Latest news with #DigitalSilkRoad
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia Faces $5.5 Billion Hit as Huang Flags Huawei AI Challenge to Congress
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang appeared before U.S. lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday to sound the alarm on Huawei's surging AI capabilities. Huang warned that U.S. limits on Nvidia's chip exports to China risk leaving a void that Huawei could exploit. He told lawmakers that when U.S. platforms are absent, companies will turn to competitors like Huawei to fill the gap, in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with NVDA. He highlighted Huawei's push to build AI data centers overseas under China's Digital Silk Road initiative, saying those projects do not align with U.S. norms or values. Huawei's rapid gains in telecom and smartphones, he added, demonstrate the perils of ceding strategic markets. Huang urged lawmakers to support greater investment in domestic chip manufacturing to maintain U.S. leadership, noting that proposed AI export rules set to take effect May 15 could force Nvidia to retreat from markets worldwide. Nvidia also faces a potential $5.5 billion hit from new curbs on its H20 AI chip shipments to China. Meanwhile, Huawei plans to start mass shipments of its own advanced AI processors this month, setting the stage for intensified rivalry in the global AI chip arena. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Arab News
02-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
GCC's digital push nears global standards but gaps remain: IMF report
RIYADH: Economies across the Gulf Cooperation Council region are closing the gap with advanced nations when it comes to digital transformation, according to a new International Monetary Fund report. The study found that the region has rapidly advanced in digital infrastructure and government services since the pandemic but still faces challenges in financial inclusion, corporate digital adoption, and workforce readiness for artificial intelligence. The findings come as Gulf states accelerate efforts to diversify their oil-dependent economies through technology-driven growth. Saudi Arabia has launched multi-billion-dollar initiatives such as NEOM, Dubai has pushed forward the Digital Silk Road, while Bahrain and Qatar are emerging as fintech hubs. 'Digitalization is transforming the global economic and financial landscape, with the potential to boost productivity and promote diversification in the Gulf Cooperation Council,' stated the report. 'The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated the digitalization agenda globally, creating new opportunities for the digital economy as an increased number of activities have shifted online,' it added. The IMF report highlighted that the GCC's digital acceleration has been particularly notable in public sector services and connectivity. The region's 'GovTech Maturity Index,' which measures digital government transformation, now rivals or exceeds the average of advanced economies. Saudi Arabia and the UAE lead the region, with their GTMI scores ranking above the 95th percentile globally. 'Most GCC countries have a higher GTMI than the AE (advanced economy) average in 2022, with substantial progress made in every GCC country since the onset of the pandemic,' the report said. Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia saw particularly sharp improvements, driven by initiatives such as Bahrain's Tawasul platform for citizen engagement and Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 digital economy push. The report noted that progress has been uneven, with Kuwait lagging in digital citizen engagement and core government systems, while Oman has room for improvement in public service delivery. 'Kuwait, for instance, trails behind its regional counterparts in critical areas, such as digital citizen engagement and the robustness of core government systems,' the IMF report noted. Fintech growth and financial inclusion gaps The financial sector has also seen rapid digitalization, particularly in fintech. Saudi Arabia and the UAE dominate regional investment in this area, with Saudi fintech funding deals surging 80-fold between 2019 and 2022. Regulatory sandboxes, first introduced in Bahrain, have spread across the GCC, fostering innovation in digital banking and payments. Despite these advances, the IMF noted that financial inclusion remains a challenge. While access to bank accounts and digital payments has improved, the GCC still lags behind advanced economies. The report explained that digitalization is strongly correlated with financial inclusion, particularly in emerging markets. A one-unit increase in the IMF's EDAI — a composite measure of digital progress — is associated with a 0.76 percentage point rise in financial inclusion in emerging markets. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia stand out as having the highest potential gains from further digitalization. The estimated coefficients of the interaction term for both the countries are positive and significant, indicating a larger-than-EM average effect of digitalization on financial inclusion, the report stated. Corporate sector and AI The corporate sector's digital adoption varies widely across the GCC. While the region boasts world-class digital infrastructure, local production of digital goods and services remains limited. The report highlighted that Saudi Arabia's share of inputs from digital industries is significantly lower than in countries at the forefront of digitalization. Companies in digitally intensive industries, however, have shown greater resilience during economic downturns. 'Firms in industries with high intensity of digital inputs suffer smaller revenue losses, and so do firms in digital-intensive industries,' the report added. Artificial intelligence adoption is rising, with 62 percent of respondents in a McKinsey survey reporting AI use in at least one business function. