Technology

Short video platforms Douyin and Kuaishou have focused on a new model of "goods seeking people". (Internet)

Newcomers Douyin and Kuaishou takes on tech giants to refresh the face of e-commerce

Technology expert Yin Ruizhi delves into the differences between traditional e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba and JD, and “interest-based” platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou, and explores the possibilities for what e-commerce might look like in the future, as both types of platforms operate alongside each other.
Silhouettes of laptop users are seen next to a screen projection of binary code are seen in this picture illustration taken 28 March 2018. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/Reuters)

Web3 with Chinese characteristics: Finding China's solution for regulators, developers and users

Crypto ban notwithstanding, China’s getting firmly in the act of building Web3 infrastructure to its specifications. While China is unlikely to allow global Web3 to play a role in its economy or the lives of its citizens, Chinese developers and entrepreneurs remain fascinated by the promise of global Web3 platforms and cryptocurrencies. This portends the development of two blockchain markets in China: one which caters to those who “jump” the virtual fence to join in the global Web3 movement, and one which uses blockchain in line with Beijing’s vision.
Can China become fully self-reliant in the semiconductor industry? (iStock)

China’s semiconductor Great Leap Forward is doomed to fail

Political commentator Jin Jian Guo believes that the semiconductor Great Leap Forward pushed by the Chinese authorities could have the same devastating effects as the Great Leap Forward of the past. In an industry that is globally interconnected, persisting with the impossible endeavour of becoming fully self-reliant would only result in further instances of failing to learn from history.
A Chinese chip investment fund is at the centre of an expanding anti-graft crackdown on the semiconductor industry. (iStock)

Five things to know about China’s scandal-struck chip industry ‘Big Fund’

An anti-graft crackdown targeting the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund is rattling the entire semiconductor industry. What is the "Big Fund" and how does it work? What are its most recognised and controversial projects and how did it play a role as a fund of funds? And what’s the role of Sino IC Leasing Co. in all this?
China is clamping down on corruptions and wrongdoings in its chip industry. (iStock)

China’s chip industry 'Big Fund' crackdown: Corruptions or failed investments?

China’s Big Fund has come under scrutiny following a series of high-profile corruption investigations involving key persons in the chip industry. The CHIPS Act was also recently signed into law in the US to counter China, which makes things even more difficult for the sector. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing speaks to industry experts to find out how the Big Fund can come out of this crisis.
A pedestrian walks past a sign for China Broadnet 5G services in Chaoyang district, Beijing, China, 27 June 2022. (CNS)

China's 5G ambitions undiminished by pandemic and sanctions

While China has accelerated its push to build the infrastructure and to promote 5G among telcos and subscribers, it still faces a shortage of exciting new 5G applications that will draw in a constant stream of consumers or find wider industrial use. Amid a hostile external environment, it also faces some challenges in rolling out 5G and other advanced digital technologies through the Digital Silk Road. Nonetheless, it plans to go full steam ahead.
An advertisement to promote Alibaba's Singles' Day shopping festival is pictured in Shanghai, China, 11 November 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Public awareness, perception and digital divide: Addressing the effectiveness of provisions on algorithm-generated recommendations in China

As governments across the world grapple with ways to regulate platform algorithms, China has pushed ahead with rolling out a set of provisions regulating algorithm-generated recommendations for internet information services. Chinese tech giants have taken prompt adaptive actions in response, but a lack of consumer awareness, prevailing attitudes and a digital divide may undermine the authorities’ efforts.
A delivery drone, transporting samples to be tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus, lands at a testing facility in Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang province on 24 May 2022. (AFP)

Drones and robots: Technological aids during the Shanghai lockdown

China has made use of several advanced Industry 4.0 technologies in the fight against Covid-19, especially during the recent Shanghai lockdown. While it remains to be seen if companies will have the capacity to accelerate the production of robots and drones for other uses, their potential has been clearly showcased.
A Long March 7Y4 rocket carrying the Tianzhou 3 cargo ship launches from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in China's southern Hainan province, on a mission to deliver supplies to China's Tiangong space station on 20 September 2021. (STR/AFP)

The complex impact of China’s military-civil fusion in space

With China's accelerated efforts to become a great space power, including opening up its space sector to private firms, Western developed countries worry that China's military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy may see technology developed in the commercial sector being used to boost China's military space power in the future. Are these fears justified? Japanese academic Masaaki Yatsuzuka looks into the issue.