US says framework for deal on future of TikTok ownership agreed with China | BBC News

September 16, 2025September 15, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The U.S. Treasury secretary has said Washington reached a “framework” deal with China on the ownership of TikTok’s American operations.

Scott Bessent said the framework was set in trade talks in Madrid to pave the way for US ownership. He added that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would “complete” the deal on Friday.

Trump said on Truth Social that the talks had “gone very well”, while China confirmed a framework agreement but said no deal would be made at the expense of Chinese companies’ interests.

A deadline is looming for the Chinese owner of TikTok to find a buyer for its American operations or face a shutdown and ban in the US.

Bessent announced the “framework” deal on the second day of negotiations between the US and China aimed at ending a trade war.

China Debuts World’s First 500 MW Impulse Turbine, Redefining Hydropower Scale | Cool Business Ideas

July 28, 2025July 27, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Harbin Electric has unveiled the world’s first 500?MW impulse turbine, a massive hydroelectric marvel with a 6.2?m diameter and 80-ton weight, engineered for the Datang?Zala Hydropower Station in Tibet. It’s the biggest and most powerful impulse turbine ever built—but it won’t be generating electricity until its 2028 debut.

Impact:

A New Record in Hydropower Engineering Each turbine—including its 21 precision water buckets—is forged from martensitic steel and weighs approximately 80 tons, claiming the title of the largest and highest-capacity impulse runner globally. Unmatched Efficiency Gains Designed for the high-head Datang Zala site (2,201?ft drop), advancements in bucket design boost efficiency from 91% to 92.6%, resulting in an extra ~190?MWh of electricity daily. Clean Energy with Significant Emission Reductions Once operational, the plant’s 1,000?MW capacity is expected to generate ~4 billion kWh annually—the equivalent of burning 1.3 million tons of coal and avoiding approximately 3.4 million tons of CO? per year. Fully Homegrown Innovation From design and forging to welding, China Datang and Harbin Electric executed all processes domestically. Cutting-edge welding tech—3D metrology, simulation, fatigue-resistant joints—was critical for managing the turbine’s sheer size and stress thresholds. Strategic Clean-Energy Leap The turbine marks China’s leadership in hydropower innovation and aligns with its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. The Datang Zala project is also a flagship for high-head impulse hydropower in complex terrain.

The AI Race Has Gotten Crowded—and China Is Closing In on the US | WIRED

April 10, 2025April 9, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

THE YEAR THAT ChatGPT went viral, only two US companies—OpenAI and Google—could boast truly cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Three years on, AI is no longer a two-horse race, nor is it purely an American one. A new report published today by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) highlights just how crowded the field has become.

The institute’s 2025 AI index, which collates data and trends on the state of the AI industry, paints a picture of an increasingly competitive, global, and unrestrained race toward artificial general intelligence—AI that surpasses human abilities.

OpenAI and Google are still neck and neck in the race to build bleeding-edge AI, the report shows. But several other companies are closing in. In the US, the fiercest competition comes from Meta’s open-weight Llama models; Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI employees; and Elon Musk’s xAI.

DeepSeek triggered a wild, baseless rally for some Chinese stocks | TechCrunch

January 29, 2025January 28, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Chinese AI company DeepSeek made global headlines for helping spark a massive sell-off in U.S. tech stocks on Monday, with Nvidia dropping almost 20%.

In China, the hype around DeepSeek has sent shares of some public companies with supposed ties to it soaring. The problem: There’s no evidence these companies ever invested in or cooperated with DeepSeek to begin with.

Rumored DeepSeek investors Huajin Capital and Zhejiang Orient popped by 10% on Monday, while a research company called Sublime China Information jumped 20% for supposedly cooperating with DeepSeek on its AI models.

Trump threatens China: More tariffs are coming on Feb. 1 | CNN Business

January 23, 2025January 21, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that even more tariffs could be coming as soon as next week: This time China was his target, as Trump threatened to unleash a wave of higher taxes on imports from America’s second-biggest trading partner.

In an Oval Office press conference that echoed similar off-the-cuff remarks on Monday, Trump said that he is considering a 10% across-the-board tariff on all Chinese goods starting as early as February 1. On Monday, Trump threatened 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada but deflected on China, noting that former President Joe Biden left in place extensive tariffs that Trump imposed during his first administration.

Viral disease HMPV is on the rise among kids in China — what is it? | Live Science

January 6, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A viral infection called human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is on the rise among children in China, according to Chinese state media.

The virus can cause upper respiratory tract infections — like colds — as well as serious lung infections and, according to state media, it’s now one of the top four most common viral infections among hospital visitors in China.

“HMPV has been recognized as a significant problem in the at-risk population across the world since the turn of the century when it was first discovered,” Andrew Easton, a virology professor at the University of Warwick in the U.K. who studies pneumoviruses, told Live Science in an email. “That risk has not changed significantly over the last almost 25 years.”

GM is struggling so much in China, it had to announce massive charges to fix its business | CNN Business

December 5, 2024December 4, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

China, once GM’s largest and most important market, has become its biggest problem.

General Motors told shareholders on Wednesday that it would record two non-cash charges totaling more than $5 billion on its joint venture in China, one related to the restructuring of the operation and another reflecting its reduced value.

GM expects the charge for restructuring costs to be $2.6 to $2.9 billion and the charge for reduced joint-venture value to be $2.7 billion.

The automaker’s shares were down 2.7% before the bell.

GM partners with SAIC Motors in China to build Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles.

China Rocked by Cooking Oil Contamination Scandal | BBC News

July 11, 2024July 10, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Chinese government has said it is launching an investigation into allegations that fuel tankers have been used to transport cooking oil after carrying toxic chemicals without being cleaned properly between loads.

The controversy has spread online as social media users express concerns about potential food contamination.

Tankers used for transporting fuel were found to be carrying food products, like cooking oil and syrup, and were not decontaminated correctly, according to state-run Beijing News.

Transporting cooking oil in contaminated fuel trucks was said to have been so widespread it was considered an “open secret” in the industry, according to one driver quoted by the newspaper.

US to bar and screen some tech investments in China | BBC News

August 10, 2023August 9, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The US plans to require American companies to disclose investments they make in China in high-tech sectors such as artificial intelligence, and to prohibit certain investments outright.

The much-anticipated move gives the government new power to screen foreign dealings by private companies.

The US said the measure would be narrowly targeted, but it is poised to further chill economic relations between the two superpowers.

China said it was “very disappointed”.

The US “has continuously escalated suppression and restrictions on China,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington.

Montana just banned TikTok | TechCrunch

May 18, 2023May 17, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte just signed the nation’s strongest restrictions on Chinese-owned social media app TikTok into law.

TikTok has faced mounting pressure in the U.S. from Congress and state legislatures alike in recent months, but Montana’s actions escalate those threats considerably, even if the issue of enforcement remains an open question.

“Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gianforte said.