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are regional leaders in AI preparedness, but gaps persist in digital innovation and regulations. 'The GCC is better prepared than an average emerging market in embracing AI, but gaps remain relative to advanced economies,' the IMF report stated. Policy priorities: skills, regulation, and inclusivity The report identified several key areas where the GCC needs to concentrate its efforts to maintain and build upon its digital progress. One major focus should be on enhancing digital skills, as the region currently trails behind advanced economies in both basic digital literacy and more advanced ICT capabilities. Implementing comprehensive programs to upskill workers, with particular emphasis on emerging fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, will be crucial for future growth. Another critical area is the strengthening of fintech regulations. While regulatory sandboxes have successfully encouraged innovation in the financial technology sector, the GCC now requires more comprehensive regulatory frameworks to ensure long-term stability and proper consumer protections as these digital financial services expand. The report also highlighted the importance of boosting digital adoption among corporations, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. Wider integration of digital tools across businesses could significantly improve overall productivity and make companies more resilient to economic fluctuations. Finally, as automation and AI continue transforming the job market, the IMF findings noted that GCC will need to proactively address potential labor market disruptions. This includes developing robust social safety nets and creating effective retraining programs to help workers transition into new roles, minimizing the negative impacts of technological displacement on the workforce. The IMF emphasized that cybersecurity and data protection reforms are also key to maintaining trust in digital ecosystems. A regional leader with room to grow The IMF report's findings underscore that while the GCC's digital transformation has been impressive, the journey is far from over. With targeted policies, the region can solidify its position as a global digital hub while ensuring that the benefits of technology are widely shared. 'Decisive implementation of the GCC countries' comprehensive reform agendas — with a special focus on bridging the digital divide and ensuring labor market inclusiveness — will support their efforts to further digitalization,' the report said.
Arab News
23-03-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Gaza war compels China to review its Middle East policy
For nearly two decades, China's approach to the Middle East has been characterized by what Sun Degang and other Chinese scholars have described as 'a trade-off between maximum economic benefits and minimum political risks.' The carnage in Gaza and the attendant changes in the power equations across the Middle East now demand that Beijing take a fresh look at its diplomacy in the region. This has already been reflected in the measured remarks of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who, speaking at UN headquarters last month, categorically stated that the Palestinian question 'remains at the core of the Middle East issue' and, until it is resolved through the two-state solution, 'the peace and security of all countries will be threatened.' China has thus signaled that its earlier 'hedging strategy' — the policy of 'offending no one' — is no longer feasible. This approach had enabled China to build very substantial energy, economic and, through the Belt and Road Initiative, terrestrial and maritime connectivity links with the countries of the Gulf. Again, China's recent engagements in the area of technology through the Digital Silk Road have coincided with the Gulf countries' interest in developing their own digital economies, as set out in their ambitious 'Vision' documents. A decade ago, China's hedging strategy approach had moved from passive to proactive. In 2017, Chinese scholars articulated their country's 'quasi-mediation diplomacy,' under which it would expand its role in the political and security arenas. At the heart of this approach was the 'zero-enemy policy.' This involved the finalization of substantial strategic partnership agreements and the increasing engagement of major regional states in multilateral platforms supported by China. Building on the earlier bilateral agreements and setting-up of dialogue platforms with Arab states, this approach has included China's 25-year cooperation agreement with Iran signed in March 2021, the Saudi-Iran reconciliation agreement of March 2023, the July 2024 Beijing Accord between 14 Palestinian factions, and the extension of membership of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to major Middle Eastern countries. The changes in the regional scenario as a result of the Gaza war and attendant confrontations with Iran and its allies call for a new diplomatic approach by China. The principal changes in the regional scenario are: first, the emergence of a militarily triumphant Israel and its aggressive territorial claims in the Occupied Territories and Syria. Second, the significant weakening of Iran and its so-called axis of resistance. Third, the total support being extended by the US to Israel with regard to its maximalist regional agenda. And, finally, the severe setback to Palestinian aspirations for a sovereign state. China now needs to assume a responsible role in the region's security dynamics in order to confront the US-Israeli plans for long-term hegemony in the Middle East and to safeguard its own interests. Talmiz Ahmad US President Donald Trump has complicated the picture with harsh rhetoric against Palestinian interests and Iran, affirming that a US-Israel alliance will dominate Middle East affairs. Trump has