china

After the Titan millionaire submarine disaster, China plans to take more rich tourists 1,000 meters under the sea

by

The depths ofto Mariana Trench or exploration from the deep ocean It has always been a thing for scientists and remotely controlled machines. China wants it to stop being so and already has an ambitious plan in motion: taking wealthy tourists to 1,000 meters deep, where sunlight does not reach and where there is no turning back for an engineering failure. The project comes three years after the Titan tragedythe OceanGate submersible that imploded in June 2023 while I was visiting the remains of the titanic in which its five occupants died. Far from stopping its efforts, China is moving forward with a proposal that, unlike the Titan, is backed by decades of naval engineering developed with the support of China. Four highly sought-after seats. Ye Cong, director of the China Naval Scientific Research Center, counted to ChinaDaily that “after more than four years of research, engineers have finalized the structural design” and that, once the prototype is built, “they will carry out sea trials and then improve the design based on the results.” The submersible will have enough space to accommodate four peoplepilot included, so, to begin with, the availability of places is very limited. This shortage of vacancies is expected to contribute to skyrocketing prices for filling each seat. One of the most complex problems of the small submarine has already been solved: the panoramic viewfinder. Your designers they describe it as “one of the most difficult structural codes to decipher on a deep-sea submersible.” And it makes sense since at 1,000 meters deep the pressure is about 100 times greater than on the surface, and that window has to withstand it without giving way. An unprecedented leap into the abyss. This is not the first submersible that Chinese engineers have operated. However, such andhow do they count in South China Morning Post The new projects that are being tested far exceed the depths at which current submersibles operate, which do not go below 20 meters deep. They are used for lakes, reservoirs and shallow coasts, so going from there to 1,000 meters is multiplying the operating depth by 50. The same naval engineering center that is now building this new generation of manned mini-submarines already built The Huandao Jiaolong 1 and 2, two tourist submersibles with capacity for seven passengers and a limit of 40 meters. However, on that occasion, immersion operations were suspended due to regulatory restrictions, but everything learned then has been applied to the new design. China plunges into the field of underwater exploration. The West has been designing submersibles for decades for deep dives. Companies like Deep RoverTriton and U-Boat Worx have been manufacturing submersibles over 1,000 meters since 1985 and until now had no Chinese competition in that segment. The new project developed by the China Naval Scientific Research Center changes that scenario supported by the previous experience of the Jiaolongthe Deep Sea Warrior and the Fendouzhe, three ships that last year completed more than 300 dives around the world and accounted for more than 50% of all manned deep-sea expeditions on a global scale. Ye Cong assured the Chinese news agency that the submersible: “will be a valuable asset for cruise lines, high-end tour operators and oceanographic researchers. It will offer the most demanding travelers an unforgettable experience in ocean exploration.” The prototype should be ready before the end of 2026, with the commercial debut expected before 2030. Much more than a tourist “toy”: it is a key strategy. This submersible is not just a mere product intended for tourist use of millionaires with adventurous concerns. It is part of China’s strategy to become strong in the blue economy, the sector of economic activities linked to the sea, a developing sector in which China seeks to play a leading role in the future. The Asian giant already leads manned deep-sea exploration and wants that this technological advantage is amortized in the form of a private business for their companies. After the Titan catastrophea good part of the luxury underwater tourism industry came to a screeching halt. China is the first to step on the accelerator again in this area, and this project is supported by State resources, which gives it a considerable advantage over projects that, like the Titan, are developed with private funds and investors. In Xataka | There is a new chapter in the Titan submarine tragedy: the memory card of its camera survived the implosion Image | CSSC

Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT are not supposed to be used in China. It is supposed

