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South China Morning Post
25-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Made in China 2025: 4 questions on the country's manufacturing upgrade 10 years on
China has made significant progress in multiple industries under its 'Made in China 2025' plan that Beijing initiated a decade ago, but the state-led initiative remains controversial on the global stage amid an escalating trade war with the US. Advertisement In the latest China Future Tech webinar , South China Morning Post technology editor Zhou Xin, Political Economy Editor Jasmine Wang, Science News Editor Stephen Chen and Political Economy Correspondent Ralph Jennings discussed major questions surrounding the ambitious plan as it concludes this year, and what to expect from China's policymakers ahead of their gathering in Beijing in early March. What has China achieved under 'Made in China 2025'? When China's State Council issued the policy in May 2015, calling it the country's first 10-year action plan focusing on promoting manufacturing, China still stood at the low end of the global value chain, producing mostly cheap goods. Most cars on Chinese roads were made by Western carmakers, and both the hardware and software of computers and mobile phones were largely designed in the US. Amid global pushback, the Chinese government has publicly downplayed the 'Made in China 2025' agenda in recent years, but it has still led to profound changes in the domestic economy. Electric vehicles from local brands are popular among Chinese consumers, and the China-made C919 passenger plane has begun to serve some of the busiest routes. While China still lags in areas such as high-end semiconductors and aerospace, a Post analysis in April last year found that the country has achieved about 86 per cent of its goals What role did the government play in China's progress in technology and manufacturing? The government's support measures came through a combination of top-down policy support, fiscal support in the form of tax rebates, resource allocation for basic research and fostering talent.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beyond 2025: what's next for China tech?
Date and time: Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | 10.30am-11.30am HKT Add to calendar: iOS | Android | Outlook 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. The "Made in China 2025" plan has been controversial since the day Beijing made it public. Some pointed fingers at Beijing for employing unfair policies in growing China's preferred industries, while others called the strategy a fool's errand, feeling there was no point seeking industrial progress through "a planned economy mindset". The Chinese government was forced to play down the plan - at least in public - but kept implementing its key policies by encouraging and directing resources into the industries deemed important for the country's future. A decade later, it seems China's efforts have largely paid off. The country has become a formidable player in many strategic industries, from electric vehicles to robotics. A South China Morning Post review of the plan at the end of 2024 found that China had achieved most of its own targets. With China's political leaders set to gather in Beijing in early March to chart the country's economic and industrial future, it is critical to review what China has done right and explore what the country might do in the next decade. This webinar will try to find answers to some of the most important questions about China's industrial and technological future. Our panellists are: Zhou Xin, SCMP Technology Editor (moderator) Jasmine Wang, SCMP Political Economy Editor Stephen Chen, SCMP News Editor, Science Ralph Jennings, SCMP Senior Political Economy Reporter 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
11-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Demystifying DeepSeek: 4 burning questions about the AI start-up answered
Published: 6:06pm, 10 Feb 2025 Updated: 4:37pm, 11 Feb 2025 Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek has continued to send ripples through the industry globally, while many questions remain surrounding the firm's high-performance models developed at a fraction of the cost of their peers in the US. In a China Future Tech webinar on Monday hosted by SCMP Plus, South China Morning Post technology editor Zhou Xin , China news editor Josephine Ma and technology production editor Matt Haldane joined moderator Jacques van Wersch to discuss common myths about the low-profile Hangzhou-based company and the implications of its achievements. There is no public record suggesting that DeepSeek has received backing from the Chinese government. The private company was started as a side project of High-Flyer, a quantitative hedge fund that built up powerful computing resources over years for the purpose of algorithmic trading. These resources were then put to use in expanding the fund's focus to AI by building DeepSeek in 2023. During a visit to its office in a commercial building in Hangzhou last month, the Post saw none of the hallmarks typical of a government-funded company, such as being based in a hi-tech park. But as DeepSeek has become a national hero amid intensified efforts from the US to curb China's AI progress, it would be easy for the company to secure state support going forward.
