Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
aims to alert you to the threats and opportunities that China and India present. China and India require serious attention; case of ‘hidden dragon and crouching tiger’.
Without this attention, governments, businesses and, indeed, individuals may find themselves at a great disadvantage sooner rather than later.
The POSTs (front webpages) are mainly 'cuttings' from reliable sources, updated continuously.
The PAGEs (see Tabs, above) attempt to make the information more meaningful by putting some structure to the information we have researched and assembled since 2006.
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Leaders from China and Southeast Asia states called for swift agreement on what could become the world’s largest trade bloc at a regional summit on Sunday, but new demands from India left officials scrambling to salvage progress.
Hopes of finalising the Asia-wide Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is backed by China, have been thrown into doubt at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok, Thailand.
Summit host Thailand said late on Sunday that the deal could be signed by February 2020. Thailand had previously said it aimed to conclude negotiations by the end of the year.
New impetus to reach agreement has come from the U.S.-China trade war, which has helped knock regional economic growth to its lowest in five years.
“The early conclusion of RCEP negotiations will lay the foundation for East Asia’s economic integration,” said a statement from China’s foreign ministry after Premier Li Keqiang met Southeast Asian leaders.
But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not even mention the RCEP deal in opening remarks at a meeting with Southeast Asian leaders and instead spoke only of reviewing the existing trade agreement between ASEAN and India.
Nor did Modi mention the trade bloc, whose 16 countries would account for a third of global gross domestic product and nearly half the world’s population, in Twitter posts after meeting Thai and Indonesian leaders.
RELATED COVERAGE
Asia trade bloc deal possible by February 2020 – Thai spokeswoman
An Indian foreign ministry official later told a media briefing “Let’s take all the RCEP questions tomorrow.”
Southeast Asian countries had hoped at least a provisional agreement could be announced on Monday.
But India has been worried about a potential flood of Chinese imports. A person with knowledge of New Delhi’s negotiations said new demands were made last week “which are difficult to meet.”
TRADE WAR IMPACT
Negotiators were meeting into the evening on Sunday to try to come to an agreement, Thai government spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat told reporters on Sunday.
“We don’t have a conclusion yet. Once there is one, it would be announced,” she said. “Commerce ministers are still discussing outstanding issues. The signing is expected around February next year.”
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told the formal opening of the ASEAN summit on Sunday that the 16 nations in the potential trade bloc ought to come to agreement this year to stimulate economic growth, trade and investment.
He highlighted the risks of “trade frictions” and “geo strategic competition” in the region.
Some countries have raised the possibility of moving ahead without India on forming a bloc that also included Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
But Thai commerce minister Jurin Laksanawisit told Reuters on Sunday that India had not pulled out.
Another advantage for Southeast Asian countries from having relative heavyweight India in the trade pact would be less domination by China.
Longstanding rivals China and India, which fought a border war in 1962, clashed verbally in recent days over India’s decision to formally revoke the constitutional autonomy of the disputed Muslim majority state of Kashmir.
The U.S. decision to send a lower level delegation to the summits this year has raised regional concerns that it can no longer be relied on as a counterweight to China’s increasing regional might.
Instead of President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, the United States will be represented by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien.
At the summit, China’s Premier Li said China was ready to work with countries in the region for long term peace and stability in the South China Sea, where neighbours reject Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Protesters cry over felled trees in Aarey colony
India’s top court has asked officials to stop cutting trees in a forested area in Mumbai city after protesters clashed with police over the weekend.
The trees, part of a green strip known as Aarey colony, were being cut to make way for a new metro rail project.
Locals have long opposed the move, and filed petitions seeking Aarey to be declared a protected area.
But a high court dismissed the petitions on Friday, sparking protests as officials began felling the trees.
They planned to cut 2,185 trees, and admitted in the Supreme Court that more than 1,500 had already been cut. But petitioners claim that officials have cut around 2,500 trees.
Local residents, students and environmental activists clashed with police on Friday as they took to the streets to stop authorities, and even broke through barricades to enter Aarey colony. More than 50 people were arrested and police imposed restrictions on public gatherings.
The protests grabbed the national spotlight over the weekend, and the Supreme Court took suo moto (without a formal complaint from any party) notice.
What did the Supreme Court say?
A special two-judge bench heard the matter on Monday after students wrote to the chief justice, asking the court to intervene and save the trees.
