BRICS bloc poised to challenge Western financial dominance, says Brazilian economist
Batista, the former Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing Brazil, was speaking ahead of the upcoming BRICS Summit in Brazil.
He says the bloc's growing global share gives it the weight to promote a more balanced world order.
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eNCA
6 hours ago
- eNCA
China urges global consensus on balancing AI development, security
BEIJING - China's Premier Li Qiang warned Saturday that artificial intelligence development must be weighed against the security risks, saying global consensus was urgently needed even as the tech race between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of abating. His remarks came just days after US President Donald Trump unveiled an aggressive low-regulation strategy aimed at cementing US dominance in the fast-moving field, promising to "remove red tape and onerous regulation" that could hinder private sector AI development. Opening the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday, Li emphasised the need for governance and open-source development, announcing the establishment of a Chinese-led body for international AI cooperation. "The risks and challenges brought by artificial intelligence have drawn widespread attention... How to find a balance between development and security urgently requires further consensus from the entire society," the premier said. He gave no further details about the newly announced organisation, though state media later reported "the preliminary consideration" was that it would be headquartered in Shanghai. The organisation would "promote global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits", state news agency Xinhua reported, without elaborating on its set-up or mechanisms. At a time when AI is being integrated across virtually all industries, its uses have raised major questions, including about the spread of misinformation, its impact on employment and the potential loss of technological control. In a speech at WAIC on Saturday, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Geoffrey Hinton compared the situation to keeping "a very cute tiger cub as a pet". To survive, he said, you need to ensure you can train it not to kill you when it grows up. - Pledge to share AI advances - The enormous strides AI technology has made in recent years have seen it move to the forefront of the US-China rivalry. Premier Li said China would "actively promote" the development of open-source AI, adding Beijing was willing to share advances with other countries, particularly developing ones. "If we engage in technological monopolies, controls and blockage, artificial intelligence will become the preserve of a few countries and a few enterprises," he said. Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu warned against "unilateralism and protectionism" at a later meeting. Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that they can be used to advance Beijing's military systems and erode US tech dominance. Li, in his speech, highlighted "insufficient supply of computing power and chips" as a bottleneck to AI progress. China has made AI a pillar of its plans for technological self-reliance, with the government pledging a raft of measures to boost the sector. In January, Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that performed as well as top US systems despite using less powerful chips. - 'Defining test' - In a video message played at the WAIC opening ceremony, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said AI governance would be "a defining test of international cooperation". The ceremony saw the French president's AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, underscore "an urgent need" for global action and for the United Nations to play a "leading role". Bouverot called for a framework "that is open, transparent and effective, giving each and everyone an opportunity to have their views taken into account". Li's speech "posed a clear contrast to the Trump administration's 'America First' view on AI" and the US measures announced this week, said WAIC attendee George Chen, a partner at Washington-based policy consultancy The Asia Group. "The world is now clearly divided into at least three camps: the United States and its allies, China (and perhaps many Belt and Road or Global South countries), and the EU -- which prefers regulating AI through legislation, like the EU AI Act," Chen told AFP. At an AI summit in Paris in February, 58 countries including China, France and India -- as well as the European Union and African Union Commission -- called for enhanced coordination on AI governance. But the United States warned against "excessive regulation", and alongside the United Kingdom, refused to sign the summit's appeal for an "open", "inclusive" and "ethical" AI.
IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
New cryptocurrency may be aiding Russia to dodge sanctions
Logos of different cryptocurrencies are displayed during the Token2049 conference in Dubai. Image: AFP Russia could be turning to a new cryptocurrency called A7A5 to allow money to flow in and out of the country and avoid Western sanctions, experts have told AFP. Multiple rounds of international sanctions have been imposed on Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine seeking to ramp up economic pressure to halt the war. But the launch of A7A5 in February this year opened up an alternative payment method for Russian businesses and individuals to sidestep sanctions when trading with foreign partners, the UK-based non-profit Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) said in a report. A7A5 is a stablecoin -- a form of cryptocurrency backed by traditional assets -- in this case pegged to the ruble, making it harder for Western authorities to monitor than dollar-based alternatives. It was launched by a pro-Russian Moldovan oligarch and a Russian state-owned bank as "the first ever ruble-pegged stablecoin," George Voloshin from anti-money laundering group ACAMS told AFP. While it is not widely used yet, experts say its creation marks a significant step in Russia's efforts to reduce its dependence on major crypto companies -- many of which cooperate with Western governments. