14 h. ago Meet some of the Chinese AI scientists dominating the global top 100

A study of nearly 200,000 researchers and 100,000 high-impact papers has revealed that the vast majority of the world’s top 100 brains in the field of artificial intelligence are of Chinese origin. The list was compiled by ITPO China – part of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) – and the Shenzhen-based technology firm Dongbi Data. It was presented last week at a conference in Beijing. According to the report, which does not give individual rankings, 50 of the top 100 AI experts...

Politics

21 h. ago China releases plan to improve rural workers’ skills, CCTV reports By Reuters

China releases plan to improve rural workers’ skills, CCTV reports By Reuters  Investing.com

Economics

21 h. ago Brics in push for UN to take lead on setting rules for artificial intelligence

Brics leaders have adopted a new declaration calling for the United Nations to take the lead in setting global rules for artificial intelligence, arguing that the fast-growing technology must not deepen inequalities between developed and developing nations. The statement, agreed late on Sunday at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, described AI as a “unique opportunity” for driving inclusive growth, innovation and sustainability but warned that without fair governance it could widen the digital...

Politics

21 h. ago China releases plan to improve rural workers' skills, CCTV reports

China releases plan to improve rural workers' skills, CCTV reports  Reuters

Economics

22 h. ago China releases list of key science, engineering challenges amid tech push

China releases list of key science, engineering challenges amid tech push  People's Daily

Science

35 h. ago China to power grid with record renewable energy as AI spurs demand

China expects to add a record 500 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy capacity to its national grid this year as the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) increases demand for electricity to power computing centres. According to a report from the State Grid Energy Research Institute on Friday, over a quarter of that new capacity – or a record 140GW – will come from wind power, a source of energy that US President Donald Trump has suggested China does not use. “They make about 95 per cent of...

Politics

36 h. ago Inside China and Tanzania’s ‘very special’ ties – found nowhere else in Africa

Over the past two decades, China has considerably broadened its military and security diplomacy throughout Africa, establishing ties with 53 countries, excluding eSwatini. Observers say that of those countries, Tanzania stands out as an exceptionally strong and enduring military partner for Beijing, with more than 90 per cent of its military arms from China. According to a study released last month by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, Tanzania has “a very special relationship” with the...

Politics

37 h. ago Chinese team develops faster, more efficient data sorting for AI, computing

Chinese scientists have developed a faster and more energy-efficient method to sort data, which could be used to overcome limitations in scientific computing, artificial intelligence, and hardware design. Their new sorting system relies on memristors, an electronic circuit component with memory-like abilities, along with a sorting algorithm to enable more efficient data processing. The team built a memristor-based hardware sorting prototype to demonstrate tasks such as route finding and neural...

Politics

38 h. ago KFC, Pizza Hut operator Yum China adopts AI to spur efficiency, profitability

Yum China Holdings, the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in mainland China, will further embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operating efficiency and profitability and allow its store managers to focus on customer service. The firm, which introduced its Q-Smart AI-powered assistant in June, was expected to help reduce waste, improve quality and save labour costs, chief technology officer (CTO) Leila Zhang said in an interview. The AI-powered system could help with staff...

Politics

60 h. ago China’s smartphone shipments plunge 21.8% in May amid weak consumption

Smartphone shipments in China plunged 21.8 per cent year on year in May to 23.7 million units, the biggest decline this year, according to the latest data from a government-run research institute. Foreign brands, including Apple’s iPhone, saw shipments drop by 9.7 per cent in May from a year earlier, outperforming local brands. Domestic manufacturers, including Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi, saw their shipments fall a combined 24.2 per cent, according to data released on Friday by the China...

Politics

66 h. ago Hong Kong’s feral pigeon population drops 11% in hotspots amid feeding ban

Hong Kong has recorded a roughly 11 per cent drop in the number of feral pigeons found at common gathering spots after an expanded no-feeding law took effect, according to authorities who are planning to use artificial intelligence (AI) patrol robots to enhance enforcement. The number of feral pigeons stood at about 12,090 during the first quarter of this year, down by about 11 per cent from around 13,520 in the previous three months, across 140 spots in the city where birds gathered or caused a...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong’s AI ambitions take shape with 90% of supercomputing capacity now in use

Hong Kong’s ambition to create an artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem is bearing fruit, with more than 90 per cent of the city’s flagship supercomputing centre at Cyberport now in use, according to officials. The AI Supercomputing Centre, which began operations in December, is a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to foster a vibrant local AI ecosystem. Authorities have earmarked HK$3 billion (US$418.6 million) in subsidies to support AI model development and applications. Cyberport said...

