Latest news with #ChineseEngineers
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Can China's hypersonic drone carrier bring Nasa's ‘scissor wing' dream to life?
Chinese aerospace engineers are revisiting a decades-old, largely abandoned aviation concept – the oblique rotating wing – and transforming it into a potential cornerstone of future warfare: an unstaffed hypersonic mother ship capable of flying at five times the speed of sound and unleashing a swarm of drones behind enemy lines. Drawing inspiration from Nasa's quirky AD-1 experimental aircraft of the 1970s – a small jet-driven plane with a 'scissor wing' that pivoted diagonally across the fuselage – researchers in China have reimagined the oblique wing as the key to solving one of aerospace engineering's most daunting challenges: efficient, stable flight across the entire speed spectrum, from take-off to hypersonic cruise to landing. Unlike conventional aircraft, which must compromise between low-speed lift and high-speed drag, or swing-wing fighters that adjust sweep symmetry on both sides, the proposed Chinese design features a single, centrally mounted wing that rotates up to 90 degrees. At low speeds, the wing sits perpendicular to the fuselage, maximising lift with a high lift-to-drag ratio of 9.1 – ideal for efficient take-off and subsonic cruise. As speed increases, the wing begins to pivot. At transonic speeds near Mach 1, it swings to 45 degrees, one side forward, the other aft, redistributing airflow and mitigating shock wave formation. This configuration suppresses wave drag while maintaining lift, achieving a lift-to-drag ratio of 5.6 – a remarkable balance in the treacherous transonic regime. Then, at Mach 5, the wing completes its rotation, aligning parallel to the fuselage and effectively merging with the top of the aircraft. In this configuration, the entire vehicle becomes a 'waverider', with shocks attached along the leading edges and compressed air generating high pressure underneath.
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
If the U.S. Doesn't Set Global Tech Standards, China Will
Imagine an internet where your identity is automatically attached to everything you do—every website you visit, every click you make. That was the vision behind New IP, a proposal Chinese engineers introduced at a United Nations telecom forum in 2019. New IP would have replaced the current open internet with a government-controlled system designed for surveillance and censorship. China shelved the proposal in the face of fierce opposition from Western governments, but it served as a wake-up call. China wants to dominate the technical standards that shape our digital future, filling a void that the U.S. has created as it has gradually withdrawn from this arena over the past decade. For too long, Washington has remained on the sidelines while Beijing has set the rules for new technologies.
Arab News
23-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan says stepping up security for Chinese nationals amid CPEC expansion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is ramping up security measures for Chinese nationals across the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday, as Islamabad hopes for expanded bilateral activity and more investment projects under the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Launched in 2015, CPEC is an over $60 billion flagship component of China's global Belt and Road Initiative, linking western China to Pakistan's Arabian Sea port of Gwadar through a network of roads, railways, and energy infrastructure. The project is widely seen as a potential economic lifeline for Pakistan but it has also brought Chinese nationals in the crosshairs of separatist militants who believe Beijing is helping Pakistan exploit minerals in the underdeveloped southwestern province of Balochistan, where China has a strategic port and mining interests. Chinese have also faced attacks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Pakistan's commercial hub of Karachi. In recent months, Beijing has been pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens working there, frustrated by the string of attacks on its citizens, particularly a bombing at the Karachi airport last October that killed two Chinese engineers who were returning to work at a power plant. 'Multiple steps are being taken to strengthen the security of Chinese citizens across the country, including Islamabad,' PM Sharif said during a high-level review meeting to review security. 'The Safe City projects are a prime example of this growing capacity. 'In light of CPEC's expansion, the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan has gained even greater importance … We are building a safe and business-friendly environment for the Chinese community in Pakistan.' During the meeting, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefed the prime minister on current security arrangements. Officials said 'special security measures are in place' due to terrorism risks and confirmed that all provinces and the federal government were working 'in close coordination.' The briefing noted that Chinese nationals were being provided security escorts while traveling and all new housing developments would include Safe City-grade surveillance infrastructure. Sharif also directed relevant ministries to prioritize Chinese passenger facilitation at airports. After building a string of energy and infrastructure projects since CPEC was first launched in 2015, CPEC Phase II focuses on industrial cooperation and socio-economic development, aiming to enhance industrial capacity, agricultural development and social well-being in Pakistan. This phase also emphasizes job creation, technology transfer and increased export capacity by boosting connectivity. It is expected to be completed in stages, with the development of manufacturing and processing industries envisioned by 2025, and further expansion by 2030.
South China Morning Post
19-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia ‘stands firm' on US chip sanctions after alleged workaround by Chinese company
Trade authorities in Malaysia have launched an investigation into claims that Chinese engineers bypassed US chip curbs by renting data centres packed with high-end Nvidia chips to train their artificial intelligence (AI) model in the country. Advertisement The allegation, made in a report by The Wall Street Journal last Thursday, poses a potential stumbling block to Malaysia's tariff negotiations with the US , which has curbed China 's access to high-end chips, including through third nations. Malaysia's trade ministry said it was in the process of verifying the claims. Though the activity might not necessarily breach local laws, the ministry said it 'stands firm' against attempts to work around export controls or engage in illicit trade activities. 'While Malaysia maintains a neutral position on unilateral sanctions, companies operating here have been advised to adhere to other countries' unilateral export controls … to avoid any secondary sanctions on their businesses,' it said in a statement on Wednesday. 01:38 China a 'key market', says Nvidia CEO Huang during Beijing visit as US bans AI chips China a 'key market', says Nvidia CEO Huang during Beijing visit as US bans AI chips A team of four Chinese engineers allegedly flew into Malaysia from Beijing in March, each carrying a suitcase with 15 hard drives containing 80 terabytes' worth of spreadsheets, images and video clips to train an AI model, according to the New York-based newspaper. Advertisement
Wall Street Journal
13-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Chinese AI Companies Dodge U.S. Chip Curbs by Flying Suitcases of Hard Drives Abroad
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—In early March, four Chinese engineers flew to Malaysia from Beijing, each carrying a suitcase packed with 15 hard drives. The drives contained 80 terabytes of spreadsheets, images and video clips for training an artificial-intelligence model. At a Malaysian data center, the engineers' employer had rented about 300 servers containing advanced Nvidia chips. The engineers fed the data into the servers, planning to build the AI model and bring it back home.