by

In China there is what is popularly known as the “Great Firewall”a large security wall that prevents its citizens from accessing certain services. At the same time, there are foreign companies that block their services in China, this is what is happening with AI tools like ChatGPTbut the law is made, the trap is made. Gray market. They tell it in South China Morning Postthere is a whole flourishing market of services that promise to provide access to American AI models, such as Claude or Gemini, avoiding the restrictions imposed on both sides of their borders. On online sales platforms such as Taobao or Xianyu, unlimited subscriptions to Claude Code, Gemini and ChatGPT are sold with low latency and without VPN. These platforms have become a solution for Chinese developers who want to access American models to program, debug or use multimedia generation services. How they do it. Access is done through what is known as ‘shadow APIs’ which, in essence, is an intermediary. What they do is set up proxy servers outside of China and divert all user requests there, so that those external servers are the ones that actually call the official APIs of models like Claude or Gemini and then return the “masked” response as if it were a local service, without the need for a VPN or foreign payment methods. It pays for them. According to the developers cited in the South China Morning Post piece, they resort to these ‘shadow APIs’ because they simply consider them to be tools that are clearly superior to the local offering. This translates into more precise code, fewer hallucinations and less time correcting bugs than with Chinese models which, according to what they say, still invent functionalities or fail more often. In addition, these services give them almost complete access to models like Claude Opus or Gemini, with huge context windows (up to a million tokens), without having to fight with VPNs or foreign payment methods. Wiles. All that glitters is not gold and there are also advertisements that do not fulfill what they promise. Some of these services advertise full access to models like Claude, but are actually processing requests with cheaper Chinese models like Qwen or MiniMax. Additionally, there is the risk to privacy as all traffic goes through an anonymous intermediary who could do whatever they wanted with often sensitive data. Frontier Model Forum. Is a coalition formed by several AI companies dedicated to the security and regulation of border models, but in practice it is functioning more as an intellectual property defense mechanism. Recently OpenAI, Anthropic and Google announced that they were working together to curb copying of their models by coordinating the sharing of suspicious usage patterns and distillation attack detection techniques through this common forum. Image | Xataka In Xataka | The center of gravity of mobile photography has moved to China and OPPO is going for the throne with the Find X9 Ultra

China is neither nor does it want to be in the 2nm war between TSMC, Intel and Samsung. Your plan to win is different

by

“Many people believe that competition in the semiconductor industry comes down to the advanced nodes and that we will only achieve success when we reach 2 or 3 nm. This is a misunderstanding“. This statement was made by Richard Chang Rujing, the founder of SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer with a global market share of about 5%. Rujing has spoken these words with a very clear intention: he wants China to strengthen its supply chain and its position in the global integrated circuit market by developing its manufacturing capacity for mature chips. Currently the most advanced integration technology that SMIC has in production is 7nm photolithography due to their inability to access equipment extreme ultraviolet lithography (VVE) of ASML. And there is no doubt that it and other Chinese chip manufacturers would benefit greatly from having the capacity to produce 5, 3 and 2 nm semiconductors. In this way they could compete on equal terms with TSMC, Intel and Samsung. However, there is something very important that we should not overlook: advanced nodes represent less than 20% of the world market of integrated circuits by product volume, while more than 80% of demand It comes from the segments of mature nodes and specialized processes. Rujing wants SMIC and the other Chinese chipmakers to invest more in their mature nodes, and it makes sense. After all, this is the strategy that is allowing China resist US pressure. Mature chips are the medicine the Chinese industry needs During the first two months of 2026, China exported integrated circuits worth $43.3 billionwhich represents an increase of 72.6% compared to the same period in 2025. This information comes directly from Chinese customs records, so it is presumably reliable. However, the most astonishing thing is that this country’s exports as a whole have grown by 21.8% during January and February, so it is evident that the semiconductor industry has been stimulated with much more intensity than other sectors. More than 80% of demand comes from the mature nodes and specialized processes segments Domestic demand has stimulated the growth of the Chinese chip industry in recent years, but the figures I have collected in the previous paragraph show that external demand is also very strong. In this context it is reasonable for us to ask what type are integrated circuits that Chinese manufacturers are mass producing. And the answer is very revealing: these are chips derived from mature integration technologiesusually 28 nm or less advanced. After all, the semiconductors that we mostly find in electronic devices, household appliances or cars, among other products, have been produced using them. Many Chinese chip manufacturers, such as Hua Hong Semiconductor, China Resources Microelectronics or Guangzhou ZenSemi, are manufacturing 28 nm integrated circuits or with even more mature technologies. And the Beijing Yandong Microelectronics (YDME) company is going to build a 4.6 billion dollar plant expressly to produce 28nm semiconductors on 300mm wafers. It is evident that these companies would not focus on the manufacturing of mature chips in this way if it were not a profitable strategy, and, above all, necessary to sustain the Chinese integrated circuit industry at a time as critical as the current one. Image | TSMC More information | SCMP In Xataka | China is preparing for the worst scenario: it fears that the US will prevent TSMC from delivering chips for cars and smartphones