Politics

3 d. ago DeepSeek’s LinkedIn AI job listings show hunger for international Chinese talent

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek has posted a flurry of new job openings on the professional networking site LinkedIn over the past week, coinciding with Meta Platforms’ aggressive hiring blitz amid an intensifying global race for AI talent. The Hangzhou-based company listed 10 new positions online, including two internships focused on large language models. Other roles include deep learning researchers, core systems engineers, front-end developers and full-stack engineers,...

Society

3 d. ago Meta’s AI lab is stacked with Chinese talent, drawing attention back home

Meta Platforms’ announcement that several prominent Chinese names working in artificial intelligence (AI) would be joining the company has triggered an outpouring of admiration back home, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg races to fill his new Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) with top industry talent. Zuckerberg announced the formation of MSL in a memo on Monday, tasking it with developing Meta’s next-generation models, and emphasised the company’s vision of delivering “personal superintelligence”...

Politics

4 d. ago Xpeng launches G7 ‘Super AI’ SUV, taking on Xiaomi YU7 and Tesla Model Y

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng launched its G7 SUV on Thursday, sending another contender into a fierce battle in the premium SUV segment of the world’s largest EV market, where it joins Xiaomi’s recently introduced YU7 in taking on Tesla’s market-leading Model Y. Dubbed Xpeng’s first “Super AI [artificial intelligence] car”, the G7 starts at 195,800 yuan (US$27,325), with the top-of-the-line model selling for 225,800 yuan, the Guangzhou-headquartered company said during a launch...

Politics

4 d. ago Alibaba leads US$14 million funding round in Chinese AI agent start

A Hangzhou-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up specialising in enterprise AI agents has secured over 100 million yuan (US$14 million) from investors led by Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud unit, as Chinese companies strive to leverage the technology to raise business efficiency. BetterYeah AI, a prominent player in China’s enterprise AI sector founded by former Alibaba executives, said on Wednesday it had completed its latest financing round with contributions from Alibaba Cloud and venture...

Economics

5 d. ago China AI champion Baidu rolls out sweeping changes to online search platform

Baidu, one of China’s artificial intelligence (AI) champions, said it is using the technology to upgrade and make the most significant changes to the company’s core internet search service in a decade. Beijing-based Baidu has now enlarged the mobile app’s search bar and turned it into a “smart box” that supports long text input and handles more tasks than simple text-based queries and information retrieval, according to the company’s statement on Wednesday. This search box is capable of handling...

Politics

5 d. ago Alibaba Cloud expands AI footprint with data centres in Malaysia, Philippines

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing services and artificial intelligence (AI) arm of Alibaba Group Holding, unveiled plans to launch new data centres in Malaysia and the Philippines, as it expands infrastructure investments to meet the growing demand for AI in the region. In a statement on Tuesday marking a decade of operations in Singapore, Alibaba Cloud said it had launched its third data centre in Malaysia, and planned to open a second one in the Philippines in October this year. The latest...

Politics

6 d. ago ByteDance pushes recruitment of fresh robotics talent as AI remains a priority

Chinese social media giant ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and Douyin, has ramped up recruitment of fresh talent for robotics development, as a growing number of artificial intelligence (AI) engineers are being lured by high pay to work in the fast-evolving sector. The more than 10 job vacancies recently posted on ByteDance’s website included two directors responsible for robot products and for hardware-embedded AI models. The Beijing-based unicorn also posted vacancies for roles involving “robot...

Politics

6 d. ago Hong Kong needs more cybersecurity professionals as threats increase: report

Hong Kong needs more professionals focused on cybersecurity due to persistent threats and a limited talent pool, according to a recent report from the Hong Kong China Network Security Association. The group said demand for cybersecurity professionals in Hong Kong was expected to grow steadily over the next three to five years, with a particular focus on skills related to cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) security. The report said attackers, armed with AI, drove the number of security...

Events