Latest news with #Alibaba
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Tech firms to showcase AI innovations in a China under US sanctions
Tech firms huge and small will converge in Shanghai this weekend to showcase their artificial intelligence innovations and support China's booming AI sector as it faces US sanctions. Chinese companies from heavy hitters Huawei and Alibaba to ambitious startups will dominate the two-day World AI Conference , but Western names like Tesla, Alphabet and Amazon will also participate. Chinese Premier Li Qiang will address the opening of the conference, highlighting the sector's importance to the leaders of the world's second-largest economy. Beijing has made AI and self-sufficiency in other cutting-edge technologies a pillar of its national development plan, saying it aims to make China the global leader in AI by 2030. These ambitions have set China on a collision course with the US as the superpowers compete for technological dominance. President Donald Trump's administration has imposed export restrictions on advanced technology to China, including AI chips and chipmaking equipment, citing concerns that it could enhance Beijing's military capabilities. Still, China has continued making AI breakthroughs that have drawn close scrutiny from US officials. Chinese AI startup DeepSeek unsettled the global AI industry this year with a low-cost model that rivals the performance of leading US systems from companies like OpenAI - but was developed at a fraction of the cost. Jensen Huang, CEO of AI chip titan Nvidia, described AI models from Chinese firms DeepSeek, Alibaba and Tencent as "world class" during a visit to Beijing this month. More than 800 companies are set to participate in this year's AI forum, showcasing over 3,000 high-tech products, 40 large language models, 50 AI-powered devices and 60 intelligent robots, organisers say. In addition to the industry behemoths, the show will feature startups such as humanoid robot maker Unitree.
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Trump's AI Race Vs. China's Leaks: Why Containment Could Backfire
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 23: Michael Kratsios, U.S. President Donald Trump and David O. Sacks speak ... More onstage at the All-In and Hill & Valley Forum "Winning The AI Race" at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo byfor Hill & Valley Forum) "AI is the new geopolitical lever"—this was the framing used in recent Washington briefings, where insiders described America's AI strategy as doing "two things fast, one thing slow—deliberately." The fast elements include granting FAST-41 fast-track permitting status to every data center above 100 MW, slashing timelines from years to months, and imposing stepped-up disclosure rules on shipments of advanced chips like the B200, H100, and H200 to list end-users in detail. The slow part is a deliberate study on "compute choke-points," due in December 2025, to determine whether to cap Chinese access to American cloud capacity. As these insiders noted, "We have the best technology, and we want to share it"—but only under an America First approach of techno-nationalism that ensures global infrastructure depends on U.S. foundations while restricting adversaries. On January 20, 2025—while inaugural crowds were still finding their seats—DeepSeek released R1. No Silicon Valley fanfare, just a GitHub drop and iOS icon that became America's most-downloaded free app within 48 hours. Five months later, as the White House unveiled its AI Action Plan on July 23, Alibaba-backed Moonshot dropped Kimi K2 days before, claiming 100x cost advantages over Western models. Coincidence? Hardly. It's Beijing projecting parity, if not superiority, precisely when Washington asserts dominance. The message: We can build frontier AI with whatever silicon you fail to contain. At its heart, the U.S. strategy stands on three legs: Promote American technology globally, Protect it from adversaries, and pursue Techno-Nationalism. The revelation of over $1 billion in Nvidia B200/H100 chips reaching China through Singapore-Ho Chi Minh City shell networks exposes this as wishful thinking. Here's the paradox: Failed containment doesn't just weaken "Protect"—it actively accelerates Chinese capabilities. Export controls create what analysts call "innovation incentives in captivity"—spurring Beijing to develop cheaper, more energy-efficient alternatives. DeepSeek's claim of training R1 for $6 million versus GPT-4's $100 million isn't just cost efficiency—it's containment blowback. U.S. insiders emphasize that what has historically slowed China wasn't lack of technology but the Chinese Communist Party's ideological conformity, requiring models to pass rigorous alignment with official doctrine. Yet even with these self-imposed limits, Beijing's efficiency gains show how U.S. restrictions can backfire, pushing adversaries to innovate around ideological and technical barriers. AI policy is energy policy. While Western democracies debate environmental reviews and grid reliability, authoritarian systems can rapidly direct energy flows to computing infrastructure. Wood Mackenzie's projection of 15-20% annual U.S. electricity demand growth from AI through 2030 isn't just a technical constraint—it's a strategic vulnerability. The U.S. response—expedited FAST-41 permitting for >100 MW data centers—assumes regulatory streamlining can match centralized resource allocation. It can't. Regulation isn't necessarily the enemy here; it's the necessary guardrail against social, political and industrial infrastructure that could collapse under its own power demands. Recent Washington briefings highlight growing concerns about Gulf-based corporate partnerships with U.S. AI