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Qatar Chamber explores strengthening ties with Islamabad Chamber
Doha: Qatar Chamber (QC) discussed cooperation with the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), focusing on enhancing trade relations, boosting bilateral and joint investments, and exploring the role of the private sector in strengthening commercial exchange between Qatar and Pakistan. This came during a meeting between Dr. Mohamed bin Jawhar Al Mohamed, Board Member of Qatar Chamber, and Nasir Mansoor Qureshi, President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held on the sidelines of the Pakistan International Property Exhibition, which took place on Friday and Saturday, July 25–26, 2025, at Holiday Inn Doha. Dr. Mohammed bin Johar Al Mohammed and Nasser Mansour Qureshi toured the exhibition, during which they explored its various sections and learned about the products and services offered by the participating Pakistani companies. Dr. Al Mohamed praised the strong fraternal relations between the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, especially in the economic and commercial fields. He pointed out that bilateral relations have witnessed significant development in recent years, particularly in trade and investment. The volume of trade exchange between Qatar and Pakistan reached about QR12.7bn in 2024. This reflects the strength of economic ties and the great potential for expanding cooperation. He emphasized the vital role of the private sector in driving cooperation between the two countries, calling on businesspeople from both sides to capitalize on available opportunities and strengthen communication to establish strategic partnerships across various sectors. Dr. Al Mohamed also highlighted Qatar's attractive investment climate, modern infrastructure, and investment-friendly legislation, which make it an ideal destination for foreign investments. He invited Pakistani investors to explore the promising opportunities in the Qatari market. For his part, Nasir Mansoor Qureshi praised the strong ties between the two countries across various sectors, particularly in economy and trade. He also commended the distinguished relationship between Qatar Chamber and ICCI and the mutual desire to strengthen and develop it in ways that reflect positively on bilateral trade relations. © Dar Al Sharq Press, Printing and Distribution. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
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China's rebound has a distinct 'cool factor': Taosha Wang
(The views expressed here are those of the author, a portfolio manager at Fidelity International.) HONG KONG - The first seven months of 2025 have delivered a whirlwind of news on Chinese technology and business, oscillating between anxiety and euphoria, but what has cut through the noise has been the emergence of a "cool factor". In January, TikTok suspended its U.S. services for one day, when the outgoing administration shut down the app due to its ties to China, before the decision was swiftly reversed by the incoming Trump administration. Days later, Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek shocked the world with its cost-effective, high-performance R-1 reasoning model, triggering an intense debate about who will lead the 'AI race'. And then in early May, U.S.-China tensions reached unprecedented heights, as tariffs jumped above 100%, effectively halting bilateral trade, before de-escalation. By summer, however, China was once again exporting critical rare earth to the U.S. and Nvidia had re-started the sales of its AI chips to China, suggesting a burgeoning trade detente between the world's two largest economies. Amid this volatility, China's capital markets have responded favorably. The MSCI China Index has surged around 25% year-to-date through July 25, outpacing the MSCI All-Country World index's 12% gain and the S&P 500 index's 9% rise. Notably, this strong performance has been driven not just by typical business-cycle fluctuations, but also an appeal rooted in innovation, collaboration and youth culture, suggesting China's next growth cycle could look very different from those in the past. IMITATOR TO INNOVATOR China's evolution from low-cost imitator to global innovator is epitomized by its electric vehicle dominance. Chinese EV leader BYD, which began as a battery maker and currently has a market cap of $150 billion, was once dismissed by Elon Musk for its unattractive products and weak technology. However, a decade of development, supported by state-backed infrastructure including China's 10-million-strong charging network, has propelled BYD past Musk's Tesla in global sales. In 2024, one of every five EVs sold globally was from BYD, whose market share is now double that of Tesla's. Moreover, BYD's vehicles, like many other Chinese EVs, now boast the type of sleek designs and novel amenities associated with its U.S. rival. Beyond product innovations, some Chinese companies are also experimenting with new business models and sales strategies. For example, livestream social shopping, which was pioneered by Alibaba, has been adopted by Amazon, Instagram, YouTube and even Walmart (in collaboration with TikTok) in the U.S. to target Gen-Z and millennial shoppers. New players like Chinese toymaker Pop Mart are also experimenting with fresh business models. Its designer toys are sold in mystery boxes, where sealed packages conceal randomized plush "Labubu" figures, which adorn the luxury handbags of many influencers. This strategy seeks to tap into the thrill of uncertainty, creating viral demand beyond the Chinese domestic market. And this appears to be working. Pop Mart's sales from outside mainland China contributed to nearly 40% of its total revenue in 2024, and its profit in the first half of 2025 is expected to soar by at least 350% year-over-year. OPEN-SOURCE ARCHITECT Historically, tensions surrounding intellectual property have dogged China's global trade relationships. Today, however, its embrace of open-source collaboration appears to signal a profound shift. China is now the fastest-growing