Anthropic does not offer its services in China. So China has invented a black market for Claude tokens

by

Claude has become in the most desired model by the most demanding developers and engineers, but it is not available in mainland China for regulatory and safety reasons. The demand there remains notable, and to satisfy it, an underground token economy has emerged that allows local developers to access models such as Claude Opus 4.7, avoiding all the measures imposed by the blockade. No paying with Alipay. One of the measures that Anthropic imposes to prevent the use of its models in China is to only accept international credit cards such as Visa or Mastercard. Their payment gateways reject local payment methods like Alipay or Wechat Pay, giving Chinese users a first and important hurdle. One that they have already overcome. Virtual cards. What they are doing in China to overcome this problem is using virtual credit cards (VCC) like DuPay or WildCard. With these services it is possible to obtain Hong Kong or US credit cards financed with cryptocurrencies or through local transfers. This makes it possible to deceive the billing systems of Anthropic and other companies that offer banned services to Chinese users. SMS verifications They are also solved through “SMS farms” that also avoid this problem and even others such as identity verification that also have implemented in Anthropic. The “Transfer Stations” arrive (中转站). Another problem is that even overcoming that first barrier, latency and micro-cuts mean that the use of Claude in China is affected by continuous connection problems. To avoid them, so-called “Transfer Stations” have emerged, which are nothing more than servers that act as a bridge between foreign servers and Chinese users. These gateways receive requests from China and forward them to Anthropic servers as if they were coming from an authorized location. The latencies are also relatively low, which means that for Chinese users the experience is basically identical to that of a user in the US or Spain, for example. These stations are publicly known and do not only appear in listings on GitHub: there is a ranking with the best. Claude is almost free in China. The surprising thing about these methods is that they don’t just give Claude access in China: they do with ridiculous prices which can be 10 and even 5% of (growing) original price of the service thanks to those transfer stations. The question, of course, is how it is possible to access Claude at those prices. The almond tree trick. Thanks to the transfer stations, developers can access Claude at a price of 1 yuan for every dollar of tokens, or in other words, up to a 90% reduction in the official price. It is something that is discussed publicly and that makes it clear that several methods are used to achieve this: Mass purchase of capacity, Use of accounts created with stolen or fraudulent cards, Use of promotional credits, and A simple hook: providers lose money with Claude, but they manage to attract developers to whom they then sell more profitable local models like DeepSek. Am I really using Claude? One of the growing risks in the cheap token market is direct fraud. Some Chinese resellers have been caught red-handed offering what they call the “Claude API” when in reality what they were providing were much cheaper and mediocre models. For a user to detect this type of deception it’s very difficult unless you are working with complex tasks or you have already used models and know more or less what to expect from them. For victims, the effect is clear: they believe they are paying for the intelligence of Opus 4.7 when in reality they are receiving answers from a low-end AI model. Goodbye to privacy. When a user purchases tokens at one of these transfer stations, they completely give up the confidentiality of their data. All queries and responses end up passing through the intermediary’s servers, which can and apparently does use them to sell them to AI companies that use them to post-train their models. So everything they do and say when using these models is filtered and used as training data without the user knowing. A double business. For these providers, this business of reselling conversations is especially interesting in the face of the famous “distillations” of US models that take advantage of this data to “copy” the capabilities of those models and apply them to Chinese models. Anthropic can read us, but (theoretically) it doesn’t. It is true that the conversations we have with Claude (from Spain, for example) are also stored on Anthropic’s servers, but the company makes it clear in your privacy policy that does not use that data. In fact, we can even explicitly prohibit the company from using them in the privacy settings of Claude’s account. The game of cat and mouse. At Anthropic they know very well what is happening and they are trying to prevent it. For example, they have begun to intensively block IP ranges associated with VPN services or data centers known to be used in these transfer stations. Even so, Chinese providers usually respond with an “elastic” architecture that allows IPs of domestic residences to rotate, making the traffic appear completely normal. Image | Xataka with Magnific In Xataka | There is a thing called “Ornn price index”, it is out of control and it is bad news for everyone

China wants to do a “CAT scan” of the Earth, and to do so it has launched a hyperspectral satellite to see what the eye cannot see