The court asked the state government of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, to not cut any more trees.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Police arrested more than 50 protesters
The court also asked the government to maintain “status quo” – which means that no construction can take place – until 21 October when it will hear the matter again.
The court also ordered the release of all activists who were arrested or detained on bail.
What is Aarey colony?
Spread over 1,300 hectares (3,212 acres), Aarey is a densely forested area dotted with lakes and has the Mithi river flowing through it. It lies at the heart of Mumbai and is often referred to as its last green lung.
It’s locally known as the Aarey “milk colony” because most of the land was given to the department of dairy development in 1951. But they are allowed to grow cattle fodder only on a fraction of the land.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Protesters broke through barricades and clashed with police on Friday
Earlier this year, officials cleared some 40 hectares of the forested area to build a zoo, complete with a night safari. And now, locals complain, another slice of it is in danger from the metro construction.
They also fear that the government will eventually clear the way for private builders to encroach on the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which lies to the north of Aarey colony.
Officials, however, dismiss these fears as unfounded and point out that the construction for the metro only requires 30 hectares.
How crucial is the metro rail for Mumbai?
The city badly needs a “mass rapid transport system,” Ashwini Bhide, managing director of the Mumbai metro rail corporation, had told the BBC earlier.
The land in Aarey colony, she said, was “the most suitable land due to its size, shape and location”.
She has also been defending the decision to cut the trees on Twitter.
India’s financial hub is congested and infamous for its crawling traffic jams.
Its colonial-era local train system ferries some 7.5 million people between the city’s suburbs and its centre on a daily basis.
Officials say that the metro will eventually carry around 1.7 million passengers every day and bring down the number of vehicles on the road by up to 650,000.
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged warm words of friendship in Texas at a rare mass rally for a foreign leader.
Around 50,000 people gathered for what Mr Trump called a “profoundly historic event” on Sunday in Houston.
The “Howdy, Modi!” event was billed as one of the largest ever receptions of a foreign leader in the US.
Mr Modi, however, may face a frostier reception at the UN General Assembly.
He is likely to face criticism over tensions in Indian-administered Kashmir, which he stripped of its special status last month, promising to restore the region to its “past glory”.
The region has been in lockdown for more than a month with thousands of activists, politicians and business leaders detained.
Trade talks and the UN General Assembly are on the Indian prime minister’s agenda during his week-long visit to the United States.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has been the most vocal international leader to oppose India’s Kashmir move, is also in the US for the UN conference. Like Mr Modi, he will have a one-on-one meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the summit.
A 90-minute show, featuring 400 performers, warmed up the crowd before Mr Modi and Mr Trump shared the stage.
“I’m so thrilled to be here in Texas with one of America’s greatest, most devoted and most loyal friends, Prime Minister Modi of India,” Mr Trump told the crowd.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Narendra Modi and Donald Trump leave the stage holding hands at Houston’s NRG Stadium
In his speech, Mr Modi said India has a “true friend” in the White House, describing Mr Trump as “warm, friendly, accessible, energetic and full of wit”.
“From CEO to commander-in-chief, from boardrooms to the Oval Office, from studios to the global stage… he has left a lasting impact everywhere,” Mr Modi said.
Personal-touch diplomacy played to perfection
Brajesh Upadhyay, BBC News, Houston
This was exactly the kind of crowd size and energy President Trump loves at his rallies.
Only here the chants were for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Trump was the superstar invited to the party. But the crowd did not disappoint him either and greeted him with chants of “USA!”, most heard at Trump rallies.
The personal-touch diplomacy with Mr Modi’s trademark bear hugs was played to perfection.
This rally has been called a win-win for both the leaders. For President Trump, it was a chance to court Indian-Americans for the 2020 presidential election race where Texas could emerge as a battleground state. For Mr Modi, a PR triumph and picture with the president of the United States may help him shrug off the criticism over his recent strong-arm policies at home.
Houston’s NRG Stadium, where the event was hosted, was the first stop for Mr Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a landslide victory in this year’s Indian elections.
Greeted by a standing ovation, Mr Trump used his speech to heap praise on Mr Modi, who he said was doing a “truly exceptional job for India” and its people.
Mr Trump also paid tribute to the Indian-American community, telling them “we are truly proud to have you as Americans”.
