Baidu says self-driving vehicle costs drop to US$34,525 as mass production ramps up

Baidu says self-driving vehicle costs drop to US,525 as mass production ramps up

Chinese tech giant Baidu said on Tuesday that it has brought down the production cost of its Apollo RT6 self-driving vehicle to 250,000 yuan (US$34,525) per unit, marking a significant step towards making autonomous driving more accessible in China. Speaking at a trade event in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province, Baidu co-founder, chairman and … Read more

OpenAI safety executive calls for responsible AI development at Bilibili event

OpenAI safety executive calls for responsible AI development at Bilibili event

A safety executive at OpenAI made a rare speech at an event hosted by a major Chinese video streaming platform, calling for the responsible development of artificial intelligence (AI). Lilian Weng Li, a research vice-president on AI safety at the Microsoft-backed start-up, said at an event hosted by Chinese streaming platform Bilibili last week that … Read more

Tesla’s robotaxi event draws mixed reaction in China where Elon Musk faces tough rivals

Tesla’s robotaxi event draws mixed reaction in China where Elon Musk faces tough rivals

Chinese netizens and industry insiders closely followed Tesla’s much-anticipated “We, Robot” event on Thursday night US time, with mixed feedback given that China is already offering robotaxi services ahead of Elon Musk’s plans. Tesla live-streamed the event across almost every major Chinese social media platform, including WeChat Channels, Douyin, Kuaishou, Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and Bilibili. It … Read more

Are China’s lauded anti-poverty triumphs at risk of vanishing?

Are China’s lauded anti-poverty triumphs at risk of vanishing?

In Zhongwei, a city in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, fighting poverty seems to be a never-ending battle. While the country as a whole has made tremendous gains in living standards, in July, the city’s Shapotou district announced that 28 more individuals had been added to a poverty relapse watch list. The officials who … Read more

New analysis of 2019 Wuhan market animals may help find COVID-19 origin

New analysis of 2019 Wuhan market animals may help find COVID-19 origin

LONDON —  Scientists searching for the origins of COVID-19 have zeroed in on a short list of animals that possibly helped spread it to people, an effort they hope could allow them to trace the outbreak back to its source. Researchers analyzed genetic material gathered from the Chinese market where the first outbreak was detected … Read more

Baidu posts flat second-quarter revenue as sluggish economy slowed advertising spending

Baidu posts flat second-quarter revenue as sluggish economy slowed advertising spending

Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed up 1.71 per cent to HK$86.45 on Thursday. A robotaxi, developed as part of Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous driving project, seen on the road in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province. Photo: AFP Although overall revenue edged down, Baidu said in a statement on Thursday that its non-marketing operations grew … Read more

2 more top Chinese football officials netted in corruption crackdown

2 more top Chinese football officials netted in corruption crackdown

Besides holding his CFA post, Li was the party secretary and head of Shanghai’s Jinshan district, and held several other senior roles during those years. In its verdict, an intermediate court in central China’s Hubei province said that that Li did favours for football clubs facing relegation, and also helped companies to secure construction projects … Read more

Autonomous driving unicorn WeRide files for US IPO amid expansion plans in China, overseas

Autonomous driving unicorn WeRide files for US IPO amid expansion plans in China, overseas

WeRide – a Cayman Islands holding company whose operations are mainly conducted by Guangzhou Wenyuan Zhixing Technology and its subsidiaries in mainland China – did not provide the amount of money it aims to raise from the Nasdaq listing, according to its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The company, which … Read more

China’s Covid-19 response rallied the public up until Shanghai lockdown: study

China’s Covid-19 response rallied the public up until Shanghai lockdown: study

According to the study, published online on May 27 by the Journal of Contemporary China, trust in the central government fell sharply in September 2022 – after Shanghai’s two-month lockdown – compared to March that year, weeks before the city shut down. The sudden decrease in support – from 8.6 in March to 7.8, even … Read more

‘Emotional power’: China’s Covid wounds reopened in tense, divisive ‘An Unfinished Film’

‘Emotional power’: China’s Covid wounds reopened in tense, divisive ‘An Unfinished Film’

Much of the film focuses on the mobile phone screen of a film crew member character. On the phone, the audience sees actual news reports and short videos that were posted during the Covid-19 pandemic in China between 2020 and 2022 – most of which were later removed by censors. Nationalist online commenters have argued … Read more