by

A Kuaizhou-11 rocket put into orbit On March 16, Xiguang-1 06, the most advanced commercial hyperspectral satellite that China has sent into space. The satellite is capable of analyzing the chemical composition of the Earth’s surface with great precision, opening up a whole range of possibilities. What a hyperspectral satellite allows. A conventional satellite captures images of the planet in a similar way to how a camera does. A hyperspectral satellite, on the other hand, is able to distinguish the unique spectral signature of plants, tissues and other objects on Earth, which allows, among other things, to prevent crop losses, locate mineral deposits or monitor the state of the environment. While a normal satellite can identify a forest from space, one equipped with hyperspectral technology can differentiate between different types of trees and even determine the health status of each of them. The key is that these sensors capture dozens or hundreds of bands of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously, something that provides spectral information so detailed that it often produces results impossible to obtain with multispectral satellites or other types of observation systems. The satellite. The Xiguang-1 06 was developed by Xi’an Zhongke Xiguang Aerospace Technology Group and launched aboard the Kuaizhou-11 Y7 rocket from the Jiuquan launch center in Gansu province. It is the first commercial hyperspectral satellite in orbit with full spectral coverage in the 400 to 2,500 nanometer band (from visible to shortwave infrared) and operates with 26 independent spectral bands. In practical terms, that means it can “see” far beyond the human eye, detecting mineral compositions, differentiating healthy crops from diseased ones, and tracking changes in ecosystems that would be invisible to any other system. According to Kou Yiminchief engineer at Zhongke What is it for in practice? In the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan the satellite monitors crop growth high value such as tea and traditional Chinese medicinal plants; in the mining areas of the northwest of the country, it issues early warnings about geological risks such as landslides. But the potential reach goes much further. Hyperspectral technology can analyze phytoplankton levels in the oceans, detect fuel spills from ships, measure methane leaks in energy facilities or monitor polluting materials from mining ponds before they reach nearby soil and vegetation. It can also locate mineral deposits such as gold under the surface, identifying the presence of chemical elements in its composition such as copper. one of many. Xiguang-1 06 is one more piece of “Xiguang-1”, a constellation that contemplates a total of 158 satellites: 108 general purpose hyperspectral remote sensing, 40 specialized in carbon emissions monitoring and 10 specific function. The goal is to complete the in-orbit network by 2030, forming a “full spectrum in 100 bands” observing system with more than one hundred operational satellites. To understand its scale, Xiguang-1 06 was one of eight satellites that traveled aboard the same Kuaizhou-11 rocket at the March 16 launch. What’s behind. Until a few years ago, hyperspectral remote sensing from space had been a field almost exclusive of government missions. In recent years, however, commercial companies have begun to emerge launching their own constellations of hyperspectral satellites. China, with Zhongke Xiguang at the helm, is one of the actors that has risen the fastest in this sector. The company also has the “CAS Xiguang Remote Sensing Cloud” data platform, considered the first hyperspectral data platform from China. The stated goal is to become the world’s largest hyperspectral constellation, with applications already covering agriculture, forestry management, oceanography, carbon monitoring and mining. Cover image | China Daily and Richard Gatley In Xataka | The origin of the “blue moon” is actually a translation error: how a “betrayal” ended up giving the satellite its name

More advanced chip factories are being built in China and Taiwan than anywhere else. It’s only good for them

by

According to SEMI, an international organization that looks after the interests of the electronics and integrated circuit industries, only six of the 64 new factories of semiconductors that are going to come into operation in Asia before 2029 will reside in Southeast Asia. The remaining 58 They will be located in China and Taiwan. These two countries have compelling reasons to strengthen its chip industry and develop its integrated circuit production capacity. It is essential for China to set up new plants equipped with cutting-edge photolithography equipment. And that is precisely what SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor and other Chinese chipmakers are doing. Currently this nation is limited by the difficulty of going beyond 7 nm without being able to use the extreme ultraviolet lithography (VVE) of ASML. Even so, Huali Microelectronics, the division of Hua Hong Semiconductor specialized in manufacturing chips for third parties, is preparing to start the production of 7nm integrated circuits at its Shanghai plant. Taiwan also needs to expand its semiconductor industry, although its motives are very different from China’s. The two largest Taiwanese integrated circuit manufacturers, TSMC and UMCthey need to develop more cutting-edge plants in order to satisfy the growing needs of their customers. TSMC’s 2 and 3 nm nodes in particular cannot cope, so it is essential for this company to expand its production capacity in the midst of the boom in data centers for data applications. artificial intelligence (AI). SEMI is concerned about the vulnerabilities of the chip industry Ajit Manocha, the executive director of SEMI, assures that “we want to see more centers emerge in related countries. We want more plants to be established to reduce the risk derived from vulnerabilities.” What worries the spokesperson of this organization is that the geopolitical tensions maintained by the US, China and Taiwan end up threatening the integrated circuit factories that reside in these last two countries. TSMC’s in Taiwan are especially sensitive to a possible conflict with China due to the undoubted strategic importance that they have not only for Taiwan, but also for the US and its allies. Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand are candidates to host new cutting-edge chip plants Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand are strong candidates to host new cutting-edge chip manufacturing plants. In fact, Several centers already reside in Malaysia Intel’s advanced packaging and verification software. However, Manocha You are also concerned about other types of vulnerabilities. The most critical of all is the shortage of critical minerals, as well as bromine and helium, two fundamental gases in chip manufacturing processes. What is happening with helium in particular is very worrying. This gas is a byproduct of natural gas processing, and its price skyrocketed in March shortly after the war that the US, Israel and Iran have been fighting since then began because Qatar was forced to stop production of liquefied natural gas. In the current unstable scenario, SEMI argues that Southeast Asian countries should aim to build more semiconductor manufacturing plants over the next decade to help the sector diversify and reduce supply risks. Image | TSMC More information | Reuters In Xataka | The US’s problem in the AI ​​and humanoid race is not China: it is all of Asia and it is greatly disadvantaged