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Russian stablecoin Since Russia was kicked out of the international banking system SWIFT and hit with asset freezes and investment bans, Moscow has already turned to crypto to sidestep financial restrictions imposed by the United States and its allies. Stablecoins are especially attractive because they are less volatile than other cryptocurrencies. People have also used cryptocurrency to donate directly to both the Ukrainian army and Russian militias, according to several analytics firms such as Elliptic. But Russia has faced a problem: USDT, the most popular stablecoin, is tied to the US dollar and controlled by a company called Tether, which cooperates with US and European authorities. Earlier this year, Tether blocked $28 million in USDT held in wallets on Garantex, Russia's largest crypto exchange, which was shut down following a global crackdown on illegal transactions. "That was a real wake-up call" for Russia, said Elise Thomas, senior investigator at CIR. "It made them think that they need their own stablecoin, they need something that they control," she added. Just before Garantex was shut down, tens of millions of dollars were moved from USDT into A7A5, according to data from crypto tracking firm Global Ledger. How it works A7A5 is backed by deposits in Promsvyazbank, a Russian bank under sanctions for its ties to the government and the military. The coin is traded on Grinex, a crypto exchange based in Kyrgyzstan -- a country seen as friendlier to Russian interests and less vulnerable to Western pressure. A7A5 is also registered in Kyrgyzstan rather than Russia because the country offers a crypto-friendly legal environment and is less exposed to "sanctions and other economic pressures," project director Leonid Shumakov said in an interview posted online. Less than six months after its launch, around $150 million is now held in A7A5. These transactions are not necessarily illegal, but they could become problematic if used by sanctioned individuals or entities to reconnect with the global financial system, warned ACAMS's Voloshin. The man behind the A7 group, which developed A7A5, is Ilan Shor, a Moldovan businessman and politician now living in Russia. Investigators found links between A7A5 and Shor's political activities in Moldova, including websites related to both sharing the same IP address. These findings have suggested that the cryptocurrency could be used as a tool for political influence. Shor and his company have already been sanctioned by the UK, and more recently by the European Union, which accused them of trying to meddle in Moldova's 2024 presidential election and its referendum on joining the EU -- all while keeping close ties with Moscow. AFP
eNCA
a day ago
- eNCA
New cryptocurrency may be aiding Russia to dodge sanctions
Russia could be turning to a new cryptocurrency called A7A5 to allow money to flow in and out of the country and avoid Western sanctions, experts have told AFP. Multiple rounds of international sanctions have been imposed on Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine seeking to ramp up economic pressure to halt the war. But the launch of A7A5 in February this year opened up an alternative payment method for Russian businesses and individuals to sidestep sanctions when trading with foreign partners, the UK-based non-profit Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) said in a report. A7A5 is a stablecoin -- a form of cryptocurrency backed by traditional assets -- in this case pegged to the ruble, making it harder for Western authorities to monitor than dollar-based alternatives. It was launched by a pro-Russian Moldovan oligarch and a Russian state-owned bank as "the first ever ruble-pegged stablecoin," George Voloshin from anti-money laundering group ACAMS told AFP. While it is not widely used yet, experts say its creation marks a significant step in Russia's efforts to reduce its dependence on major crypto companies -- many of which cooperate with Western governments. - Russian stablecoin - Since Russia was kicked out of the international banking system SWIFT and hit with asset freezes and investment bans, Moscow has already turned to crypto to sidestep financial restrictions imposed by the United States and its allies. Stablecoins are especially attractive because they are less volatile than other cryptocurrencies. People have also used cryptocurrency to donate directly to both the Ukrainian army and Russian militias, according to several analytics firms such as Elliptic. But Russia has faced a problem: USDT, the most popular stablecoin, is tied to the US dollar and controlled by a company called Tether, which cooperates with US and European authorities. Earlier this year, Tether blocked $28 million in USDT held in wallets on Garantex, Russia's largest crypto exchange, which was shut down following a global crackdown on illegal transactions. "That was a real wake-up call" for Russia, said Elise Thomas, senior investigator at CIR. "It made them think that they need their own stablecoin, they need something that they control," she added. Just before Garantex was shut down, tens of millions of dollars were moved from USDT into A7A5, according to data from crypto tracking firm Global Ledger. - How it works - A7A5 is backed by deposits in Promsvyazbank, a Russian bank under sanctions for its ties to the government and the military. The coin is traded on Grinex, a crypto exchange based in Kyrgyzstan -- a country seen as friendlier to Russian interests and less vulnerable to Western pressure. A7A5 is also registered in Kyrgyzstan rather than Russia because the country offers a crypto-friendly legal environment and is less exposed to "sanctions and other economic pressures," project director Leonid Shumakov said in an interview posted online. Less than six months after its launch, around $150 million is now held in A7A5. These transactions are not necessarily illegal, but they could become problematic if used by sanctioned individuals or entities to reconnect with the global financial system, warned ACAMS's Voloshin. The man behind the A7 group, which developed A7A5, is Ilan Shor, a Moldovan businessman and politician now living in Russia. Investigators found links between A7A5 and Shor's political activities in Moldova, including websites related to both sharing the same IP address. These findings have suggested that the cryptocurrency could be used as a tool for political influence. Shor and his company have already been sanctioned by the UK, and more recently by the European Union, which accused them of trying to meddle in Moldova's 2024 presidential election and its referendum on joining the EU -- all while keeping close ties with Moscow.