also made it clear that his 'America First' approach includes challenging China's political, economic and technological influence in the region. While Chinese scholars such as Sun wrote in October 2024 that the US and China 'share compatible and complementary interests' in terms of regional security and conflict de-escalation, this now has little relation with reality. In its engagements with Middle East states, China has always been conscious that the US views it as a rival and sees its expanding influence in zero-sum terms. Both the US and Israel, for instance, view China's political and economic support for Iran negatively, as well as China's silence on Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping. In the coming months, Trump may be expected to revive the 'maximum pressure' approach toward Iran, while insisting that Gulf Cooperation Council states pursue the normalization of ties with Israel and increase their purchases of American weaponry. This, in short, requires them to abandon their affiliation with strategic autonomy that is at the heart of the GCC's 'Vision for Regional Security,' announced in March 2024. This will also inevitably require the dilution of their ties with China. This will threaten Beijing's crucial energy, economic and long-term strategic interests. The changed security scenario in the Middle East and the emerging challenges from the US require that China move beyond its hedging strategy and shape a new approach that effectively safeguards its interests. This should have the following attributes: One, support the Gulf states' commitment to strategic autonomy by making itself an indispensable energy, economic and security presence, with a robust pursuit of partnerships in diverse economic and political areas. Two, expand energy, infrastructure and technological ties with Saudi Arabia, while promoting close ties between the GCC and Iran. Three, extend full and overt support to Palestinian aspirations through involvement with reconstruction in Gaza and the West Bank and defend Palestinian interests at the UN and other international fora. This approach calls for a fundamental review of China's generally hands-off approach that has, over the years, yielded great benefits to it. Earlier, China took great umbrage when outgoing President Barack Obama described it as a 'free rider' in the Middle East, i.e., obtaining advantages for itself while the US provided the security umbrella. China now needs to assume a responsible role in the region's security dynamics in order to confront the US-Israeli plans for long-term hegemony in the Middle East and to safeguard its own interests. This is also crucial for the future of the multipolar world order.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As Africa races towards its AI revolution, China is with it each step of the way
With Chinese start-up DeepSeek poised to help accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) across Africa, China has cemented its presence in the continent's digital transformation, experts have said. But, they added, as Africa's digital landscape speed along, it had also pushed policymakers to build governance frameworks around the new technology. Through the Digital Silk Road, an initiative Beijing unveiled in 2015, Chinese enterprises have been constructing digital infrastructure, including submarine and terrestrial cables, 5G networks and data centres, said Yu Jia, senior operations officer of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. "Thereby they laid the critical hardware foundation for AI development and adoption across the continent," she said. Africa is China's second-largest overseas contracted engineering market. Over the past decade, Chinese enterprises have signed engineering deals in Africa totalling more than US$700 billion, according to China's State Council. As of August 2024, 52 African countries, as well as the African Union, have struck agreements with China through its Belt and Road Initiative. "The adoption and development of AI in Africa is still in its early stages, but it has already demonstrated significant potential, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education and finance," Yu said. According to a recent assessment by Global System for Mobile Communications, Africa represents only 2.5 per cent of the worldwide AI market, yet estimates suggest that the technology could increase the continent's economy by US$2.9 trillion by 2030 - the equivalent of increasing annual gross domestic product growth by 3 per cent. It is an emerging market that is expanding rapidly: there are reportedly more than 2,400 companies specialising in the industry as of 2024, most of which are in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria. South Africa leads the continent in terms of the number of AI companies and the scale of financing, according to experts. In 2022, the country established a national institute to support AI applications in mining, government data cloud systems, automotive infrastructure and agriculture. Most African governments see AI as a tool to "leapfrog" national development. Kenddrick Chan, head of the digital international relations project at foreign policy think tank LSE IDEAS, said they did have the potential to do that. For example, about half of the continent had jumped straight to mobile banking instead of traditional banking, he said. "One could argue that when it comes to AI, Africa might be able to bypass outdated technologies and implement AI-driven solutions faster as it does not have legacy systems that are entrenched," Chan said. "All of this, however, requires significant political will and coordinated government action if such potential is to be realised." A large pool of talent is Africa's other strength, Chan noted. "Africa also has the youngest population in the world, which means that it will have a young, tech-savvy workforce that can be trained to use AI tools to augment and value-add