News | Mark Schlarbaum - Mainland China Business Collaboration

China Is Starting to Spank the U.S. With Supercomputing Resources

When it comes to supercomputers, the U.S. used to rule the roost. But these days its status is slipping—while China is surging ahead.

How bad is the problem? This bad, according to the new Top500 list, which rounds up supercomputer performance around the world every six months:

China nearly tripled the number of systems on the latest list, while the number of systems in the United States has fallen to the lowest point since the TOP500 list was created in 1993. China is also carving out a bigger share as a manufacturer of high performance computers with multiple Chinese manufacturers becoming more active in this field.

The number of U.S. supercomputers in the top 500 has now dropped to just 200, down from 231 in July. Meanwhile, China now boasts 109 systems in the list, nearly three times the 37 it had in the top 500 just six months ago.

More…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

MARK SCHLARBAUM - Experienced in China - US business partnerships. Never giving up for those that never stop fighting! Help me join the fight against blood cancer and reach my fundraising goal! Visit My Fund Raising Page

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Australia sixth-biggest shareholder in China bank

abc.net.au

Australia has become a major shareholder in the first China-led multilateral institution, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Representatives from 50 countries, including Treasurer Joe Hockey, took part in a signing ceremony of the articles of agreement at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

China’s finance ministry said seven other countries that applied to join did not sign the agreement because they did not yet have domestic approval.

China is the largest shareholder in the bank, with a stake of 30.34 per cent.

Australia is the sixth largest, committing around $930 million over five years to finance infrastructure projects in Asia.

The private sector will also be involved.

MORE…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

China invested $43.3bn in railway construction in H1 2015

thebricspost.com

China has invested more than 265.1 billion yuan ($43.3 billion ) in domestic railway construction in the first half of the year, up 12.7 percent from one year earlier, China Railway Corporation has announced in Beijing.

In the first six months, an additional 2,226 km of new railway lines were put into service, the company said in a statement. Chinese policymakers have said some 8,000 kilometers (about 5,000 miles) of railway lines will be opened to domestic traffic this year.

China is investing more than 800 billion yuan ($128 billion) in domestic railway construction in 2015, the same as last year’s final target, while pledging to increase its railway makers’ overseas market share, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in his annual state-of-the-nation report earlier this year.

MORE…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

Sherlock Christmas special to be shown in cinemas across China

BBC Worldwide seals partnerships with Chinese media firms to air Coast and Hunt in agreements between countries

Kevin Rawlinson

The forthcoming Sherlock Christmas special will be shown on cinema screens across China, as well as on the small screen in Britain, as part of a host of deals signed between the two countries.

The series of agreements announced on Wednesday will also see new editions of the BBC documentaries Coast and the Hunt made in a partnership between the BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and Chinese media organisations.

Ministers also said the drama Poldark would be made available in China from December and that British film-makers would get increased access to Chinese studios, as well as the country’s domestic market.

“Today’s announcements herald an exciting new collaboration between the Chinese and British creative industries … There is a keen appetite in China for premium British content,” said BBC Worldwide chief executive Tim Davie.

Sherlock launched in China in 2010 and, according to the BBC, the most recent series attracted 98m views on the online TV platform Youku. The Chinese screening of the forthcoming 90-minute special is subject to regulatory approval in that country. It will also be shown in other nations, although BBC Worldwide has not yet announced which these will be.

Following a treaty ratified earlier this year, it was also announced on Wednesday that BBC Earth would produce a feature-length follow-up to the 2007 documentary Earth, in partnership with the Chinese firm SMG Pictures. Earth: One Amazing Day is due for release in 2017.

That deal was due to be signed at a ceremony at Lancaster House, in central London, which was also hosting a creative showcase of the programmes for the Chinese president Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan; along with the actor Jackie Chan and members of the British royal family.

More…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

China’s Air Force is Growing in Size and Technological Edge

Cris Osborn

China Unveiled its New 5th-Generation J-31 Stealth Fighter in November of Last Year

The U.S. Air Force’s technological air power superiority over China is rapidly diminishing in light of rapid Chinese modernization of fighter jets, cargo planes and stealth aircraft, according to analysts, Pentagon officials and a Congressional review released last year.

The 2014 U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended that Congress appoint an outside panel of experts to assess the U.S.-Chinese military balance and make recommendations regarding U.S. military plans and budgets, among other things.

The Commission compiled its report based upon testimony, various reports and analytical assessments along with available open-source information. An entire chapter is dedicated to Chinese military modernization.

The review states that the Chines People’s Liberation Army currently has approximately 2,200 operational aircraft, nearly 600 of which are considered modern.

“In the early 1990s, Beijing began a comprehensive modernization program to upgrade the PLA Air Force from a short-range, defensively oriented force with limited capabilities into a modern, multi-role force capable of projecting precision airpower beyond China’s borders, conducting air and missile defense and providing early warning,” the review writes.