China is successfully replacing a 19th century industry with drones: skyscraper window cleaners

by

When we think of skyscrapers, the Western culture in which we have grown up makes us inevitably associate them with the United States and iconic skylines in cinema such as New York or Chicago, but the current reality is very different: China is the country that breaks the cord, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitatthe world’s leading authority on the classification of tall buildings: it is home to more than half of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. This architectural explosion has created an unprecedented maintenance challenge: having to clean millions of square meters of glass and metal facades. What started as a need for manpower has become a testing ground for advanced robotics and unmanned aviation thanks to a state plan called “Robot+” that automates tasks to compensate labor shortage. One of the most striking recent examples: automated cleaning from Nanchang Railway Station. Goodbye to human window cleaners. The traditional Spider-Man of buildings is disappearing and it makes perfect sense: the risk of accidents and the climatic conditions of cities like Shanghai or Guangzhou have made this profession increasingly less attractive for new generations, so cleaning companies it is difficult for them to find relief: the perfect scenario for automation. Furthermore, the data from cleaning drones is compelling: going from being able to clean 200 square meters a day to 10,000 with a cost between 10 and 20% less, according to the Wuhan startup Aero Technology collected by China Daily. Drones are best suited to difficult outdoors such as corners and nooks and work even on rainy or windy days without risk. And when finished, the drone uses its camera to capture images of the clean surface, which it transmits to ground personnel for review. If it doesn’t comply, give it a review. Why is it important. We have already glimpsed some of the advantages of automating cleaning at height, but one is truly essential: safety. According to the WHOfalls are the second global cause of death due to unintentional injuries, only behind traffic accidents, with about 684,000 deaths annually. In the specific workplace, they constitute one of the main risks in sectors such as construction or industry. especially dangerous are the falls in height. In the United States, OSHA data They return that falls represent between 35 and 39% of construction-related deaths. In Spain, falls from height represented in 2024 12.2% of all work-related deaths during work hours in all sectors and this year alone they cost the lives of 79 people in the Spanish state alone. The other big advantage is price: less labor, less operating time because they clean faster, lower equipment costs, and lower insurance premiums. Aero Technology quantifies savings between 10 and 20% compared to traditional methods, although the drone company Apex is more optimistic for your business, raising the range of savings up to 30 or 50% (although the reason is probably that you consider assemblies like scaffolding). Regarding water consumption, a study by Shanghai University of Engineering has shown which spends 21.8% less. Context. China faces the worst possible scenario in this framework: it is the country with the most skyscrapers in the world, it has a lot of air pollution that quickly dirtys its facades and it also suffers labor shortage for manual jobs. Although if we are looking for pioneers in the drone cleaning segment we have to go to the North American one. Surname born 2014, the Elevation from the Swiss Aerotain AG back in 2015 or the Norwegian KTV Working Dronethe owner and mistress of drone window cleaning is China. China had been preparing the ground for years, as demonstrated by different academic research papers on glass and facade cleaning robotsas this of cable-driven parallel robots from Tsinghua University or this other of fan-powered cleaning robots from the Harbin Institute of Technology. The Asian giant has the academic ecosystem, state financial support and an obvious need. Said and done: China was the one who democratized technology, moving from prototypes and more or less “artisanal” devices to large-scale production with scalable industrial systems and companies like DJI, UAEAV and Foxtech. Today they already produce between 80-90% of the world’s commercial drones and lead an industry that in 2024 was valued at 248 million dollars and has a projection of 1,257 million by 2033. according to Growth Market Reports. The substitutes. China has developed a complete industrial ecosystem that is essentially divided into two major technological aspects. On the one hand, high-pressure cleaning drones that are connected to water pumps that are on the ground, such as the DJI M400 or the solutions of Foxtech Robotics. On the other hand, autonomous climbing robots with sensors and AI navigation (such as robot vacuum cleaners) such as those from OneMovecapable of detecting and adapting to variations in façade surfaces. In between, variants in the form of projects with hybrid platforms such as that of Skybotics Technology Limited or wired parallel systems that offer high precision, such as this from the Faculty of Engineering of Shanghai University with three degrees of freedom. Some of the technologies that can be found in this type of robots are adaptive joints to reduce wind discomfort or “zero distance” spraying to increase pressure, both present in the DJI M400one of the most popular in the sector. Yes, but. Although facade cleaning robots are a revolution for the sector, they are not a panacea: they work best on flat surfaces, they have height restrictions (typically between 60 and 120 meters for wired systems) and although they have more margin than human labor to operate in worse weather conditions, they are not infallible. Finally, the initial cost is significant, which constitutes a barrier to entry for smaller companies because it is not only the drone, it is also extra auxiliary elements such as pumping stations, batteries, software or safety certifications. For example, only the complete Lucid Bots Sherpa kit It costs $75,000.which leads to opting for solutions such as renting or leasing. In any case, and … Read more

