CNA Correspondent - China's Greater Bay Area: Thriving or Trying?
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CNA
14 hours ago
- CNA
China's Premier Li Qiang proposes global AI cooperation organisation
SHANGHAI: Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Saturday (Jul 26) proposed establishing an organisation to foster global cooperation on artificial intelligence, calling on countries to coordinate on the development and security of the fast-evolving technology. Speaking at the opening of the annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, Li called AI a new engine for growth, but added that governance is fragmented and emphasised the need for more coordination between countries to form a globally recognised framework for AI. The three-day event brings together industry leaders and policymakers at a time of escalating technological competition between China and the United States - the world's two largest economies - with AI emerging as a key battleground. "Currently, overall global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences, particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules," Li said. "We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible," he said. Washington has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including the most high-end AI chips made by companies such as Nvidia and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that the technology could enhance China's military capabilities. Despite these restrictions, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from US officials. Li did not name the United States in his speech, but he warned that AI could become an "exclusive game" for a few countries and companies, and said challenges included an insufficient supply of AI chips and restrictions on talent exchange. China wanted to share its development experience and products with other countries, especially those in the Global South, Li said. WAIC is an annual government-sponsored event in Shanghai that typically attracts major industry players, government officials, researchers and investors. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has in past years regularly appeared at the opening ceremony both in-person and via video, did not speak this year. Besides forums, the conference also features exhibitions where companies demonstrate their latest innovations. This year, more than 800 companies are participating, showcasing more than 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, according to organisers. The exhibition features predominantly Chinese companies, including tech giants Huawei and Alibaba and startups such as humanoid robot maker Unitree. Western participants include Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon.
CNA
20 hours ago
- CNA
Microsoft probing if Chinese hackers learned SharePoint flaws through alert: Report
Microsoft is investigating whether a leak from its early alert system for cybersecurity companies allowed Chinese hackers to exploit flaws in its SharePoint service before they were patched, Bloomberg News reported on Friday (Jul 25). A security patch Microsoft released this month failed to fully fix a critical flaw in the US tech giant's SharePoint server software, opening the door to a sweeping global cyber espionage effort. In a blog post on Tuesday, Microsoft said two allegedly Chinese hacking groups, dubbed "Linen Typhoon" and "Violet Typhoon", were exploiting the weaknesses, along with a third, also based in China. The tech giant is probing if a leak from the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) led to the widespread exploitation of vulnerabilities in its SharePoint software globally over the past several days, the report said. Microsoft said in a statement provided to Reuters that the company continually evaluates "the efficacy and security of all of our partner programs and makes the necessary improvements as needed". A researcher with Vietnamese cybersecurity firm Viettel demonstrated the SharePoint vulnerability in May at the Pwn2Own cybersecurity conference in Berlin. The conference, put on by cybersecurity company Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative, rewards researchers in the pursuit of ethically disclosing software vulnerabilities. The researcher, Dinh Ho Anh Khoa, was awarded US$100,000 and Microsoft issued an initial patch for the vulnerability in July, but members of the MAPP program were notified of the vulnerabilities on Jun 24, Jul 3 and Jul 7, Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness for the Zero Day Initiative at Trend Micro, told Reuters Friday. Microsoft first observed exploit attempts on Jul 7, the company said in the Tuesday blog post. Childs told Reuters that "the likeliest scenario is that someone in the MAPP program used that information to create the exploits". It's not clear which vendor was responsible, Childs said, "but since many of the exploit attempts come from China, it seems reasonable to speculate it was a company in that region". It would not be the first time that a leak from the MAPP program led to a security breach. More than a decade ago, Microsoft accused a Chinese firm, Hangzhou DPTech Technologies, of breaching its non-disclosure agreement and expelled it from the program. 'We recognise that there is the potential for vulnerability information to be misused,' Microsoft said in a 2012 blog post, around the time that information first leaked from the program. 'In order to limit this as much as possible, we have strong non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with our partners. Microsoft takes breaches of its NDAs very seriously.' Any confirmed leak from MAPP would be a blow to the program, which is meant to give cyber defenders the upper hand against hackers who race to parse Microsoft updates for clues on how to develop malicious software that can be used against still-vulnerable users. Launched in 2008, MAPP was meant to give trusted security vendors a head start against the hackers, for example, by supplying them with detailed technical information and, in some cases, 'proof of concept' software that mimics the operation of genuine malware.
