Latest news with #Li
News18
3 hours ago
- Business
- News18
China, US Extend Tariff Pauses After 'Constructive' Talks In Stockholm
Li also said the two sides had 'comprehensive and in-depth' discussions on microeconomic issues China and the US have agreed to continue their tariff pauses on each other, signalling an end to the trade war between the two biggest economies. Following a two-day meeting with US counterparts in Stockholm, China's top trade official Li Chenggang said on Tuesday that the two sides had 'constructive" and 'candid" discussions and agreed to keep the tariffs at current levels — the US taxing Chinese goods at 30 per cent and China collecting 10 per cent on US products. Li also said the two sides had 'comprehensive and in-depth" discussions on microeconomic issues, agreeing to keep close contact and 'communicate with each other in a timely manner on trade and economic issues." However, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said President Donald Trump will have the 'final call" on any extension of a tariff truce between Washington and Beijing. 'Nothing has been agreed until we speak with President Trump," added US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a briefing in Stockholm, calling the tone of the talks 'very constructive". China & US Trade Talks On the first day, the talks lasted nearly five hours behind closed doors at the Swedish prime minister's office on Monday. Before the talks resumed on Tuesday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US trade representative Jamieson Greer over breakfast. The United States has struck deals over tariffs with some of its key trading partners — including Britain, Japan and the European Union — since US President Donald Trump announced 'Liberation Day" tariffs against dozens of countries in April. China remains perhaps the biggest unresolved case. The two sides backed off the brink during bilateral talks in Geneva in May and agreed to a 90-day pause — which is set to end on Aug 12 — of those sky-high levels. They currently stand at US tariffs of 30 per cent on Chinese goods, and China's 10 per cent tariff on US products. Other issues on the agenda include access of American businesses to the Chinese market; Chinese investment in the US; components of fentanyl made in China that reach US consumers; Chinese purchases of Russian and Iranian oil; and American steps to limit exports of Western technology, like chips that help power artificial intelligence systems. (with inputs from AP, AFP) view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
China and US to push for continuation of trade truce, Chinese negotiator says
China and the United States will push for the continued pause of U.S. reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods as well as China's countermeasures, China's top trade negotiator Li Chenggang said in Stockholm on Tuesday. During their negotiations on Monday and Tuesday, the two sides reviewed the consensus reached in previous rounds of trade talks in Geneva and London, Li told a press briefing. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category MCA Artificial Intelligence CXO Project Management Operations Management Technology MBA Product Management Degree Finance others Healthcare Digital Marketing PGDM Others Cybersecurity healthcare Management Public Policy Data Analytics Data Science Design Thinking Data Science Leadership Skills you'll gain: Programming Proficiency Data Handling & Analysis Cybersecurity Awareness & Skills Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT Master of Computer Applications Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details The two sides will continue to maintain communication and have "timely exchanges" on trade and economic issues, he said.
Irish Post
6 hours ago
- Irish Post
Message in a bottle from missing crew washes up on Irish shores four years later
A MESSAGE in a bottle discovered on the coast of a remote Irish island has captured global attention and revived questions surrounding the unexplained disappearance of a Taiwanese fishing crew more than four years ago. The bottle, found on the shore of Inisheer (Inis Oírr), the smallest of the Aran Islands, contained a handwritten note in a mix of Indonesian, English, and Chinese. It was discovered last week by Matthew Laming and a friend while they were walking along the beach. After breaking open the wax-sealed bottle, they found what appeared to be a desperate SOS message. 'We used Google Translate, and the first part of it translated to an SOS in Indonesian,' Laming said in an interview. 'At first, I thought it was a prank, but now, I'm not so sure.' According to Laming's Reddit post, the note reads, 'Please send help! We are lost since 12/20. There are 3 of us here. We don't know the name of this island. We are injured. HELP. HELLO. SOS.' The note ends with the Chinese character 'Li' (李) and the name 'Yong Yu Sing No. 18,' the designation of a Taiwanese tuna fishing vessel that went missing in late 2020. The Yong Yu Sing No. 18 was last heard from on December 30, 2020. Just days later, the US Coast Guard found the vessel drifting aimlessly over 600 miles northeast of Midway Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The boat's windows were shattered, its lifeboat was missing, and the ten-man crew—including a Taiwanese captain surnamed Li and nine Indonesian fishermen—were gone without a trace. Taiwanese prosecutors later ruled the incident an accident but offered no answers about what happened to the crew. The case remains one of the country's most unsettling maritime mysteries. The note's sudden appearance thousands of miles away in the Atlantic Ocean has sparked an online frenzy, particularly on Reddit, where Laming's post on the subreddit r/beachcombing quickly went