In the war of humanoid robots, those from the United States dance and those from China work by the piece. It is not a technological issue

by

The United States and China are fighting a technological battle with two very clear strategies: one visible and the other invisible. The invisible is that of the artificial intelligence, the fight between models and the basic technological development. The visible one is the creation of data centersthe development of next generation networks and robotics. Because it is the robots that are at the center of that technological race between the two powersbut while one country shows them jumping, the other is making them work. The difference is not technology or money: it is state support. However, as with so many things, there is a trick to it. Priority. China has put robotics at the center of its technological development program for the coming years. The new Five-Year Plan, the roadmap in which the country points out the objectives that it will try to achieve over the next five years, robotics is in a privileged place next to the development of the chip ecosystem or the 6G networks. This is a state issue, a national priority that marks a deliberate shift from assembly line robotics, the ‘simple robots’ of traditional automation, to one with built-in artificial intelligence and a greater range of functions they can perform. Humanoid robotics is not new and, in fact, Boston Dynamics is the company that has been demonstrating its products for years. But while the demonstrations by American companies consisted of making their vehicles dance or do somersaults, humanoid robotsChina has been showing them at sporting events and in impressive showsbut it is also putting them in front of stores. to work. There are already stores in Beijing that are operated by humanoid robots. They are independent, serve users and do not need human supervision (unless they are like this japanese robot). They are also turning them into guides in museums and stores, but beyond that public-facing work, there are important groups that are incorporating humanoid robotics into their workforce. An example is CATL. The electric vehicle battery giant began deploy humanoid robots at its Zhengzhou plant. Their task is one considered high risk for human workers: connecting high-voltage battery plugs on an assembly line. The robots are made by a startup called Spirit AI and feature a vision-language-action AI model. According to the company, they are having 99% success in connections, they triple the work that a human can do and, obviously, they do not need breaks. But it is not only private companies that are deploying this technology. The State Electricity Grid Corporation has intended 6.8 billion yuan, about 1 billion euros, to acquire 8,500 robots with AI. The intention is to deploy them in 26 regions to inspect and maintain power lines. It has a trick. Returning to the comparison with the United States, there is something that stands out: the valuation of the companies. While Chinese powers like Linkerbot are valued at 6,000 million dollars, the American Figure is valued in 39,000 million. The key is that Figure has shipped far fewer units to the market, something largely dominated by Chinese companies. Analysts expect both countries to develop markets of similar size, but China currently leads by far in the early commercialization of humanoid robots. Now, not all the mountain is oregano and, in the last report of the International Federation of Robotics highlights that, although China is dominating the deployment of robots globally (humanoids and non-humanoids), the mass market will still take several years to arrive. According to that document, there are more than 150 humanoid robot developers currently operating in the Chinese market, a market that will represent in 2025 more than 85% of the 15,000 humanoid robot installations worldwide. USA represents 13%. However, what the IFR also says is that much of that deployment remains limited to demonstrations or pilot projects, not a replacement as such for the human workforce. That is to say, there are companies that are already using robots on a large scale (the examples of CATL and the State itself), but within the figures that are used to talk about this Chinese dominance also include those pilot programs or robots that are dedicated to playing sports and dancing, as in the United States. Need. In any case, there is something undeniable: China is betting very hard and very quickly on robotics, be it humanoid or that of the ‘robodogs’ that are already using in military forces or in divisions of firefighters. And the reason is that the country is facing a precipice: that of the demographic pyramid. The accelerated aging of its workforce, together with new generations that are not willing to work for a decent wage, are accelerating the implementation of robots to improve productivity and efficiency in various sectors. China is not the only one. Japan is also experiencing with robotics in day-to-day jobs because it faces the same problem of population aging. And Samsung, part of a South Korea that is also experiencing a demographic crisis, has already indicated that it has a great plan underway to automate its factories with humanoid robots controlled by a central AI. In Xataka | In China they are not satisfied with creating advanced robots: a company has developed a head that gestures like a human

