Technology

When the US started the International Space Station (ISS) in the 1990s, China was not part of the programme. While many think that China was left out, others say that China spearheaded its own spaceflight programme and never asked to be included in the ISS. Now, with China’s Tiangong space station project well underway, it could push ahead and lead the space exploration race when the ISS expires in 2024. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan explores the implications.

Zhang Yugui points out that China’s financial services development is currently at the awkward stage where there is much financial innovation and the opening up of the financial sector, but not yet the corresponding capabilities to manage the complex financial systems and cutting-edge fintech. Hence we see the recent rash of anti-monopoly measures directed at tech giants such as Ant Group and Tencent. But has the industry reached a true tipping point? What must regulators do to bridge the gap?

Water, electricity and Covid-19 vaccines — critical elements to keep Taiwan’s leading chip industry going — are in short supply. The situation is currently manageable, say industry watchers, but if this goes on, can Taiwan withstand the pressure and continue delivering the goods to the world?

Few realise that the mobile gaming industry and the mobile phone industry have a symbiotic relationship. Technology specialist Yin Ruizhi explains how cuts of the revenue that mobile companies get from game app developers help them to thrive despite offering "value for money" phones.

In recent years, China's tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance have set up regional offices in Singapore. With insights from industry experts, Zaobao senior business correspondent Chew Boon Leong analyses the impact that an influx of Chinese tech companies will have on Singapore. Will it affect Singapore's neutral stance and lead the nation to become a battleground for tech companies from the US and China?

Chen Lifang, corporate senior vice-president and board director, Huawei, delivered a speech at the St. Gallen Symposium themed ‘Truth Matters’. At the virtual session, she stressed that standards and regulations will be two of the most visible embodiments of the interaction between society and technology in a highly digitalised, post-pandemic world. Common regulations and standards will build trust; the more widely they are adopted, the more effective they will be. Is it possible for humankind to build trust across cyberspace and international borders, and work together to construct the future global economy? 

Recently, Xinba, one of the biggest influencers on Chinese streaming platform Kuaishou, sold US$300 million worth of goods in a single 12-hour session, in a testament to the enormous pull of livestreaming e-commerce. Research shows that crowdfunded products often rely on livestreaming e-commerce to convey product information and funnel early adopters. Such an ecosystem creates a positive business environment for producing and marketing new products. Technology specialist Yin Ruizhi looks at how live-streaming e-commerce is fast giving China the edge in product innovation.

Amid intense technological competition with the US, China is more determined than ever to be self-reliant in core frontier technologies. It has rolled out various plans but several obstacles such as financial resources stand in the way. Is it a case of more haste, less speed?

In the development of 1G to 4G technology, the US, Europe and Japan took turns to dominate. When it comes to 5G, China says that it has built the largest 5G network globally with other 718,000 5G base stations throughout the country, which is at least ten times the network in the US. China is also strong in 5G chip design and is making inroads in setting global standards for wireless networks. Is China getting a leg up in the tech race?