to their work." But there are other significant challenges Africa is facing in its AI development. These include an unstable power supply, relatively low computing capacity and a lack of advanced computing centres and equipment, according to Yu. "Africa lacks a complete AI industry chain, with almost no presence in core areas such as chip development and algorithm innovation, making it highly reliant on external technologies and products," she said. AI could be a powerful tool in medical care throughout remote regions of Africa. Photo: Xinhua alt=AI could be a powerful tool in medical care throughout remote regions of Africa. Photo: Xinhua> Lacking sufficient and cohesive data also constrained AI model training and expansions of applications, according to Iginio Gagliardone, a professor specialising in the politics of technology at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. "We're talking about a huge continent with 54 countries, where hundreds of different languages are being spoken and these languages might be spoken in ways that leave very little trace online," he said. The emergence of DeepSeek opens a bigger window of opportunity for China-Africa cooperation, potentially driving significant AI advancements in sectors such as agriculture and healthcare, Yu said. "China-Africa collaboration in advancing AI applications can significantly bolster precision agriculture, climate monitoring and pest prediction," she said. "Traditional Chinese medical aid teams in Africa can leverage AI to facilitate remote diagnosis, disease prediction and public health management. AI-assisted diagnostic tools and infectious disease surveillance systems can help address critical resource gaps." The very nature of the open-source model has also pushed African policymakers to address concerns over data privacy and AI safety, Chan noted. "Open-source AI can also be repurposed for malicious use such as generating misinformation," he said. "This is where African governments need to ensure that they have the right policies in place to make sure that the malicious use of AI does not occur and that there are mechanisms for AI auditing and oversight." Kenya is preparing to join a growing number of jurisdictions worldwide that are imposing restrictions on the use of their citizens' data and information collected within their borders to train AI models, particularly by foreign entities. The Moroccan government is also examining a draft law aimed at managing AI applications and ensuring their ethical and safe use. Last April, China's top cyberspace regulator pledged to deepen the push for artificial intelligence governance with African countries at a China-Africa internet forum held in Xiamen. Amid the escalating AI competition between China and America, particularly during Donald Trump's presidency, African countries might lean slightly more towards China, Gagliardone noted. "China has shown greater consistency over time with less inclination to lecture others as compared to the United States," he said. Steadily climbing in the past two decades, Chinese foreign direct investment flows to Africa have exceeded those from the US since 2013, with American investment generally declining since 2010, according to official state data. African countries have been able to develop strong ties with a variety of partners across the globe, without having to lock themselves in, Gagliardone said. An example would be Africa's response when Trump demanded US allies join his Huawei Technologies blacklist during his first term. The UK and Australia complied with this, to some extent, but African countries, including US ally Kenya, maintained their neutrality and continued the partnerships anyway. There were no repercussions for ignoring the Huawei ban. "This Trump government seems more vindictive than the previous one. We will see what happens, but certainly in Africa there's not a sense that we need to take sides," Gagliardone said. Bitange Ndemo, Kenya's ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, noted that the current Trump administration has adopted an inward-looking approach, prioritising its "America first" policy. "It's going to be contentious between the superpowers, but right now Africa cannot be the battleground because the US is looking inward and becoming what we call insular," Ndemo said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
South China Morning Post
01-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
As Africa races towards its AI revolution, China is with it each step of the way
With Chinese start-up DeepSeek poised to help accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) across Africa, China has cemented its presence in the continent's digital transformation, experts have said. Advertisement But, they added, as Africa's digital landscape speed along, it had also pushed policymakers to build governance frameworks around the new technology. Through the Digital Silk Road, an initiative Beijing unveiled in 2015, Chinese enterprises have been constructing digital infrastructure, including submarine and terrestrial cables, 5G networks and data centres, said Yu Jia, senior operations officer of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University. 'Thereby they laid the critical hardware foundation for AI development and adoption across the continent,' she said. Africa is China's second-largest overseas contracted engineering market. Over the past decade, Chinese enterprises have signed engineering deals in Africa totalling more than US$700 billion, according to China's State Council. Advertisement As of August 2024, 52 African countries, as well as the African Union , have struck agreements with China through its Belt and Road Initiative 'The adoption and development of AI in Africa is still in its early stages, but it has already demonstrated significant potential, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education and finance,' Yu said.
