” the think-tank said in the introduction to its report.

The ASPI report said the transfers of labor were part of a state-sponsored program.

It says the workers “lead a harsh, segregated life,” are forbidden to practice religion, and are required to participate in mandarin language classes.

It also says the Uighurs are tracked electronically and restricted from returning to Xinjiang.

China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said reports the government had violated the Uighurs’ rights were untrue.

“This report is just following along with the U.S. anti-China forces that try to smear China’s anti-terrorism measures in Xinjiang,” spokesman Zhao Lijian at a regular press briefing on Monday.

The United Nations estimates over a million Muslim Uighurs have been detained in camps in Xinjiang over recent years as part of a wide-reaching campaign by Chinese officials to stamp out terrorism.

The mass detentions have provoked a backlash from rights groups and foreign governments, which say the arbitrary nature of the detentions violates human rights.

China has denied the camps violate the rights of Uighurs and say they are designed to stamp out terrorism and provide vocational skills.

“Those studying in vocational centers have all graduated and are employed with the help of our government,” said the Foreign Ministry’s Zhao, “They now live a happy life.”

The 83 global brands mentioned in ASPI’s report either work directly with the factories or source materials from the factories, it said, citing public supplier lists and the factories’ own information.

One of the factories, O-Film Technology Co Ltd, which has manufactured cameras for Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPhones, received 700 Uighur laborers as part of the program in 2017, a local media article cited by the report said.

Apple referred Reuters to an earlier statement that said “Apple is dedicated to ensuring that everyone in our supply chain is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. We have not seen this report but we work closely with all our suppliers to ensure our high standards are upheld.”

The other companies mentioned in the introduction to ASPI’s report – BMW (BMWG.DE), Gap Inc (GPS.N) , Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Nike Inc (NKE.N), Samsung and Sony Corp (6758.T) did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

O-Film Technology did not respond to a request for a comment either.

Volkswagen told Reuters in a statement that none of the listed companies is a direct supplier. It said the company holds “direct authority” in all parts of its business and “respects minorities, employee representation and social and labor standards.”

The report said a small number of the brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch Co [ANF.N], advised vendors to terminate their relationships with these companies in 2020, and others denied direct contractual relationships with the suppliers.

ASPI describes itself as an independent think-tank whose core aim is to provide insight for the Australian government on matters of defense, security and strategic policy.

Source: Reuters

Posted in Abercrombie & Fitch Co [ANF.N], Apple, Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O), Australian government, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), automotive, BMW, BMW (BMWG.DE), China, China’s Foreign Ministry, clothing, gap, Gap Inc (GPS.N), global brands, Huawei, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, iPhones, Labor, Nike, Nike Inc (NKE.N), O-Film Technology Co Ltd, Reuters, Samsung, Sony, Sony Corp (6758.T), Technology, Uighur, Uncategorized, United Nations, Volkswagen, Xinjiang | Leave a Comment »

23/11/2019

Germany’s BASF starts building $10-billion petrochemical project in China

BEIJING (Reuters) – German chemical giant BASF (BASFn.DE) has begun construction of its $10-billion (£7.8 billion) integrated petrochemicals project in China’s southern province of Guangdong, the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The project based in the city of Zhanjiang will be China’s first wholly foreign-owned chemicals complex, for which a framework agreement was signed in January.
It will primarily produce engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and some petrochemical products widely used in automotive, electronics and new energy vehicles industries.
The project’s first phase is expected to be launched in 2022, with production capacity of 60,000 tonnes per year (tpy), taking BASF’s total capacity of engineering plastics and TPU to 290,000 tpy in the Asia-Pacific region.
The entire project is planned to be completed by 2030, the company said, making it the third-largest BASF site worldwide, following Ludwigshafen in Germany and Antwerp in Belgium.
BASF plans to employ a comprehensive smart manufacturing concept at the project, deploying automated packaging, high-tech control systems and automated guided vehicles, it added.
“(The project) will form a solid foundation for a world-class industrial cluster in Zhanjiang and establish stronger business connections between South China and other Asian countries,” Stephan Kothrade, a BASF regional official in China, said in the statement.
The project is “a signal showing China’s efforts of further opening-up are taking effect,” Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, according to a central government website.
China would treat enterprises with all types of ownership structures, as well as domestic and foreign firms, equally and without discrimination, he added.
Source: Reuters

Posted in Antwerp, automotive, Belgium, Building, chemical giant, China alert, Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Construction, Electronics, engineering plastics, German, Germany's, Guangdong, industries, integrated, Ludwigshafen, new energy vehicles, petrochemical, produce, products, project, starts, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

  |  
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India