China generated half of the digital viewing of the last World Cup. There is one month left until 2026 and it is still not clear if they will issue it

by

Less than five weeks before the whistle that will kick off the opening match of this year’s World Cup, FIFA has signed broadcast contracts with more than 175 countries. China and India, with almost three billion inhabitants, are not among them. It is the unpleasant fruit of a price war over broadcast rights that pits the largest football organization in the world against the two most populated markets on the planet. What is at stake. The mbiggest World Cup in historywhich is said soon: 48 teams, 104 matches to be played in USACanada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19. FIFA is selling it as the most watched and broadcast event of all time. If they manage to resolve the conflicts with the two countries with the largest number of inhabitants on the planet, of course. According to data from FIFA itselfChina generated 49.8% of all viewing hours on digital and social platforms during the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Half of global digital consumption. More: India added 32 million digital viewers in the final alone. They are two very important markets that should not be ignored. Why is this happening? Part of the explanation is in the schedules. The tournament is held in North America, which means that the highest-rated matches will start at 3:00 a.m. in Beijing and Shanghai, and at 12:30 a.m. in New Delhi. These are schedules that destroy the advertising market: there is not enough audience beyond the fans, and advertisers are reluctant to pay the very high rates for the events. And without substantial advertising revenue, networks cannot support the tens of millions of dollars that broadcasts cost. India: bidding war. JioStar, India’s largest media conglomerate (the result of the merger between Viacom18 and Disney Star), even offered $20 million for the rights. And FIFA rejected the offer: it wanted 100 million dollars for a package that would also include the rights to the 2030 World Cup. According to local mediaFIFA would have lowered its price to around 35 million, although the negotiation is still not closed. China: crazy prices. ApparentlyFIFA would have demanded between 250 and 300 million dollars for the rights in the Chinese market, a figure that CCTV (the only broadcaster authorized by law to negotiate these rights) would not be willing to even remotely match. Its budget is around 60-80 million dollars, according to the same sources. FIFA may be willing to go down to between 120 and 150 million, but it is still double what CCTV wants to pay. On social networks, fans protest the difference in numbers between China and India. They are their traditions and they must be respected. CCTV has broadcast the World Cup without missing a single edition since Argentina 1978. Previously, agreements were closed with enough notice to launch promotional campaigns and attract sponsors, but this time there is no agreement, and the tournament starts in five weeks. For example, In the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, CCTV had the rights closed months in advance. And to this is added an extra problem: journalists from the country have had difficulties obtaining visas to cover the World Cup, which would reduce the quality of the broadcasts and, consequently, weaken the attractiveness for Chinese sponsors (which, as is easy to imagine, are among the main sponsors of the tournament). High tension. What we have right now are two millionaire forces pulling the rope in different directions: both want the highest profitability, knowing that time is an absolutely essential variable, because each week without a signed deal is equivalent to advertising and sponsorships that disappear. Not to mention the exasperation of millions of fans, who are now turning Asia into a sea of ​​nail-biting fans. And not in the penalty shootout, precisely. In Xataka | You will only be able to get to the World Cup stadiums in the USA and Mexico by car. And they are going to charge you 300 dollars to park it