The US has a population of about 4 million Indians who are seen as an increasingly important vote bank in the country.
Apart from Mr Trump, organisers also invited Democrats to the event – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was among those who spoke.
The 2010 US census shows that Texas is home to the fourth-largest Indian-American population in the country after California, New York and New Jersey.
Analysis of voting patterns shows the community tends overwhelmingly to support the Democrat party.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption The event, dubbed “Howdy, Modi!”, was attended by an estimated 50,000 people
No stranger to nationalist rhetoric himself, Mr Trump compared security at the US-Mexico border to the tensions between India and Pakistan in the tinderbox Kashmir region.
“Both India and US also understand that to keep our communities safe, we must protect our borders,” Trump said.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption Donald Trump described Narendra Modi as one of America’s most “loyal friends”
In India, the rally was closely watched, with most mainstream media outlets running live news updates of what was transpiring on stage.
The event had been making headlines for days before as well.
On Twitter, many people shared instant analysis and opinions of what was taking place on the stage with the sentiment being overwhelmingly positive. Many praised Mr Modi for what they saw as his statesmanship and diplomatic acumen with a lot of praise coming in for the US president as well.
As well as earning three times the industry average, successful candidates are promised 165 days’ leave
Social media posts linked to story attract more than 60 million views
Authorities in Shenzhen are offering three times the national average salary to attract more teachers. Photo: Weibo
A recruitment advertisement offering schoolteachers in southern China the chance to earn up to 280,000 yuan (US$39,500) a year – more than three times the industry average – has sparked a massive response on social media.
Published by the Longhua district education bureau in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, the advert said it was looking for 400 high, middle and primary schoolteachers. As well as an annual salary of between 260,000 yuan and 280,000 yuan, depending on qualifications, the very best candidates would receive a bonus of between 30,000 and 80,000 yuan, it said.
New recruits would also be entitled to 165 days’ leave per year, though the advert – published on Tuesday on WeChat, China’s most popular messaging platform – did not make clear if that included weekends.
The Longhua district education bureau says it is looking for 400 new teachers. Photo: Weibo
The hashtag “Shenzhen middle schoolteachers are being recruited for almost 300,000 yuan a year” racked up almost 60 million views on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform.
While some people praised the authority for trying to attract the best possible candidates – it said itself that hundreds of teachers currently working in the district were graduates of China’s top universities, including Peking and Beijing Normal – others said that even with a sky-high salary most young professionals would find it hard to get by in Shenzhen.
“Do you know how expensive houses are in Shenzhen?” one person wrote on Weibo. “You need to wait several years after graduation before buying a house, unless you already have money.”
“Even if your starting salary is 200,000 yuan or 300,000 yuan, you’ll still need to wait 10 years before you’ve saved up enough to buy a house,” said another.
The advert said the new teachers will be get 165 days’ leave per year. Photo: Xinhua
The education bureau has not released any additional information about the recruitment campaign and calls to its offices on Friday went unanswered.
However, it said in a recent Q&A on its website that teachers’ salaries were in line with those of civil servants in the district, and had been steadily rising under a reform of the pay system.
Longhua is not the first district in Shenzhen to offer attractive salary packages, however. In May, 21st Century Business Herald reported that authorities in Yantian district had recruited 20 teachers from Beijing with the offer of between 290,000 yuan and 330,000 yuan a year.
According to central government figures released in May, teachers in China’s public schools earned an average of 92,383 yuan last year.
While Shenzhen has grown from a once sleepy fishing village to a vast metropolis, and is now slated to become a model city for China, its education facilities have failed to keep pace with other areas of development. It also faces competition from more established centres, like Beijing and Shanghai.
Despite having a population of about 15 million, the city has just 344 primary schools. By comparison, the provincial capital Guangzhou, which has a similar population, has 961 primary schools and about 17,000 more primary schoolteachers.
According to official figures, of the nearly 80,000 students who applied for places at public secondary schools in Shenzhen last year, just 35,000 were accepted. That left the parents of the remainder having no option but to pay for places at private schools in the city or, in some cases, send their children overseas to study.
The problem is set to get worse as Shenzhen’s preschool system is already straining under the pressure of the city’s high birth rate.
