Baidu rolls out robotaxi service in Beijing
May-04-2021 By : fcccadmin
Baidu, well-known for its internet search function, rolled out its paid driverless taxi service in Beijing, making it the first company to commercialize autonomous driving operations in China. Unlike previous Baidu autonomous driving demonstrations in Beijing, this was the first time there was no safety driver sitting behind the wheel, but a safety officer was still seated in the front passenger seat to deal with any emergencies. Up to 10 Apollo “robotaxis” are now operating simultaneously in an area of about 3 square kilometers, picking up and dropping off passengers at eight stops in Shougang Park in western Beijing. Each ride costs CNY30 and is available to passengers aged 18 to 60. The park is the former site of an iron and steel plant that has been redeveloped into a sightseeing destination and a future venue for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
The robotaxis were repeatedly forced to brake when encountering jaywalkers or curious tourists who came close to the vehicles to take photos. Kelly Wang and her husband, who both work in the artificial intelligence industry, said they had a smooth ride. “I would recommend people experience this. There is a strong sense of technology, because nobody is in the driver’s seat,” Wang said. Passengers can order a robotaxi on an app called Apollo Go. When the taxi arrives, passengers must have their identities verified before getting in. The taxi will start to move after it detects the passengers have fastened their seat belts.
Baidu has been testing autonomous driving on the open road since last year. Its Apollo Go robotaxi service has carried more than 210,000 passengers in three Chinese cities and aims to expand to 30 cities in the next three years, the company said, as reported by the Shanghai Daily.
Residential property market expected to stay firm for the rest of the year
By : fcccadmin
China’s residential property market is expected to stay firm during the rest of the year in spite of the tightening of home-buying rules, industry insiders said. This could, however, still pose risks to those who may have entered the market purely for investment or speculative purposes, they said. In late April, Tang Hua, Senior Director Savills China, said she expects to see a surge in prospective homebuyers’ visits to properties during the five-day Labor Day holiday. Since the second half of last year, residential property markets in major Chinese cities have seen a quick pick-up, as the Covid pandemic is under control in the country. In the first quarter of this year, nationwide residential property investments soared nearly 29% year-on-year to CNY2.06 trillion. Sales of homes in terms of gross floor area surged 68% year-on-year and new home sales revenue surged 95.5%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“In the 20 major cities tracked by JLL, new residential property transaction volume maintained good momentum with 98% year-on-year growth in the first quarter, and grew 32% from the same period of 2019,” said Sheng Xiuxiu, Research Director of JLL China residential sector. Performance of the four top-tier cities was extraordinary. Their combined sales volume of new homes reached about 10.7 million square meters in the first three months, more than twice the level in the same period of last year, and up 96% over that of the same period of 2019, Sheng said. “The double-digit growth in both investment and sales resulted from the low base of the same period of last year,” said NBS Spokesperson Liu Aihua. Xie Chen, head of research with CBRE China, however, said the high-digit growth may not be sustainable over the long term, due to the strengthening of financial regulations, tightened restrictions on home transactions and greater control over land supply. Such fine-tuning, be it at the national level or the local level, is aimed at both eliminating speculation and better protecting the firm demand, Sheng said. Lu Wenxi, Researcher with Centaline Shanghai, said residential markets in top-tier and hot spot cities in clusters such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Pearl River Delta region will likely remain stable this year, while other cities may see demand cooling off.
Experts expect that more local governments will fine-tune property-related policies in the following months to stabilize their home markets. They also suggested the market adjustment may provide good opportunities for homebuyers. “Any property bought for living will likely be held for the long term. Since the value of residential property will likely rise along with China’s economic growth, homebuyers will think purchasing property early is a better choice,” said Wei Feng Yu, Director of the Shanghai branch of Taipei-based Sinyi Realty. According to Wei, an apartment in Shanghai where the owner lives in for about seven to eight years can see average annual value appreciation of between 5% and 8%, the China Daily reports.
China and Germany hold consultations via video link
By : fcccadmin
China and Germany held intergovernmental consultations via video link on April 28 with 25 ministers of the two governments participating. Chinese analysts said this meeting shows the pragmatic and rational mindset of the two sides and will show the way for the future development of bilateral ties. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel co-chaired the sixth round of intergovernmental consultations. Starting from 2011, the intergovernmental consultation between the two countries was usually held once every two years, but it was canceled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Li said in his opening remarks that China and Germany should set an example of opening-up, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, because the current international situation is experiencing profound changes, the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, and protectionism exists. The Chinese Premier stressed that China and Germany have different views on some issues, but as long as each respects the other’s core interests and major concerns, communicate based on equality and non-interference, reduce divergences and focus on cooperation, the two sides would be able to create good conditions for further dialogue and cooperation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that thanks to the intergovernmental consultation mechanism, cooperation between both sides in diplomacy, trade, agriculture, food, security, sustainable development and climate have been greatly deepened and broadened, and she hopes the mechanism could be continued. China remained the biggest trading partner of Germany for the fifth consecutive year in 2020, with goods worth €212.1 billion traded between Germany and China. Feng Xingliang, Chief Representative of NRW Global Business, the trade and investment agency of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Beijing, told the Global Times that both parties have a huge potential for cooperation in sectors like biomedicine, information technology, electronic equipment, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and environmental protection. “Electric vehicles can be a new spotlight for further China-Germany cooperation,” Feng said, adding that there are currently no native mature battery manufacturers in Germany, and Chinese companies can actively explore opportunities.