Regarding stealth aircraft, the review mentions the recent flights of prototypes of the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter, calling the aircraft more advanced than any other air platform currently deployed in the Asia-Pacific region. The Chinese are also testing a smaller stealth fighter variant called the J-31 although its intended use is unclear, according to the report.

Last year, China displayed the Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter at China’s Zuhai Air show, according to various reports. However, several analysts have made the point that it is not at all clear if the platform comes close to rivaling the technological capability of the U.S. F-35.

Nevertheless, the U.S. technological advantage in weaponry, air and naval platforms is rapidly decreasing, according to the review.

To illustrate this point, the review cites comments from an analyst who compared U.S.-Chinese fighter jets to one another roughly twenty years ago versus a similar comparison today.

The analyst said that in 1995 a high-tech U.S. F-15, F-16 or F/A-18 would be vastly superior to a Chinese J-6 aircraft. However today — China’s J-10 and J-11 fighter jet aircraft would be roughly equivalent in capability to an upgraded U.S. F-15, the review states.

Alongside their J-10 and J-11 fighters, the Chinese also own Russian-built Su-27s and Su-30s and is on the verge of buying the new Su-35 from Russia, the review states.

“The Su-35 is a versatile, highly capable aircraft that would offer significantly improved range and fuel capacity over China’s current fighters. The aircraft thus would strengthen China’s ability to conduct air superiority missions in the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and South China Sea as well as provide China with the opportunity to reverse engineer the fighter’s component parts, including its advanced radar and engines, for integration into China’s current and future indigenous fighters,” the review writes.

In addition to stealth technology, high-tech fighter aircraft and improved avionics, the Chinese have massively increased their ability with air-to-air missiles over the last 15-years, the review finds.

“All of China’s fighters in 2000, with the potential exception of a few modified Su-27s, were limited to within-visual-range missiles. China over the last 15 years also has acquired a number of sophisticated short and medium-range air-to-air missiles; precision-guided munitions including all-weather, satellite-guided bombs, anti-radiation missiles, and laser-guided bombs; and long-range, advanced air-launched land-attack cruise missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles,” the review says.

The review also points to the Y-20 aircraft, a new strategic airlifter now being tested by the Chinese which has three times the cargo-carrying capacity of the U.S. Air Force’s C-130. Some of these new planes could be configured into tanker aircraft, allowing the Chinese to massively increase their reach and ability to project air power over longer distances.

At the moment, the Chinese do not have a sizeable or modern fleet of tankers, and many of their current aircraft are not engineered for aerial refueling, a scenario which limits their reach.

More…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

Walmart Expands Investment in China E-Commerce Through Yihaodian

thestreet.com

Walmart (WMT) is boosting its investment in Chinese e-commerce by purchasing the remaining stake in online retailer Yihaodian. Walmart, which previously held 51% of Yihaodian, announced on Thursday that it has taken full ownership of the company. Walmart said through the acquisition, it plans to invest in accelerating e-commerce and creating a seamless customer experience across online, mobile and stores. Walmart said it acquired the remaining shares of Yihaodian from financial services group Ping An of China, and the company’s co-founders, former chairman Gang Yu and former chief executive Junling Liu, who announced earlier this month that they are exiting Yihaodian. Walmart said Yihaodian will continue to operate under its existing name and will continue to have local leadership with an understanding of Chinese online consumers’ needs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Yihaodian was founded in 2008.

MORE…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

China’s Wang Jianlin poised to become cycling’s richest man

By Gregor Brown

MILAN (VN) — Cycling tried going to China, but it could be more successful the other way around with rumored plans that the country’s richest man wants to buy the three grand tours including the Tour de France. Wang Jianlin could strike a deal this month with RCS Sport, owner of the Giro d’Italia and other races, and could continue the spending spree with the mother of all cycling organizers, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), soon after.

The 32-billion-dollar man’s Dalian Wanda Group recently created Wanda Sports after it bought Infront Sports & Media and, for $650 million, the World Triathlon Corporation along with Ironman. With Wanda Sports, he would have an arm to make his move on the grand tours — the Giro, the Tour, and the Vuelta a España.

Just how serious is Wang? Already this April he bought 20 percent in soccer club Atletico Madrid for $52 million. There is no exact number on what it would cost to buy RCS Sport or ASO, but Wanda Group should be able to cover it with Wang’s $39 billion business.

“My feeling is that the RCS deal could happen, but I don’t know about ASO,” Chen Xujie, Chinese journalist for Biketo told VeloNews.

“Wang wants these businesses to promote his real estate and tourism businesses. He bought Ironman; with it he gets people to the races and to his hotels, and maybe to buy a home. China has a huge growing middle class, with money for triathlons and tourism.”

China knows Wang as a real estate and cinema king, and as the main sponsor of its Super Soccer League. Chen added, “Everyone reads about his son, too, who is always in the celebrity and gossip pages.”

