Inside Thailand's frantic effort to close tariff loopholes to the U.S.
Under pressure to close tariff loopholes, officials in the Southeast Asian country are poring over receipts and cross-checking business registration documents from exporters who want to sell wire rods, steering wheels and hard disks to American buyers.
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AI experts warn that China is miles ahead of the US in electricity generation — lack of supply and infrastructure threatens the US's long-term AI plans
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A U.S. analyst of Chinese technology said that the country has already solved its energy problem — at least in terms of power for its AI infrastructure. Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, posted on X that the country's massive investments in advanced hydropower and nuclear technologies meant that its 'electricity supply is secure and inexpensive.' This is in contrast to the U.S., where many AI data centers are disrupting its electricity grid and supply, resulting in a lack of supply and price increases for every user. Both Washington and Beijing are currently in an AI race, with the two powers vying for the lead in this technology. Because of this, the two rivals are diving into a massive build-out of AI data centers that require massive amounts of electricity to run. In the U.S., it has come to the point that tech giants are building their own power plants — with Elon Musk importing one to power his data centers and companies, like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, Nvidia, and more investing in the research and development of nuclear reactors. However, it seems that this is not a problem for China. According to Fortune, the East Asian country has an 80% to 100% power reserve, allowing it to absorb the massive demand brought about by the hundreds of data centers it built in recent years. More than that, it's also continually expanding its output, with one expert telling the publication that it 'adds more electricity demand than the entire annual consumption of Germany, every single year.' Some argue that the power is delivered by heavily polluting coal plants, but China is also investing massively in renewable energy projects. Nevertheless, if the power demand outstrips supply, it can easily reactivate coal plants to cover the shortfall. In fact, the new data centers are welcomed, as they help stimulate demand in a market that has an excess of power production. Nevertheless, electricity oversupply doesn't seem to be an immediate concern, as most of China's power plants are state-owned. Beijing also plans its energy production well in advance, allowing it to prepare for prospective demand, like the AI data center boom. This still does not address the elephant in the room, though: the fact that many Chinese data centers sit idle or underutilized. Beijing is developing a network to create a marketplace that will sell surplus capacity, but it is still facing challenges, especially with latency and different ecosystems. On the other hand, the U.S. faces major hurdles with its electricity supply. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said that power constraints will limit AI growth, and that new power plants aren't being built fast enough to satisfy AI's insatiable demand. If the U.S. does not address this issue sooner, it risks lagging behind China even if it has more powerful and efficient hardware. That's because the latter can just throw tons of power to gain the upper hand in the AI race through sheer brute force, similar to how Huawei's CloudMatrix cluster beats the performance of Nvidia's GB200. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
an hour ago
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Chinese state media calls U.S. a 'surveillance empire' over trackers in chip shipments
BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States' practice of installing location trackers in chip shipments at risk of diversion to China reflects the "instincts of a surveillance empire," China's state-run media outlet Xinhua said in a commentary published on Friday. Reuters reported earlier this week that U.S. authorities had secretly placed location tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced chips to detect diversions to China, which is under U.S. curbs for advanced chip exports. The Xinhua commentary, titled "America turns chip trade into a surveillance game," cited "reports" that Washington had embedded such trackers, accusing the United States of running "the world's most sprawling intelligence apparatus". The U.S. government has in the past few years tightened restrictions on the exports of advanced chips as well as related technology and equipments to China, as the two superpowers vie for technological dominance. The Chinese commentary follows longstanding accusations from Washington and its Western allies that China could use some exported products, from telecommunications equipment to vehicles, for surveillance, posing potential security risks. In 2022, the Biden administration banned the sale and import of new telecommunications equipment from several Chinese firms, including Huawei, citing national security concerns. In January, it intensified scrutiny by targeting China-made cars and trucks. In its commentary, Xinhua accused the U.S. government of seeing its trading partners as "rivals to be tripped up or taken down," adding that "if U.S. chips are seen as Trojan horses for surveillance, customers will look elsewhere." China's cyberspace watchdog last month said it had asked U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to explain whether its H20 chips had any backdoor security risks - a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls. Chinese authorities have also cautioned domestic tech firms over their use of H20 chips, Reuters recently reported. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. "Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions - and import taxes - between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures. Solve the daily Crossword