South China Morning Post
10-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Demystifying DeepSeek: Four burning questions about the AI start-up answered
Published: 6:06pm, 10 Feb 2025 Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek has continued to send ripples through the industry globally, while many questions remain surrounding the firm's high-performance models developed at a fraction of the cost of their peers in the US. In a China Future Tech webinar on Monday hosted by SCMP Plus, South China Morning Post technology editor Zhou Xin , China news editor Josephine Ma and technology production editor Matt Haldane joined moderator Jacques van Wersch to discuss common myths about the low-profile Hangzhou-based company and the implications of its achievements. There is no public record suggesting that DeepSeek has received backing from the Chinese government. The private company was started as a side project of High-Flyer, a quantitative hedge fund that built up powerful computing resources over years for the purpose of algorithmic trading. These resources were then put to use in expanding the fund's focus to AI by building DeepSeek in 2023. During a visit to its office in a commercial building in Hangzhou last month, the Post saw none of the hallmarks typical of a government-funded company, such as being based in a hi-tech park. But as DeepSeek has become a national hero amid intensified efforts from the US to curb China's AI progress, it would be easy for the company to secure state support going forward.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China tries to downplay 'nonsense' claims it pulled out of Cambodian canal project
The Chinese embassy in Cambodia sought to downplay reports it had pulled out of a controversial canal project by publishing an article that described them as "complete nonsense". Media reports said Beijing had withdrawn from the US$1.7 billion Funan Techo canal, which will link the capital Phnom Penh with the Gulf of Thailand, after a disagreement about control of the project. The project has also caused concern in neighbouring Vietnam and in the United States, while conservationists have warned it threatens "fragile" ecosystems and agriculture. 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. On Tuesday, the Chinese embassy posted an article on social media which said domestic and international media had reported that "China will no longer provide support to Cambodia, and the canal project will fail, affecting the ironclad friendship between China and Cambodia." It added: "This is complete nonsense." The groundbreaking ceremony for the 180km (112-mile) waterway was held in August, but months later there was no sign of work beginning on the project, according to domestic and international media reports. The article by Zhou Xin, who regularly comments on international affairs for state media, said Beijing had made it clear it was willing to help Cambodia with the project but given its "scale and complexity", in-depth research and frequent discussions would be needed before construction started. It compared it with the 135km Pinglu canal in the southern Chinese region of Guangxi, where research and preparation took three years before construction work started in August 2022. "The Funan Techo canal project also needs similar careful research and discussions," the article said, adding that a Chinese team had visited Cambodia last month to discuss the project. It predicted that more information about the progress of the scheme would be released, adding "we shall wait and see". At the groundbreaking ceremony, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet told a flag-waving crowd of hundreds that China would contribute 49 per cent of the funding for the project, which will link the Mekong River to the sea and reduce Cambodia's reliance on its neighbour Vietnam for shipping. But questions persist over China's involvement. In November Reuters reported that Beijing had expressed misgivings about the project, citing four anonymous sources directly involved in the investment plans or briefed about them. The report said it had not made definitive funding commitments because the project's shareholding structure had not been finalised. Besides the challenge of financing and building the canal, the project has prompted warnings by environmentalists that it risked reducing water flow to the Mekong, damaging vulnerable ecosystems and causing salination that threatens local food supplies. There are wider political implications too, with the US expressing concern at China's growing influence in the region. Meanwhile, Vietnam is worried the canal could be used by Chinese warships and hit its ports' revenues. The article shared by the embassy debunked claims circulating on social media that Cambodia had turned against China under the "increasing inducement of the United States", saying many videos and pictures cited as evidence were obviously forged using AI technology to discredit Cambodian leaders. "This is even more outrageous," it said, adding that Hun Manet had pledged to continue the foreign policy approach of his father Hun Sen, who led the country for decades. "He reiterated many times that Cambodia and China are ironclad friends and will be committed to promoting friendly relations between Cambodia and China ... It is true that Hun Manet had studied in the US, but we believe he knows who will be Cambodia's most reliable and trustworthy friend at critical moments," the piece said. It also said it was "completely untrue" that the project would have any impact on relations between China and Cambodia. It said the two sides had a long history of friendly ties and in 2019, Cambodia became the first country in the world to sign an action plan for building a community with a shared future with China. The article added that trade between the two countries grew by almost 24 per cent year on year to US$15 billion in 2024, while the China-backed Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone accounted for nearly 8 per cent of Cambodia's trade and more than half of the local economy. 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.
