China strengthening technology ties with Israel
Oct-30-2018 By : fcccadmin
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan paid an official visit to Israel, during which he attended the fourth meeting of the China-Israel Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation. China and Israel established the joint committee in 2014 with the aim of promoting innovation cooperation in various fields. In March 2017, the two countries established an innovative comprehensive partnership during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to China. Israel is attracting over USD7 billion of Chinese investment. Chinese companies have built research and development centers in Israel, including Huawei, Xiaomi and Lenovo. Ami Appelbaum, Chief Scientist and Chairman of the Board of the Israeli Innovation Authority, said there is still work to be done on both sides in order to fully realize the potential of bilateral relations. “The next step for the two countries will be Israeli and Chinese entities working together in the Chinese market,” said Yaki Zinger, Vice President of LR Group, an Israeli firm specializing in development and financing of large-scale projects in high-growth economies.
“The ultimate measure of Chinese investment in Israel will be when Chinese companies begin establishing development, sales and manufacturing hubs in Israel,” said Dorian Barak, CEO of Indigo Global, a private equity investor and fund manager. “An investment in an Israeli startup pales in value to a large Chinese conglomerate establishing a major Israel presence – hiring locals, paying local taxes and exporting from here,” Barak said. According to Start-up National Central, a non-profit organization that surveys Israel’s high-tech and innovation industry, Israel has more than 6,000 startups, and multinational companies have invested in over 350 R&D centers in the country.
Agreements were signed between China and Israel in fields including science and technology, life science, innovation, digital health and agriculture. China is now Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and the third-largest across the world, with the bilateral trade volume in 2017 growing to over USD13 billion – about 260 times the volume back in 1992 when the two countries established diplomatic relations. In 2017, a total of 139,000 Chinese people visited Israel, three times as many as in 2015, and the number of visitors from Israel reached 52,000, according to data from the Chinese Embassy in Israel.
Geely and Daimler set up ride hailing service
By : fcccadmin
Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group announced it will set up a joint venture with German manufacturer Daimler to offer ride hailing services in China. Daimler Mobility Services and Geely’s new business entity Geely Group Co will establish a 50-50 joint venture headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The financial terms and investment plans of the venture have not been disclosed. The new venture will offer ride-hailing services in several cities in China, and will use the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, E-Class and V-Class among other vehicles. An Conghui, President of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, said the new move was a concrete step in Geely’s efforts to transform from a carmaker to a global auto technology group.
Strategy consultancy Roland Berger said in a recent report that the shift from vehicle ownership to new shared mobility concepts is unstoppable. According to the report, cars for new mobility services will account for 13% of new sales in 2020, jumping to 20% in 2020. China will occupy almost 60% of the global vehicle sales for taxis and mobility-on-demand by 2020, reaching 560,000 units. John Zeng, Managing Director of LMC Automotive Shanghai, said carmakers should take the initiative in the changing competitive environment, and value the potential business opportunities ahead, such as the new mobility concept.
“Driverless car technologies and ride-sharing services are advancing so quickly that in the future more and more people will choose convenient ride-sharing services instead of buying cars and paying for maintenance, and it will eventually affect the whole market,” Zeng added.
Automotive industry shifting from fast expansion to slow growth
By : fcccadmin
China’s automotive industry is shifting from super-fast expansion to slow growth, after the country’s car market already reached an immense scale in production and sales volume, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said. “The recent slow expansion in car sales was chiefly because more than 29.4 million automobiles were sold in China in 2017. It would be very difficult to continue robust momentum on the basis of such a big number,” Xin said at a news conference in Beijing.
He made the comments after the growth rate of China’s auto sales stood at 1.5% year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2018. The weak rate triggers questions about whether China’s automotive industry is entering a cold winter, despite the fact that more than 20 million cars were sold in the nation over that period. “Though the growth rate, as a whole, will slow down, many bright spots are promising positive development,” Xin added. The revenue growth of the auto sector outpaces that of its sales and production volumes, highlighting that the industry is in good health. From January to August, automobile companies in China have seen their revenue grow by 8.8% year-on-year. The industry is also increasingly concentrated in the hands of top players, which will give full play to the scale effect. Currently, the 10 largest automakers in China account for about 90% of the whole market.