projects serving as potential infiltration vectors. While specifics remain under wraps, the pattern involves sophisticated state actors using third-party relationships to access American technological developments—extending beyond chip smuggling to strategic information gathering. The Biden-era export controls and AI safeguards, such as Executive Order 14110, faltered due to structural bottlenecks that delayed infrastructure buildouts and allowed adversaries like China to gain ground through persistent evasion. This erosion is accelerating under Trump's deregulatory push, which has revoked those "burdensome government requirements" to prioritize speed. The result creates a feedback loop: domestic acceleration exposes enforcement gaps, which in turn necessitate more aggressive deregulation to maintain competitive advantages. Trump's approach represents the essential path forward to contain China, even if imperfect, as it addresses these foundational weaknesses head-on. We're witnessing the emergence of parallel AI ecosystems: U.S. resource-intensive models versus Chinese efficiency-driven alternatives. Rather than a single dominant technological stack, we may see competing approaches based on cost, performance, and regulatory philosophy. The question facing American strategists transcends tactical adjustments: Should U.S. strategy be defined by speed or security? Every month shaved off U.S. permitting may be offset by continued Chinese access to cutting-edge silicon through gray markets. Every export control may be accelerating the very multipolarity Washington seeks to prevent. In the end, the AI race isn't static—the course shifts quicker than anyone can sprint.
TimesLIVE
8 hours ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Chinese e-commerce leaders brush off regulatory risk to continue ‘instant retail' price war
China's largest e-commerce platforms show no signs of halting an 'instant retail' price war unusual in its resilience to state criticism, indicating the almost existential importance placed on instant retail as the future of e-commerce. Their fight in instant retail, where delivery can be as quick as 30-minutes, risks the wrath of authorities not averse to crackdowns and wary that aggressive price-cutting could entrench deflationary pressure in an economy under fire from US tariffs and restrictions on tech exports to China. Alibaba, and Meituan have pledged almost 200bn yuan R496.5bn combined to subsidise one-hour delivery in recent months, leading to customers who order beverages, for instance, effectively receiving them for free. So extreme is the strategy that the trio was summoned for the second time last week to the state administration of market regulation, which called for 'rational competition' aligned with the government agenda, said a person familiar with the matter. 'It's a battle that takes place now but is more related to the expectations for five to 10 years down the road. The platforms believe this is life or death. It might mean the future or ack of a future for their company,' said Ed Sander, tech analyst at Tech Buzz China.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Why Chinese government is upset with China's version of Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and other quick commerce companies
China's President Xi Jinping (Farhan Abdullah/Malaysia's Department of Information via AP) China is seeing a fierce ecommerce war. While the players are largely same -- Alibaba , and Meituan --, the setting this time is different. It is led by Quick Commerce players. This means China's version of Blinkit, Swiggy, Zepto and other quick commerce companies. As a result, China's e-commerce giants, including Alibaba, and Meituan, are locked in an unprecedented "instant retail" price war, which they view as crucial for their future despite government warnings. The fierce competition, offering delivery in as little as 30 minutes, has prompted authorities to express concern that the aggressive price-cutting could exacerbate deflationary pressures in an already fragile economy. According to a report in Reuters, the platforms have collectively poured nearly 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) into subsidies for one-hour delivery in recent months, leading to extreme scenarios where customers receive items like beverages for free. This strategy has not gone unnoticed by regulators. The State Administration of Market Regulation, a government body, recently summoned the three companies for the second time, urging them to engage in "rational competition," according to a source familiar with the matter. Ecommerce companies see the model as "life or death" struggle "It's really a battle that takes place now but is much more related to the expectations for five to 10 years down the road," told tech analyst Ed Sander of Tech Buzz China to Reuters. He explained that platforms view this as a "life or death" struggle, believing that instant retail, with the help of AI and automated warehouses, will eventually become so profitable that it will cannibalize conventional e-commerce. The extent of the price war is evident in promotions like coupons from Alibaba that cover the entire cost of a delivered breakfast or free tea from Meituan. JD Takeaway has also offered 10 yuan coupons on orders as small as 11 yuan. China government says price war creates no winners The regulatory pushback is unusual in its lack of effect, given that Chinese authorities typically take a firm-handed approach to market practices they deem unhealthy. A recent editorial from state media agency Xinhua was unequivocal, stating that these "zero yuan purchases" create a "bubble market" with no real winners. The price war is unfolding against a backdrop of economic slowdown, with