viral. Internet users dug into the message's possible origins, some pointing out the similarities to the real-life disappearance of the Yong Yu Sing No. 18, while others speculated on ocean currents, timelines, and whether the note could have plausibly made it from the Pacific to the Irish coast. Some sceptics dismissed it as a hoax, noting the improbability of such a message surviving the ocean's journey for over four years. But others took the note seriously, especially after connecting it to the captain's surname and the ship's exact name. A few commenters even drew comparisons to historical cases, such as the 1992 Friendly Floatees incident, in which thousands of plastic toys released during a shipping accident were found on beaches around the world decades later. In Taiwan, the note is being treated with caution but seriousness. The Su'Ao Fisherman's Association, which represents many of the region's fishermen, issued a statement calling on the government to verify the message and, if confirmed, to cooperate with international authorities on potential rescue or recovery efforts. The Taiwan Yilan District Prosecutors Office, which led the original investigation, has not publicly responded to the discovery. Meanwhile, Laming and his friend handed the message over to local authorities in Galway. Ireland's police service, An Garda Síochána, confirmed receiving a report of the item found on Inisheer but declined to comment on third-party content or ongoing speculation. While the message is yet to be unverified, its emotional impact is undeniable. For the families of the missing crew, the note—whether genuine or not—serves as a painful reminder of unanswered questions and lost loved ones. For internet sleuths, it's a mystery that might yet unravel. 'My gut tells me it's a hoax,' Laming admitted, 'but Reddit has made me think—just maybe.' See More: An Garda Síochána, Aran Islands, Fishing, Reddit, Taiwan
Egypt Independent
7 hours ago
- Business
- Egypt Independent
China pitches global AI governance group as the US goes it alone
China has proposed a global action plan to govern artificial intelligence, just days after the United States unveiled its own plan to promote US dominance of the rapidly growing field that's become a key bargaining chip in trade talks between the economic powerhouses. Chinese Premier Li Qiang unveiled China's vision for future AI oversight at the World AI Conference (WAIC), an annual gathering in Shanghai of tech titans from more than 40 countries. Chinese Premier Li Qiang speaks at the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 26, 2025. Agatha Cantrill/AFP/Getty Images 'Overall, global AI governance is still fragmented. Countries have great differences, particularly in terms of areas such as regulatory concepts, institutional rules,' said Li in his speech on Saturday. 'We should strengthen coordination to form a global AI governance framework that has broad consensus as soon as possible.' Li's remarks came just days after the Trump administration unveiled its 28-page AI action plan, which aims to remove 'bureaucratic red tape' and establish US dominance in the sector. While Li did not directly refer to the US in his speech, he alluded to the ongoing trade tensions between the two superpowers, which include American restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports — a component vital for powering and training AI, which is currently causing a shortage in China. 'Key resources and capabilities are concentrated in a few countries and a few enterprises,' said Li in his speech on Saturday. 'If we engage in technological monopoly, controls and restrictions, AI will become an exclusive game for a small number of countries and enterprises.' People visit the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025. Go Nakamura/Reuters AI chips have become a key bargaining tool between US and China in trade negotiations, which continued this week with a meeting in Stockholm. Before the latest round of talks, both countries appeared to make concessions, with Washington lifting its ban on sales of a key Nvidia AI chip to China, and Beijing suspending its antitrust investigation into American chemical firm DuPont. Speaking from Scotland on Sunday, Trump said the US is 'very close to a deal with China,' but offered no further details. The current deadline for a deal expires on August 12. Billions spent in global AI race China has not been shy about promoting its AI ambitions: with more than 5,000 AI companies, and a core AI industry valued at 600 billion yuan ($84 billion) in April 2025, the nation is all-in on its tech rivalry with the US. This surge is being fueled by enormous government and private sector spending. Between 2013 and 2023, state venture capital firms invested an estimated $209 billion into AI-related businesses, according to research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private think tank based in Massachusetts, and this year alone, public sector spending on AI is expected to top 400 billion yuan ($56 billion). It's still a fraction of what the US spends — private AI investment in the US reached $109.1 billion in 2024, around 12 times China's $9.3 billion — but China's commitment to the AI race is evident in other ways. Since 2017, China has published more patents for generative AI inventions annually than all other countries combined, according to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization. People watch a humanoid robot play boxing at a Unitree booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025. Go Nakamura/Reuters All this investment is narrowing the gap between the US and China in the AI race. Earlier this year, the launch of one-year-old Chinese startup DeepSeek's new AI model R1 caused chaos on Wall Street and demonstrated China's technical capabilities by quickly outpacing models by Meta and Anthropic. It was allegedly developed for just $5.6 million, a fraction of the cost spent to make other models like ChatGPT (over $100 million) and Gemini (almost $200 million.) More recently, another startup Moonshot's Kimi K2 model released earlier this month also sent ripples in the AI community for its lower cost and capabilities that outperform some Google and OpenAI's models. The rapid development of China's AI market is even predicted to break even within the next few years, delivering a 52% return on investment as early as 2030, according to research from financial services firm Morgan Stanley. Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, also called for 'robust governance' of artificial intelligence to mitigate potential threats, including misinformation, deepfakes, and cybersecurity threats. People visit a Rokid booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China July 26, 2025. Go Nakamura/Reuters 'These developments demand urgent, coordinated action from the international community to ensure AI serves human welfare and social good,' he said in his speech at the conference, adding that AI implementation in ASEAN could further expand the region's rapidly growing digital economy and 'increase the region's GDP by 10-18%.' Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt reiterated the call for international collaboration, explicitly calling on the US and China to work together. 'As the largest and most significant economic entities in the world, the United States and China should collaborate on these issues,' said Schmidt at WAIC. 'We have a vested interest to keep the world stable, keep the world not at war, to keep things peaceful, to make sure we have human control of these tools.' Other speakers included computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, sometimes referred to as 'the godfather of AI' and French AI researcher and special envoy Anne Bouverot. Latest robot tech displayed Launched by Singaporean think tank Artificial Intelligence International Institute (AIII), the conference has been held in Shanghai since its inception in 2018 and has been an important platform for Chinese companies to showcase their technology to the world. Related article Will a dice-playing robot eventually make you tea and do your dishes? The event — which in the past has been attended by key figures in the tech industry, including Elon Musk and Jack Ma — features technology exhibitions, expert keynotes and discussion panels in a bid to further AI research, development and governance, something China hopes to play a leading role in. Attended by more than 800 companies, WAIC 2025 was again dominated by Chinese tech firms, including Tencent, Alibaba, SoftBank-backed Keenon Robotics and robotics startup Unitree, with appearances from several major US corporations like Tesla, Alphabet, and Amazon. A cosplayer presents the new AI doll Mochi at the Nubia booth at the Shanghai New Expo Center during the WAIC (World Artificial Intelligence Conference) 2025 in Shanghai, China, on July 28, 2025. Ying Tang/NurPhoto/Shutterstock A PsiBot robot plays mahjong during the 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, on July 27, 2025. VCG/Getty Images Visitors explored tech innovations across 3,000 exhibits, which included over 100 new product debuts. They included new AI models from Tencent Holdings and Hong Kong-based company SenseTime, Alibaba's first AI-powered smart glasses, new popcorn-serving bipedal robot models from Keenon Robotics, and cute companion 'pet' robots from Shenzhen startup ZTE. Other key exhibitions at the three-day event included Unitree's G1 boxing robot, which quickly caught the attention of visitors and became a fan favorite on social media, dancing robot dogs developed by China Mobile, and PsiBot's mahjong-playing humanoid.
International Business Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- International Business Times
China Proposes Global AI Body to Counter U.S. Monopoly
At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Premier Li Qiang urged the global community to form an international AI cooperation body. His call comes as China positions itself as a leading voice in shaping inclusive AI governance, just days after U.S. President Donald Trump released a national strategy aimed at cementing American dominance in artificial intelligence. Li emphasized the importance of keeping AI development open and collaborative, especially for countries in the Global South. He warned that current trends risk making AI a privileged tool for a few countries and corporations. The Chinese leader also reaffirmed support for open-source AI and pledged to share technological advancements with developing nations. While avoiding direct reference to the U.S., Li criticized restrictions and monopolistic practices that limit access to advanced AI technologies. His remarks were seen as a response to Washington's recent move to tighten export controls on AI chips and equipment, targeting China's tech sector over national security concerns. Despite U.S. restrictions, Chinese firms like Huawei continue to push forward with domestic AI innovation. Li said global coordination is necessary, calling current regulatory approaches "fragmented" and insufficient. China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu added that Shanghai could become the headquarters for the proposed AI body. The three-day summit included representatives from over 30 countries, such as Germany, South Korea, Qatar, Russia, and South Africa. The proposed AI group aims to facilitate open-source cooperation, global tech exchanges, and discussions around ethical AI use and cybersecurity, marking China's attempt to take a central role in shaping AI's future.