Merkel said the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is transparent and equal, and will provide more guarantees. Wang Yiwei, Director of the Institute of European Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that the CAI would be one the most important political heritages of Merkel, who is set to step down in September. Despite uncertainties within the EU about the agreement, the CAI will not fall apart because the business community will be supportive, experts said.
Food delivery company Meituan investigated for monopoly conduct
By : fcccadmin
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has started an investigation on food delivery company Meituan for alleged monopoly conduct. It is focussing on the practice whereby a company forces vendors to use their platform exclusively, known as “choose one from two.” The investigation is based on a tip-off, the regulator said. Tencent-backed Meituan said it will actively cooperate with authorities to improve compliance and protect consumers’ rights. The company’s various businesses were “operating normally.” Meituan, which competes with Alibaba-backed Ele.me among others, had an estimated 68.2% share of China’s food delivery market in the second quarter of 2020, according to Trustdata. Meituan’s businesses also include bike sharing, community group buying and restaurant reviews. The investigation comes amid China’s increased supervision of internet companies suspected of anti-competitive practices.
In April, SAMR imposed a record USD2.75 billion fine on e-commerce giant Alibaba over the same practice and ordered 34 internet companies, including Tencent and Pinduoduo, to rectify any anti-competitive practices within a month. In March, Meituan was among five backers or owners of community group-buying platforms fined by SAMR over “improper pricing behavior” related to subsidies. Internet giants like Alibaba and Tencent have become hugely profitable on the back of growing Chinese digital lifestyles. But as the platforms amassed hundreds of millions of regular users, concern has risen over their influence in China, where they are used for a huge number of daily tasks.
Zheng Wei, Partner with Beijing-based law firm Anli Partners, said regulators aimed to reduce the impact of dominant internet players on consumers, employees and smaller firms. The government released anti-monopoly guidelines in February aimed at ending practices such as exclusivity contracts and the heavy use of subsidies to gain market share and squeeze out competitors, the Shanghai Daily reports.
China’s financial regulators also held talks with representatives of 112 other internet firms which have fintech businesses, including Tencent, Du Xiaoman Finance, JD Finance, ByteDance and Didi Finance, on strengthening anti-monopoly supervision and preventing disorderly expansion of capital. Other internet platforms who participated in the meeting include Lu.com, Air Star, 360 Digital Tech, Sina Finance, Suning Finance, Gome Finance and Ctrip Finance.
China International Big Data Industry Expo 2021 – 26-29 May 2021 – Guiyang
Apr-27-2021 By : fcccadmin
The four-day China International Big Data Industry Expo 2021 to be held in Guiyang, Guizhou province, from May 26 to 29 will be held both online and offline this year and showcase cutting-edge big data technologies. Chen Yan, Mayor of Guiyang, said this year’s expo is expected to attract more than 200 enterprises and institutions from various countries and regions. “Not only has the expo created opportunities for the development of big data in Guizhou province, but also contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions to the global big data industry,” Chen said. The event is part of larger efforts for innovative development in Guizhou province and aims to deepen the dual-circulation paradigm, Chen said.
Big data will offer strong impetus to the country’s digital transformation and development. “The expo will demonstrate the latest technology trends and pioneering research and development. It will also offer a chance for consumers and industry participants to observe and experience new applications and business models, as well as to promote international exchanges and cooperation,” he added. China is developing its digital economy and promoting deep integration of the internet, big data, artificial intelligence and the real economy. Nestled in a mountainous region, Guizhou has been striving over the past few years to become a global hub of big data, so as to help develop its local economy, boost employment and local residents’ earnings. Gui’an New Area, a national-level new urban area in Guizhou, plans to create a hub of 12 mega data centers and 4 million servers with a fixed-asset investment of over CNY40 billion by 2025.
Tao Changhai, Guizhou’s Vice Governor, said that Guizhou has unique advantages and conditions for the development of big data. It has attracted many large and super large data centers. More than 5,000 big data companies have been set up in the Gui’an New Area. The output of the area’s digital economy reached CNY164.9 billion last year, accounting for 38% of the region’s GDP, the China Daily reports.
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