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Xi Jinping warns against China's overinvestment in EVs and AI

Xi Jinping warns against China's overinvestment in EVs and AI

Engadget3 hours ago
Chinese President Xi Jinping has bluntly questioned a nationwide rush of investment into the AI and EV industries. As deflation anxiety grows and Trump's trade war with China ramps up, the world's second largest economy is turning to fast-growth tech industries to remain competitive.
But Xi appears to think that the strategy is flawed. As reported by the Financial Times , China's President sent out a pointed message about over-investment at the two-day Central Urban Work Conference in Beijing.
"When it comes to projects, there are a few things — artificial intelligence, computing power and new energy vehicles," he said in a speech that made the front page of the People's Daily , the official newspaper of the Communist Party. "Do all provinces in the country have to develop industries in these directions?"
The Financial Times reports that Xi went on to criticise officials who encourage hasty development but don't hang around to face the consequences. 'We should not only focus on how much GDP has grown and how many major projects have been built, but also on how much debt is owed,' Xi told conference attendees. "We should not let some people pass the buck and leave problems to future generations."
For now though, there's no suggestion that China is shifting its focus away from the sectors Xi directly referenced. This week, NVIDIA was granted permission by the US government to resume selling its AI chips to China, with the company reportedly holding $8 billion in unshipped orders. It was initially blocked from selling the H20 AI GPU to China over concerns it could aid the nation's military.
China is the global leader of the EV industry, and the country is taking on the US in the robotaxi race too. It was announced this week that Uber is partnering with Baidu to bring thousands of the Chinese company's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles onto the Uber network in mainland China and other non-US markets.
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There is no historical ambiguity regarding who bore the brunt of Japan's invasion during World War II. Following the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, China became the principal theater of war in Asia. The Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek's leadership conducted over 90 percent of the major battles and suffered the bulk of casualties. In contrast, the Communist Party operated largely in guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines, focused more on consolidating its own strength than on resisting Japan strategically. It was the Nationalist government's sacrifices that initially earned the Republic of China a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. Even after its retreat to Taiwan in 1949 following the civil war, the U.N. continued to recognize the Republic of China for nearly two more decades — underscoring its historical legitimacy. After consolidating power, the Chinese Communist Party eliminated many of the generals and troops who had genuinely resisted Japan. 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