Video of staff washing tableware with laundry detergent goes viral
A primary school principal has been sacked after it emerged laundry detergent was used in the canteen to wash tableware. Photo: Thepaper.cn
The head of a primary school in northeastern China has been sacked and a government investigation is underway into the use of laundry washing powder to clean tableware in the school canteen.
The scandal came to light when a video of canteen staff washing up at Dongfeng Primary School in Zuanghe, Liaoning province, went viral on Chinese social media.
The video shows staff, wearing white uniforms and aprons, cleaning plates and bowls in basins containing water tainted with laundry detergent. It is unclear when the incident happened.
In a statement on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, on Tuesday, the municipal government said the head of the school had been dismissed and representatives had been assigned by the authorities to take charge of the school’s daily operation. Due diligence investigations of the relevant department would begin “immediately”, the statement said.
Chinese school heads told to eat with pupils after string of scandals
The local administration for market regulation had also been ordered to speed up an examination of the food samples, tableware and washing products at the school, and the results would be made public in a timely manner, the authorities said.
Until the investigation is concluded, meals at the school, which has about 400 pupils, will be the responsibility of the municipal education department.
As an added precaution, food safety inspections would be carried out at all elementary and middle schools in the region.
The prompt action by the authorities reflects the wide public attention in China to any food safety scandal which involves children.
The principal of an international school in Shanghai was dismissed in October after parents of students found mouldy tomatoes and onions in a kitchen where food was prepared for pupils. In May, video footage showing mouldy food in the canteen of a middle school in Chengdu, Sichuan province, triggered angry parents to stage protests outside the school and the local government building.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Chinese experts will investigate Chuang Chuang’s death
A popular giant panda has died unexpectedly in a Thai zoo – prompting China to send experts to investigate.
Chuang Chuang had been at the Chiang Mai zoo on loan from China since 2003.
The 19-year old bear was widely popular across Thailand, especially due to repeated efforts by the zoo to get him to mate with his female companion.
His unexplained death on Monday caused uproar on Chinese social media, with many users accusing Thailand of not caring properly for the animal.
Giant pandas, which are native to China, usually live for 25 to 30 years in captivity. They were regarded as endangered, but were reclassified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, following an increase in numbers.
China loans the animals to countries around the world as a way of strengthening diplomatic ties.
There’s extensive reporting in China about the animals’ lives overseas, and Chuang Chuang’s early death has received widespread coverage in state media.
Media caption Panda diplomacy: China’s cutest peacemakers
According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, an investigation will be carried out to establish the cause of death, and experts from the China Conservation and Research Centre will travel to Chiang Mai to work with their Thai counterparts.
Some social media users on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo were concerned, saying: “Thailand is not suitable for raising pandas”, and “they don’t treat animals as well as we think”.
Others asked for the remaining female panda in Chiang Mai, Lin Hui, to be returned to China.
Chuang Chuang had been at the Chiang Mai zoo since 2003, alongside his female companion.
Failing to show any sexual interest in Lin Hui, the zoo tried various methods to boost his sex drive, including putting him on a low-carb diet, and showing videos of mating pandas.
With all efforts failing, the zoo eventually resorted to artificial insemination and Lin Hui gave birth in 2009.
Powerful zoom functions can reveal fingerprint details which may be copied by criminals
A cybersecurity awareness campaign in China has prompted a warning about criminals harvesting fingerprint information from a popular pose in pictures uploaded to the internet. Photo: Shutterstock
A popular hand gesture adopted by China’s online community in uploaded pictures could be used by criminals to steal people’s fingerprints, Chinese cybersecurity experts have warned.
The “scissor hand” pose – similar to the peace sign or “V” for victory– could reveal a perfect fingerprint if held close enough to the camera, according to Zhang Wei, vice-director of the Shanghai Information Security Trade Association.
Speaking at an event promoting a national cybersecurity awareness campaign in Shanghai on Sunday, Zhang said photo magnifying and artificial intelligence-enhancing technologies meant it was possible to extract enough detail to make a perfect copy of the sensitive information.
According to a report by online news portal Thepaper.cn, Zhang’s advice was that scissor-hand pictures taken closer than three metres (10 feet) could be vulnerable and should not be published on the internet.
Chinese face-swapping app sparks privacy concerns soon after its release
“A scissor-hand picture taken within 1.5 metres (four feet 11 inches) can be used to restore 100 per cent of people’s fingerprints, while pictures taken about 1.5-3 metres away can turn out 50 per cent of the fingerprints,” he said.