To achieve the milestone of building the largest drone industry without China, Ukraine has found an explosive ally: Taiwan

by

In the midst of the Cold War, several Western engineers they were surprised upon discovering that some of the most reliable small electronic components on the world market came from an island that barely made the big geopolitical headlines. Decades later, that silent specialization in manufacturing tiny and apparently invisible parts would end up becoming one of the industrial capabilities most coveted on the planet. The war that changed an industry. For decades, Taiwan was known primarily for making chipselectronic components and invisible parts that ended up inside telephones, computers or servers spread all over the planet, but modern wars are beginning to push that industrial capacity towards another, much more explosive terrain. The Guardian said that what is happening between Ukraine and Taiwan reflects a quiet change that barely existed a few years ago: the creation of a new technological alliance born directly from drone warfrom Chinese pressure and the desperate need to produce millions of cheap, autonomous and combat-ready systems. Ukraine wants to break its dependence on China. The war forced Ukraine to build at full speed a gigantic industry of drones capable of feeding a front that consumes absurd quantities of devices every month. The problem is that much of the global supply chain remains dominated by China: Motors, batteries, navigation systems, electronic components and rare earths continue to depend heavily on Chinese manufacturers. As we said, kyiv began to consider this dependence as a strategic risk When suspicions grew about indirect support from Beijing to Russia and fears grew of possible export restrictions. There Taiwan began to appear as an alternative unexpectedly important. His huge experience in semiconductors, microelectronics, electronic integration and advanced technological production made it one of the few places capable of supplying critical parts without being completely dependent on the West or trapped under direct Chinese control. For Ukraine, finding industrial partners outside of China stopped being a commercial issue and became literally a matter of survival. And Taiwan found Ukraine. While Ukraine seeks to produce millions of drones, gradually moving away from China, Taiwan observes the conflict with another concern: the possibility of one day confronting Beijing on its own territory. That coincidence of threats is creating a relationship ever deeper between both worlds. In fact, The New York Times said what Taiwanese engineers They send drones to Ukraine to be tested directly in combat, American companies transfer designs born on the Ukrainian front to Taiwanese production and former Taiwanese soldiers who today fight in Ukraine return home telling how modern war really works. Many Taiwanese militaries are beginning to discover that traditional doctrines are completely outweighed by swarms of FPV drones, unmanned maritime systems or cheap ground robots capable of destroying multimillion-dollar vehicles. Ukraine is thus becoming a kind of university improvised military for Taiwan, one where the lessons do not come from simulations but from a real front where every mistake costs lives. The new military industry no longer resembles the old one. One of the most profound changes of this war is that military production no longer depends solely on gigantic state factories or large traditional contractors. Ukraine has developed more than one hundreds of local manufacturers of components while constantly adapting its systems to specific front-line needs. Ukrainian companies modify drones, software and guidance systems at a much higher speed to the Western classical industry. Taiwan fits perfectly in that transformation because it has exactly what Ukraine needs to accelerate that production: advanced electronics, specialized chips and flexible industrial capacity. Several Taiwanese companies already operate from Poland or Lithuania to indirectly supply kyiv, while Taiwanese drone exports to Europe have skyrocketed massively. In parallel, American companies are using Ukraine and Taiwan like two extremes of the same industrial chain: Ukraine provides combat experience and accelerated development, and Taiwan provides technological capacity and scalable manufacturing. The obsession with building drones outside of China. Both Ukraine and Taiwan share another priority that is becoming almost an industrial doctrine: building supply chains at the expense of Beijing. The problem is much more complicated than it seems because even many components manufactured outside China still use materials, batteries or magnets that depend from Chinese suppliers. Even so, both territories try gradually reduce that exhibition. Taiwan wants to build a drone industry completely disengaged from China by 2027 and increase its own production of rare earth magnets, while Ukraine continues to shift production within its borders. There is no doubt, the challenge is gigantic because Chinese products continue to be much cheaper and more abundant, but strategic logic is beginning to outweigh the economic cost. In the middle of a war, the priority shifts from buying the cheapest to ensuring the supply chain continues to function when the next crisis hits. Building something bigger than drones. If you also want, the most important thing in this relationship may not only be the production of drones, but the emergence of a new technological and military axis informal between two territories that live under permanent threat from much larger neighbors. Ukraine contributes real experience of war, proven tactics and a brutal speed of innovation under extreme pressure. Taiwan contributes industrial capacitysemiconductors and access to critical technologies that the West does not produce quickly enough. The result is beginning to look like something much more ambitious: an entire international network of distributed military production where private companies, engineers, volunteers and manufacturers work beyond official diplomatic limitations. Even the Ukrainian government recognize as drone factories based on Ukrainian designs are popping up outside its borders, including one in Taiwan. One more thing. Ultimately, what the war is accelerating is an idea that a few years ago would have seemed improbable: that to build the largest drone industry on the planet outside chinaUkraine has ended up finding one of its most valuable and strategic allies in Taiwan. Image | x, Trydence In Xataka | Today in “the war in Ukraine beyond all comprehension”: drone pilots are training with ‘Grand Theft Auto’ In Xataka | Ukraine has barely … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.