The move would put China back at the top of cycling. It once occupied a spot in the WorldTour series when the UCI created the Tour of Beijing stage race, which ran for four years with little success.

“It’s not that he is deeply passionate about the sport, but about tourism promoting his real estate,” Chen said. “If the deal goes through, I wouldn’t expect to see an overhaul of the grand tours because Wang doesn’t know enough about cycling to do so.”

Infront Sports is aware of the grand tour report that originated from a Milano Finanza article Saturday, but told VeloNews that it would not comment on any market rumors.

There could be something to it, at least regarding the RCS Sport package that includes the 100-year-old Giro d’Italia and races spanning the entire cycling calendar, from Milano-Sanremo to the end-of-season Il Lombardia. The same Italian Financial newspaper that reported the Wanda deal also reported last month that RCS Mediagroup is ready to jettison its sports subsidiary.

Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/12/news/chinas-wang-jianlin-poised-to-become-cyclings-richest-man_390690#t6PBjlsFCMOhDZ3d.99

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

China’s Baidu Enters Online Payments Business With Citic Bank

By Aditya Kondalamahanty

China’s largest search engine firm Baidu Inc. teamed up with state-owned Citic Bank Corp. to start an online payments bank aimed at the country’s $90 billion mobile payments business, according to local reports Tuesday.

Baidu, also known as China’s Google, declared its interest in the business even as the People’s Bank of China reportedly debated stricter regulations on online payments in August, suggesting a spending cap of 5,000 yuan ($782) per day. The move triggered widespread public outcry in domestic media and popular Chinese micro blogs.

Chinese tech firms are vying hard for a share of the online payments market, which saw a 140 percent growth in transaction volume in the first quarter of 2015, excluding the services of Chinese banks and China UnionPay.

The sector, currently dominated by Alibaba Holdings Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., is expected to reach $1.9 trillion yuan ($297.5 billion) by the end of 2015, according to a Chinese analytics firm iResearch.

Apart from shopping, online payments firms also allow users to pay bills, invest in money markets, and transfer money to other users. Most of these firms offer loans to small companies and individuals.

More…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

China Turning Fish Breeding Into Smartphone Factories

China Is Turning Its Fish Breeding Grounds Into Smartphone Factories

—By Tom Philpott

A sixth of the globe’s fish catch comes from waters off China’s coasts. Yet the nation’s industrial push is imperiling that 15 million-ton annual haul. Fully 60 percent of the China’s wetlands have been paved over for development projects—and much of what’s left is under threat of more of the same.

Between 2000 and 2013 alone, China’s total coastal wetlands shrank by about 23 percent.

That’s the conclusion of a jarring new report (hat tip to the New York Times) by the US-based Paulson Institute, the Chinese State Forestry Administration, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Coastal wetlands are the breeding and feeding grounds for fish, migratory birds, and other creatures. They also buffer coastal cities from the sea’s caprices by absorbing energy from storm-roiled waves—an increasingly important function as climate change proceeds apace. Over the last half century, the report found, China has developed more than half of the coastal wetlands in its temperate northern regions and nearly three-quarters of the mangrove forests and 80 percent of coral reefs along its southern coast. Losses accelerated between 2003 and 2013—in that time frame alone, China’s total coastal wetlands shrank by about 23 percent.

More…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

EU leaders lining up for China trip

Busy week of diplomacy sees EU leaders lining up for China trip

President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United Kingdom prompts European continent leaders to follow suit with a visit to China

European continent leaders are following each other’s steps to China this week, a move pondered by political observers for its subtle timing as it came after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United Kingdom pulled China closer to their estranged neighbor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in China on Thursday for a two-day visit, while French President Francois Hollande has scheduled a trip on Nov 2. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is already here for a state visit from Oct 25 to 29.

Xi, the first Chinese head to visit London in a decade, wrapped up his packed four-day trip last week that sealed a slew of business deals totaling $61 billion and lifted China-Britain relations to a “golden era”.

Potential beneficiaries include big-name British multinational companies, including Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and BP, while what commanded global attention was China’s $9.18 billion investment in the Hinkley Point nuclear project in southwestern England, an agreement seen as Chinese money’s foray into Europe’s infrastructure sector.

Ordinary Chinese, who may think state affairs out-of-reach, could find it easier to relate to the visa policy. Britain will issue a two-year multiple-entry visa in 2016, seen as a remedy to win back big-spending Chinese tourists who often shrug off visa hassles and opt for less restrictive Schengen areas such as France. (Britain is not a signatory party to the Schengen Agreements.)

This seemed to rattle the European Union’s Continental members, who may have found relations with their northern peer dysfunctional as Britain’s future in the 28-member bloc remains uncertain before an in-or-out referendum on membership by late 2017. But Britain appeared to have gotten a head start in befriending the East.

To catch the China ride, Germany and France sent their leaders eastward. At least this is how some media reports decoded their one-after-another travels.

More…

About the Author

Mark Schlarbaum

Page 14 of 15
←
1
...
13
14
15
→