Based on the information extracted from the pictures, criminals could make models of the prints which could then be used to register at fingerprint-based identity recognition checks, such as door access and payment systems, Zhang said.
Feng Jianjiang, a professor on fingerprint identification from the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University, told the South China Morning Post that, theoretically, pictures could show fingerprints clearly enough to be copied, but said he was unsure of what distance would be safe.
“Some people’s fingerprints could not be captured [at any distance] because of skin problems [for example],” Feng said. “But the fingerprint images would be fairly clear if the distance, angle, focus and lighting were all ideal.”
Feng suggested people check the clarity of detail by zooming in on their fingerprints in pictures before uploading them to social media.
Zang Yali, a researcher from the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, agreed that the conditions required to be able to harvest sufficiently detailed fingerprint information were “very demanding”, according to a report in China Science and Technology Daily.
The warning had been viewed on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo 390 million times within 24 hours of Zhang’s address on Sunday, with 49,000 comments left on the website by Monday afternoon.
“It’s horrifying. I always present a scissor hand in photos,” one Weibo user wrote.
“Advanced technology has brought us convenience but meanwhile has also brought us risk and danger. What can we do now?” another commenter wrote.
One social media user had the perfect solution, writing: “No worries. just show the back of your hand to the camera if you are concerned.”
Residents evacuated from building in Shenzhen as it leans to one side
An investigation is launched and utilities in the area are cut off
The building leans to one side after apparently sinking into the ground. Photo: Weibo
Emergency workers sealed off a building in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen after it collapsed on Wednesday morning, local authorities said.
At around 11.20am, a block of flats in Luohu district suddenly sank into the ground and leaned to one side, the Shenzhen government said on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
“Before it happened, the local community office heard noises coming from underground, and evacuated residents. Right now there are no casualties,” the Weibo post said. “The case is being investigated.”
In a short video published by state broadcaster CCTV, a residential building appears to have sunk into the ground and leans on the neighbouring building, with bricks and concrete strewn on the ground.
The area was closed off as police, ambulance crews and firefighters attended the scene.
The authorities also evacuated residents from surrounding buildings, moving them into temporary housing. A panel of experts began to investigate the cause of the collapse, while water, gas and electricity supplies were cut off in the area and construction work was halted as a precaution.
Earlier this month, a stadium in Shenzhen collapsed while demolition work was being carried out, killing three workers and injuring three. The part of the venue that collapsed had previously been used as a basketball court but was being renovated, with most of the interior having been torn down apart from a few pillars supporting the roof.
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan would not use nuclear weapons first, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday, amid tensions with arch-rival India after New Delhi revoked the special status of its part of the disputed Kashmir region.
“We both are nuclear-armed countries. If these tensions increase, the world could be in danger,” Khan said, addressing members of the Sikh religious community in the eastern city of Lahore. “There will be no first from our side ever,” he said.
The foreign ministry’s spokesman subsequently said on Twitter that the comments were being taken out of context and did not represent a change in Pakistan’s nuclear policy.
“PM was simply reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to peace and the need for both nuclear states to demonstrate responsible behaviour,” spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on his official Twitter account.
Tension remains high in Kashmir, where security forces have used tear gas against stone-throwing protesters and the valley remains under lockdown after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to withdraw special rights for the Muslim-majority state on Aug. 5.
By stripping Indian-controlled Kashmir of its special status, New Delhi blocked the region’s right to frame its own laws and allowed non-residents to buy property there. Delhi said the change would help Kashmir’s development, to the benefit of all, but its move angered many residents of the region and was strongly condemned by Pakistan.
Khan has so far focused on a global diplomatic campaign condemning India’s actions, accusing Modi of committing human rights violations and atrocities in the valley.
He has also said frequently that any misadventure between two nuclear-armed nations could endanger the world.
Muslim-majority Kashmir has long been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan. Both countries rule parts of Kashmir while claiming it in full. Two of the three wars they have fought have been over it.
Also on Monday, Islamabad gave a consular access to an Indian who was given a death sentence for spying by a Pakistani military court, which the International Court of Justice asked Pakistan to review in mid-July.
“Pursuant to the decision of the International Court of Justice, Pakistan provided consular access on 02 September, 2019 to India for Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, Indian spy, serving Indian Naval officer,” a Pakistani foreign office statement said.
