The Bayan Obo mine is an open-pit operation where thousands of workers labor around the clock. The first discoveries were made in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the past few decades that extraction took off in earnest. “The Middle East has oil, but we have rare earths,” party elder Deng Xiaoping is said to have remarked in 1992.
tirsdag 29. juli 2025
Torbjørn Færøvik: China's New Gold Will Tame the Mighty and the Small
Eight hundred years ago, Genghis Khan’s horses galloped across the plains of Inner Mongolia. Today, they might risk disappearing into an unimaginably vast hole. Bayan Obo is the world’s largest rare earth mine. Here, China extracts its new gold—a weapon designed to tame powerful enemies and force them to make peace.
China offers parents $1,500 in bid to boost births
Parents in China are being offered 3,600 yuan (£375; $500) a year for each of their children under the age of three in the government's first nationwide subsidy aimed at boosting birth rates. The country's birth rate has been falling, even after the ruling Communist Party abolished its controversial one-child policy almost a decade ago.
The handouts will help around 20 million families with the cost of raising children, according to state media. Several provinces across China have piloted some form of payouts to encourage people to have more children as the world's second largest economy faces a looming demographic crisis. The scheme, which was announced on Monday, will offer parents a total of up to 10,800 yuan per child.
The handouts will help around 20 million families with the cost of raising children, according to state media. Several provinces across China have piloted some form of payouts to encourage people to have more children as the world's second largest economy faces a looming demographic crisis. The scheme, which was announced on Monday, will offer parents a total of up to 10,800 yuan per child.
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. “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.
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. “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.
Streets turn to rivers as deadly flooding inundates northern Beijing
Days of torrential rain have killed at least 30 people in the northern outskirts of Beijing, state media reported Tuesday, as China grapples with yet another deadly rainy season marked by extreme downpours, devastating floods and landslides.
In recent days, intense rainstorms have battered much of northern China – a densely populated part of the country home to massive metropolises as well as agricultural heartlands. There, residents and their livelihoods have become increasingly vulnerable to worsening summer storms and floods, as well as scorching heatwaves and drought – posing a major challenge to the Chinese government as the climate crisis makes extreme weather more frequent and intense.
In recent days, intense rainstorms have battered much of northern China – a densely populated part of the country home to massive metropolises as well as agricultural heartlands. There, residents and their livelihoods have become increasingly vulnerable to worsening summer storms and floods, as well as scorching heatwaves and drought – posing a major challenge to the Chinese government as the climate crisis makes extreme weather more frequent and intense.
Donald Trump Quashes China Summit Rumors: 'No Interest'
U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected reports that he is seeking a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying, "I am not seeking anything." The comment follows a Reuters report about discussions of a potential meeting when the U.S. president travels to Asia later this year.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump added that he might visit China but only at Xi's invitation, "otherwise, no interest!"Any meeting between the U.S. and Chinese leaders would be the first face-to-face encounter between them since Trump's return to the White House and would come at a time of trade and security tensions heightened by U.S. tariffs.
On July 22, Reuters reported that aides from both China and the U.S. had discussed a possible meeting between the leaders when Trump visits Asia this year. The discussions included a scenario in which Trump would stop over during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea between October 30 and November 1 or hold talks on the sidelines of that event, according to the agency.
Reuters said another option would be Trump attending a September 3 ceremony in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump added that he might visit China but only at Xi's invitation, "otherwise, no interest!"Any meeting between the U.S. and Chinese leaders would be the first face-to-face encounter between them since Trump's return to the White House and would come at a time of trade and security tensions heightened by U.S. tariffs.
On July 22, Reuters reported that aides from both China and the U.S. had discussed a possible meeting between the leaders when Trump visits Asia this year. The discussions included a scenario in which Trump would stop over during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea between October 30 and November 1 or hold talks on the sidelines of that event, according to the agency.
Reuters said another option would be Trump attending a September 3 ceremony in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to attend.
Truce takes effect in Cambodia, Thailand border dispute
A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia came into effect early Tuesday, aimed to end five days of fierce fighting in a disputed border area that has killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 200,000 others.
At a press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Vejjayachai of Thailand shook hands and hailed the outcome. “Today we have a very good meeting and very good results … that hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries, and also caused the displacement of people,” said Hun Manet, who offered thanks to Trump and China, which had also urged an end to hostilities and offered its assistance.
Phumtham said the deal would be “carried out successfully in good faith by both sides.”
At a press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Vejjayachai of Thailand shook hands and hailed the outcome. “Today we have a very good meeting and very good results … that hope to stop immediately the fighting that has caused many lives lost, injuries, and also caused the displacement of people,” said Hun Manet, who offered thanks to Trump and China, which had also urged an end to hostilities and offered its assistance.
Phumtham said the deal would be “carried out successfully in good faith by both sides.”
China’s latest AI model claims to be even cheaper to use than DeepSeek
Chinese companies are making smarter artificial intelligence models that are increasingly cheaper to use, echoing key aspects of DeepSeek’s market-shaking breakthrough.
Startup Z.ai, formerly known as Zhipu, announced Monday that its new GLM-4.5 AI model would cost less than DeepSeek to use. In contrast to the logic underlying existing AI models, Z.ai said its new GLM-4.5 is built on what’s known as “agentic” AI, meaning that the model automatically breaks down a task into sub-tasks in order to complete it more accurately. The new model is also open sourced, meaning it is free for developers to download and use.
Startup Z.ai, formerly known as Zhipu, announced Monday that its new GLM-4.5 AI model would cost less than DeepSeek to use. In contrast to the logic underlying existing AI models, Z.ai said its new GLM-4.5 is built on what’s known as “agentic” AI, meaning that the model automatically breaks down a task into sub-tasks in order to complete it more accurately. The new model is also open sourced, meaning it is free for developers to download and use.
Chinese exports to U.S. could decrease by $485 billion by 2027: Tariff simulator
Exports from China to the U.S. could fall by close to a half-trillion dollars ($485 billion) between now and 2027, according to a tariff simulator that forecasts shifts in global trade. Trade talks between the U.S. and China resumed on Monday in Stockholm. Given China’s dominant position in trade with the U.S., that decline will be larger than the total decline in global exports to the U.S. when all nations are factored into the model.
India overtakes China in smartphone exports to the U.S. as manufacturing jumps 240%, report shows
India has overtaken China to become the top exporter of smartphones to the U.S., according to research firm Canalys, reflecting the shift in manufacturing supply chain away from Beijing amid tariff-fueled uncertainty.
Smartphones assembled in India accounted for 44% of U.S. imports of those devices in the second quarter, a significant increase from just 13% in the same period last year. Total volume of smartphones made in India soared 240% from a year earlier, Canalys said. In contrast, the share of Chinese smartphone exports to the U.S. shrank to 25% in the quarter ended June, from 61% a year earlier, Canalys data released Monday showed. Vietnam’s share of smartphone exports to the U.S. was also higher than that of China at 30%.
Smartphones assembled in India accounted for 44% of U.S. imports of those devices in the second quarter, a significant increase from just 13% in the same period last year. Total volume of smartphones made in India soared 240% from a year earlier, Canalys said. In contrast, the share of Chinese smartphone exports to the U.S. shrank to 25% in the quarter ended June, from 61% a year earlier, Canalys data released Monday showed. Vietnam’s share of smartphone exports to the U.S. was also higher than that of China at 30%.
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