retail sales growth dipping and economists at ANZ estimating a 0.1% decline in the consumer price index this year. Professor Bala Ramasamy of the China Europe International Business School told Reuters that "a price war is never in the interest of businesses" and that the "unrealistic and at times toxic" level of competition necessitates government intervention for the "greater good." Unlike price wars in sectors like electric vehicles, which were driven by overcapacity, the instant retail battle appears to be a direct response to a post-pandemic consumer spending slowdown. The instant retail sector is growing 2.5 times faster than traditional e-commerce and is projected to exceed 2 trillion yuan in sales by 2030, according to data from the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. While consumers benefit from the low prices, merchants are reportedly complaining that the price wars are eliminating profit margins.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
‘Instant retail' price war in China shows no let-up
SHANGHAI: China's largest e-commerce platforms show no signs of halting an 'instant retail' price war that has proven unusually resilient to state criticism, underscoring the near-existential importance placed on instant retail as the future of e-commerce. Their fight in instant retail, where delivery can be as quick as half an hour, risks the wrath of authorities not averse to crackdowns and wary that aggressive price-cutting could entrench deflationary pressure in an economy already under fire from US tariffs and restrictions on tech exports to China. Alibaba, and Meituan have pledged almost 200 billion yuan (RM118 billion) combined to subsidise one-hour delivery in recent months, leading to customers who order beverages, for instance, effectively receiving them for free. So extreme is the strategy that the trio was summoned for the second time last week to the State Administration of Market Regulation which called for 'rational competition' aligned with the government agenda, said a person familiar with the matter. 'It's really a battle that takes place now but is much more related to the expectations for five to 10 years down the road. (The platforms believe this is) life or death, it might mean the future or the lack of a future for their company,' said Ed Sander, tech analyst at Tech Buzz China. The adoption of artificial intelligence and automated warehouses will make instant retail increasingly profitable to the extent it will cannibalise conventional e-commerce, he said. Examples of instant retail and attendant price war include coupons from Alibaba covering the cost of breakfast delivered within 60 minutes, or from Meituan offering free tea. JD Takeaway offers 10 yuan coupons for orders as little as 11 yuan. Alibaba, and Meituan did not respond to requests for comment. Authorities in China typically take a sustained and firm-handed approach toward practices they deem unfavourable to healthy and rational market development, making dissent rare. State media agency Xinhua was unequivocal in a Wednesday editorial about the negative impact of 'zero yuan purchases'. 'On the surface, platform companies engage in 'price wars' to compete for the instant retail market, but their essence is to use subsidies to give birth to a 'bubble market',' the editorial read. 'To put it bluntly, there is no winner.' China's US$19 trillion (RM80 trillion) economy grew 5.3% in the first half of 2025. Hinting at what may be to come, however, retail sales growth slowed to 4.8% in June from 6.4% in May. Moreover, ANZ economists estimated a 0.1% decline this year in the consumer price index and 3% decline in the producer price index, for what would be the first annual deflation since 2009. 'A price war is never in the interest of businesses. Consumers gain of course, but from a macroeconomic point of view (it leads) price expectations to keep decreasing,' said economics professor Bala Ramasamy at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. 'The level of competition we have in China has become unrealistic and at times toxic. Government intervention has become necessary for the sake of the greater good,' he said. The regulatory attention is different to that given to the electric vehicle sector, where price wars stemmed in part from overcapacity. One issued raised by the regulator at the Friday meeting was food waste from unconsumed zero-yuan orders, said the person familiar with the matter, who was not authorised to speak with media and so declined to be identified. 'Everything points in the direction that they (regulators) are not happy with this, definitely not happy with a lot of tech companies just burning money by handing out all of those consumer discounts that will have no long-term effect,' Sander said. The appeal of instant retail battle is difficult to ignore for e-commerce firms that have struggled to unlock growth in the consumer spending slowdown since the Covid-19 pandemic. The instant retail sector is growing around 2.5 times faster than conventional e-commerce and is set to surpass 2 trillion yuan in sales by 2030, showed data from the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. While consumers may enjoy the low prices, merchants complain on social media that price wars all but eliminate profit margins and restaurateurs bemoan a fall in profitable in-person custom. 'From a regulatory perspective, authorities are generally in favour of competition, what they oppose most is monopoly,' said catering industry analyst Wang Hongdong, founder of catering data research institute NCBD. 'So, a complete halt to the delivery war is unlikely (though) they are likely to address some current issues, such as the impact on dine-in restaurants.' – Reuters