The statement said that at India’s request, there was no restriction on the language of communication and the access was recorded, which continued for two hours.
An Indian external affairs ministry statement said “Jadhav appeared to be under extreme pressure to parrot a false narrative to bolster Pakistan’s untenable claims.” It said Delhi would wait for a detailed report to determine the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives.
Shanghai AI conference has attracted executives from nearly 300 companies including US firms Intel, IBM, Microsoft and Qualcomm
Ma is mainly an AI optimist, whereas Musk has sounded several warnings on the topic
Elon Musk and Jack Ma face off over AI at the 2019 Shanghai WAIC. Photo: SCMP
Billionaire techpreneurs Jack Ma and Elon Musk faced off over AI in a much-anticipated morning session at the Shanghai World Artificial Intelligence Conference on Thursday, and although sparks didn’t actually fly it was clear to the packed audience that they each have a different vision of the future.
“AI will open a new chapter so that humans will know themselves better,” said Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Holding founder. “Most of the projections about AI are wrong … people who are street-smart about AI are not scared by it.”
The conference has attracted executives from nearly 300 companies including US firms Intel, IBM, Microsoft and Qualcomm as well as scientists and scholars from across the world. Both men had to condense their visions of the future into a compact 45-minute session, which also included answering a series of pre-prepared questions from Chinese netizens.
“Due to AI, people will have more time to enjoy themselves as a human being … forget long days, we could end up with 12-hour work weeks,” said Ma. “I don’t worry too much about the impact of AI on jobs … in the future we will not need a lot of jobs.”
Musk, who has founded a string of tech ventures including SpaceX, Boring Company and Neuralink aside from his role as co-founder and CEO of Tesla, said he had heard that “AI sounds like love in Chinese” but in a more cautious tone described AI as “much more than just a smart human”.
“Humans may become too slow. A millisecond is an eternity to a computer today,” said Musk, who has championed everything from electric cars to Mars colonies. “Computers are already smarter than human beings in many aspects,” he said, adding that while humans write AI software today, in the end the machine will do this itself.
Alibaba co-founder and chairman Jack Ma speaks at the 2019 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos. Photo: Xinhua
The comments from the two executives, who are both engaged in industries [e-commerce and autonomous driving] where AI is essential – were largely in line with what they have said before on the topic. Ma is mainly an optimist, seeing AI as an inevitable agent of change in a digital world, whereas Musk has sounded several warnings.
In 2017, Musk – along with 100 robotics and AI leaders – urged the United Nations to take action against the dangers of autonomous weapons, known as “killer robots”. He has also described AI as humanity’s “biggest existential threat”, comparing it to “summoning the demon”.
AI cannot replace me yet, says Esquire magazine editor
Earlier in the week, Ma said that amid an escalating trade and technology war between the US and China, both countries needed to make a concerted effort to work together on technology for the world to benefit from the digital era.
“In the smart era, it is almost impossible for anyone to strike out on their own,” Ma said in a speech at the Smart China Expo in Chongqing on Monday. “Only if China and the US work together on technology, can we enter the digital era together.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, 2019. Photo: AP
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, Beijing’s top trade negotiator said on Monday at a conference that an escalation of the trade war was not in anyone’s interests. US tariffs on some US$300 billion worth of Chinese imports – mostly consumer goods – are expected to increase from 10 to 15 per cent later this year, in retaliation to China’s decision last week to impose tariffs of between 5 to 10 per cent on US$75 billion worth of American products including soybeans, pork and crude oil.
Automobiles is one of the most high-profile sectors to be affected by the trade war, and US President Donald Trump has highlighted the tariff gap between the US and China on imported cars in earlier comments.
Minority Report-style crime prevention is fast becoming reality
Founded in 2003, Tesla is currently building its first overseas factory in Shanghai, which is nearing completion and expected to start production by the year end with an initial annual output of 250,000 vehicles.
China is Tesla’s second largest market after the US. The California-based electric car-maker reported an over 40 per cent year-on-year surge in sales generated in the country to nearly US$1.5 billion in the first six months of the year.
Musk is expected to visit the US$5 billion production facility in Lingang, part of Shanghai’s free-trade zone, amid his China trip and launch a China unit for his infrastructure start-up Boring, as announced earlier on Twitter.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 