Business Times
21 hours ago
- Business Times
The EU-China Summit That Barely Happened
WHEN expectations are at rock bottom, simply showing up counts as progress. That is the story of this week's EU-China summit in Beijing – a hastily truncated, one-day event after China's President Xi Jinping declined to travel to Brussels. The absence of a formal joint communique and the palpable lack of deliverables should not obscure a critical fact that this meeting still matters. The reality of interdependence Despite rising tensions, the European Union (EU) and China together account for roughly a third of global gross domestic product and 30 per cent of world trade. Their economies are intertwined, and their geopolitical futures increasingly entangled. Whether on trade, climate action, or global security, EU-China relations have outsized consequences that go far beyond the boundaries of Brussels and Beijing. That is why, even in a climate of mistrust and mutual suspicion, face-to-face dialogue at the highest level is a meaningful step forward. Given how close the summit came to not happening at all, Xi's confirmation – reportedly just days before – signals a reluctant but essential recognition: disengagement is not a viable strategy. Fractured trust and strategic calculus The optics were clear. A shortened visit, no banquet, and icy body language contrast sharply with the six-day red-carpet treatment extended to Australia's prime minister just a week ago. The EU is not currently in Beijing's diplomatic good books, and the reasons are manifold. First and foremost is Ukraine. China's tacit support for Russia's war has alarmed European policymakers. Beijing's reported position that a Russian loss could embolden US pressure in Asia, reflects a calculus starkly misaligned with European values. The EU's recent sanctions on two Chinese banks linked to Russian military supply chains have further strained ties. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up China's restriction of rate earth exports to Europe, after easing them for the US, has inflamed tensions across the EU industry. Though fast-tracked licences have been promised, details remain opaque. And for industries already grappling with competitiveness in areas like clean tech, automotive and computing, the uncertainty is as damaging as the restrictions themselves. Caught between powers Europe's dilemma is exacerbated by the looming presence of the US. Even absent from the summit table, Washington was very much 'in the room'. Both China and the EU are calibrating their moves with one wary eye on US trade policy. China fears a transatlantic deal that will shut it out while the EU fears becoming the dumping ground for excess Chinese goods that can no longer enter American markets. Also, the timing of this summit could not have been worse. With the US trade deadline looming on Aug 1, the incentive on all sides is to avoid provocation. But long-term alignment remains murky. The EU's attempt to 'de-risk' from China, as EU President Ursula von der Leyen has framed it, involves walking a tightrope: reducing strategic dependencies without provoking confrontation. That is a hard sell in both Beijing and Washington. The search for leverage elsewhere China is not the only partner the EU is looking at. Negotiations with Australia, South-east Asia and Mercosur signal a concerted push to diversify trade partnerships. While these will not fully offset dependence on China, they send a clear message: Europe is broadening its options. Climate change might seem like one area ripe for cooperation. Both the EU and China have deadlines approaching for commitments ahead of COP30 in Brazil. Yet even here, progress is stymied. The EU refuses to endorse any joint declaration unless China offers firmer pledges on emission reductions. The concern? That aligning too closely with Beijing could strain transatlantic ties. Small steps, significant implications So, will this summit be deemed a success? That depends on the yardstick. If the expectations are major breakthroughs or a reset in bilateral relations, then ultimately it will be a disappointment all around. But in geopolitics, showing up can sometimes be half the battle. In a world becoming more fragmented and multipolar, structured engagement, however imperfect, is still our best hope. The EU and China may not trust each other much, but they understand that coexistence, and even cooperation, are inescapable. And that, in today's world, is reason enough to keep talking. The writer is senior partner at Penta, based in Brussels