John Zeng, Managing Director of LMC Automotive Shanghai, said the country’s new energy vehicles sector will also maintain strong momentum thanks to both favorable government policies and consumers’ growing desire to embrace eco-friendly cars. In the first three quarters of this year, the production and sales volume of new energy vehicles reached 735,000 and 721,000 in China, marking year-on-year increases of 73% and 81%, respectively, the China Daily reports.
Chinese Communist Party names its 100 favorite entrepreneurs
By : fcccadmin
China has published a list of 100 entrepreneurs in acknowledgement of their “great achievements in the development the private economy” over the past 40 years, though several of the country’s best-known business owners were conspicuous by their absence. China’s two richest individuals – Jack Ma, Chairman of Alibaba Group, and Pony Ma, Chairman of Tencent – both made the list, which is not based on wealth. Perhaps the most notable absence was Richard Liu, Founder of e-commerce platform JD.com, who is currently under investigation in the United States after being accused of rape.
Also failing to make the list were Wang Jianlin, Chairman of Wanda Group; Chen Feng, Chairman of HNA Group, and Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun, all three of whom were accused of leading their conglomerates on massive overseas spending sprees. Titled “Top 100 outstanding private entrepreneurs at the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up”, the list was compiled by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) and the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department. Released to coincide with the 40th anniversary of China’s economic liberalization, the list also aimed to “encourage the non-public sector of the economy to make new contributions” to the country.
Feeling the pressure of the trade war with the United States, Beijing has been on a charm offensive in recent weeks in a bid to bolster the confidence of a struggling private sector, with several top officials promising more support for the stock market and economy. Andrew Collier, Managing Director at Orient Capital Research, said the publication of the list, which comprises mostly founders of large firms, was indicative of Beijing’s increased focus on private firms as it seeks to boost the influence of the party in the sector, the South China Morning Post reports.
Also named were Ren Zhengfei, President of Huawei Technologies, Lenovo Founder Liu Chuanzhi, Evergrande Chairman Xu Jiayin, Baidu Founder Robin Li, and Xiaomi Founder Lei Jun. They were joined by Zhang Yiming, the 35 year-old Founder of Bytedance. Among the other names on it were: Li Shufu, Founder of carmaker Geely; Li Dongsheng, Chairman of electronics firm TCL; Zong Qinghou, Chairman of drinks manufacturer Wahaha; and Liang Wengen, Chairman of Sany Heavy Industry.
Driverless tech start-up TuSimple aims to replace 15 million truckers in the U.S. and China
By : fcccadmin
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up TuSimple has deployed autonomous trucks on commercial runs between Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, as the company prepares to expand its operations in the world’s two largest economies by next year. That trial program in the U.S., where its two trucks transport consumer goods at speeds of up to 104.6 kilometers per hour on their routes, is generating about USD6,600 a week in revenue and giving TuSimple a toehold in the vast U.S. freight market, said Chen Mo, the company’s Co-founder and Chief Executive. “Scaling up our operations boils down to two factors – capital and talent,” Chen said in an interview with the South China Morning Post at his office in Beijing.
He said TuSimple, which has more than 150 employees in China and the U.S., plans to gradually expand its autonomous truck fleet to a total of 500 units between the two markets, which would enable it to generate about CNY100 million in revenue from next year. The company, which has generated USD83 million in funding since it was founded in 2015, is now working on a new round of financing, the amount of which it has not been disclosed.
TuSimple’s expansion plans underscore China’s efforts to gain leadership in developing next-generation vehicles with autonomous driving technology. Various Chinese hi-tech firms are looking to develop so-called level-four autonomous driving trucks and cars. That means these vehicles should be able to slow down, pull over or park at a safe spot if a human driver does not take control when requested, according to industry guidelines set by the Society of Automotive Engineers. But the U.S.-China trade war has heightened security concerns over Chinese hi-tech companies doing business in the U.S.
TuSimple’s Chen, however, sees plenty of opportunity in the U.S., “where logistics costs are more expensive and there is a shortage of 200,000 truck drivers”. “If we succeed, about 15 million truck drivers in China and the U.S. will be initially freed from their strenuous and dangerous work,” he said. TuSimple is competing against Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo in developing level-four autonomous trucks for the transport and logistics industry.
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