and second-largest contributor of open-source code on GitHub, the world's leading platform for software collaboration. Moreover, Chinese tech giants like Huawei and Tencent rank among the top corporate sponsors of Apache and Linux foundations, major nonprofit organizations that shape foundational technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. DeepSeek's R-1 model exemplifies this strategy. Released under the permissive MIT license, it grants large-scale commercial reuse rights (unlike Google's Apache 2.0 or Meta's Llama licenses) and has fueled countless derivative models globally. Such openness has the potential to build developer loyalty, influence AI standards, and circumvent geopolitical friction. This shift has been underpinned by a focus on developing scientific prowess. In 2024, China led the world in high-quality research publications, according to Nature, holding the top spot for the second consecutive year. Its advantage in publications extends even to semiconductor design and fabrication, a field where U.S. technological superiority is often assumed, with Chinese scholars authoring over half of the most-cited papers in this field in 2024. STRUCTURAL HEADWINDS However, the outlook for the country's businesses is not all rosy. Industrial profits are still shrinking, falling 1.1% year-to-date, despite various government stimulus measures, including a recently expanded consumer subsidy scheme and a central bank-backed initiative for state-owned enterprises to buy unsold homes. And price wars in sectors such as EVs and food delivery have gotten so brutal that the authorities have stepped in to mediate 'irrational' competition. Another structural issue is the country's stubbornly high youth unemployment rate (16-24-year olds excluding students), which remained at 14.5% - well above the 5% rate for the labor force as a whole. If China's future growth is to be driven more by a 'cool' factor, then the career prospects of its youth need to be strong enough to support their distinct consumption preferences as well as their entrepreneurial endeavors. Regardless of these challenges, innovation and open collaboration still have the potential to reshape China's global identity. Importantly, economic growth driven by these factors may be more evenly distributed and idiosyncratic, and therefore less cyclical, compared to China's old economic engines of real estate, infrastructure and production capacity investments. No longer just the world's factory, China is becoming a source of culturally resonant innovation. And as America's track record over the past decades suggests, no one should underestimate the value of cool. (The views expressed here are those of Taosha Wang, a portfolio manager and creator of the 'Thematically Thinking' newsletter at Fidelity International). Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI, can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, and X. (Writing by Taosha Wang; Editing by Anna Szymanski and Lincoln Feast.)
Zawya
a few seconds ago
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AsiaInfo Technologies Integrates with NVIDIA Omniverse to Accelerate Smart Manufacturing Transformation
BEIJING, CHINA- Media OutReach Newswire - 28 July 2025 - AsiaInfo Technologies Limited ("AsiaInfo Technologies" or the "Company"; HKEX stock code: 01675), a leading provider of software products, solutions, and services, today announced a strategic integration of its proprietary digital twin platform, AISWare Digital Gemini, MaaS (Model-as-a-Service) platform and intelligent platform, with NVIDIA Omniverse, a powerful 3D workflow and application platform. This collaboration, combined with AsiaInfo Technologies' robust large model application delivery capabilities, aims to empower the transformation of China's manufacturing industry from "Made in China" to "Intelligent Manufacturing in China." Within the simulated environment built by AsiaInfo Technologies' digital twin platform and NVIDIA Omniverse, customers can conduct virtual scenario construction and training. This, coupled with large model application services, enables the planning, driving, and execution of real-world production activities, accelerating the adoption of AI technology in industrial production. AsiaInfo Technologies' digital twin platform is a versatile tool for designing and building digital twin applications. It offers an exceptional visual experience and flexible scenario construction capabilities, deeply integrating technologies such as big data, IoT, GIS, 3D, new surveying and mapping, BIM, and AI. It provides one-stop digital twin scenario creation, orchestration, and business operation support for various application scenarios including networks, industrial manufacturing, city governance, and security. NVIDIA Omniverse is a platform comprising APIs, SDKs, and services that allow developers to integrate OpenUSD, NVIDIA RTX™ rendering technology, and generative physical AI into existing software tools and simulation workflows for industrial and robotics use cases. In addition, AsiaInfo Technologies' comprehensive large model application delivery capabilities, covering the entire development cycle from demand analysis, consulting and planning, product R&D, implementation and delivery, to operation and maintenance, ensure that industry-specific large models are precisely aligned with customer needs and effectively deployed in industrial manufacturing scenarios. Currently, AsiaInfo Technologies has successfully assisted domestic and overseas manufacturing enterprises in leveraging large models to build maintenance knowledge hubs, predict and diagnose equipment failures, and automate production scheduling. Moving forward, AsiaInfo Technologies will further deepen the integration of its digital twin platform with NVIDIA Omniverse. The Company will focus on industries such as industrial manufacturing, actively expanding market presence, developing innovative solutions, and driving project implementation and delivery to empower more customers. Hashtag: #AsiaInfoTechnologies The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. AsiaInfo Technologies
