china

China goes for those who mock their export controls. The focus is in strategic minerals that sustain their power

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Beijing has just tightened your control over one of its most valuable assets: strategic minerals that feed chips, electrical networks and satellites. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce He assured that smuggling will be pursued without concessions. The Asian giant redoubles the pressure. China does not stay in the ads of a firm policy: it has launched an operation that, as they say, already yields concrete results. During the last two months, multiple cases of illegal exports have been investigated, with arrests of involved and a “strong deterrence”, CGTN points out. A key meeting of July 19 at Nanning – with the presence of the Ministry of Commerce, Public Security, Customs, Attorney General’s Office and other agencies – served as an intermediate point after the operation initiated in May. In that meeting it was agreed: Establish a Joint Coordination Center for Export Application and Control of Double Use Articles. Publish exemplary judicial cases and expand the list of foreign entities subject to controls. Issue compliance guides for exporters, with emphasis on avoiding deviations to military purposes. Why these minerals matter so much. Strategic minerals –including rare earths such as neodymium, prseodimio and disposium– They are essential for high -tech industries: computer chips, electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, satellites and military equipment. China controls about 60% of refined world productionwhich gives you a critical position in the global supply chains. Having this domain allows Beijing to influence key markets and exert economic pressure on international tension contexts. In addition, the refining of these matters requires advanced technology and complex chemical processes, which raises entry barriers to other countries. The threat: smuggling and technological leaks. Beijing’s message is not limited to economic damage. The Ministry of Commerce warned about an added risk: mineral smuggling can facilitate technological filtration towards foreign actors, including those linked to the military. It is feared that certain materials end up in defense applications without going through adequate controls, thus avoiding the official export mechanisms. The authorities claim to have detected sophisticated attempts to overcome the rules: false documentation, transfers through third countries, and fragmentation of cargoes to reduce customs scrutiny. The technical complexity of these schemes forces constant surveillance, according to He Yadong himself. It is not the first time that this is tried to stop. Frenting the smuggling of strategic products is not new, and it is rarely simple. The restrictions imposed by the United States on advanced chips and NVIDIA GPUS offer a clear example: despite the formal prohibition of exporting models such as A100 or H100 to China, China, Recent analysis indicate that these components continue to reach the country through opaque networks and triangulations with third countries. A movement with geopolitical echoes. The decision to harden control over strategic minerals cannot be understood outside the pulse between powers. While the United States multiplies controls on chips, AI and sensitive exports, China counterattacks in one of the few lands where it has a margin of real maneuver: that of critical raw materials. The country is responsible for more than 85% of the global refining of rare earthsand has begun to use that position as a pressure tool. He already demonstrated it in 2023 with the imposition of licenses To export Galio and Germaniotwo essential minerals for advanced electronics and defense. This new turn hardens its position and is interpreted as a response to the western fence. It is not a total closure, but a reminder that who controls the materials, controls a part of the game. Will these measures work? What is not clear is whether these measures will be effective in the long term. Smuggling networks usually adapt rapidly, especially when there are global interests at stake and high economic benefits. Nor do we know if these decisions will affect prices, the international supply or the negotiating position of China in future technological disputes. Images | Alejandro Luengo | Craig Thomas In Xataka | In full battle of all countries to get rare earths, an unexpected actor has raised his voice: Apple

The US hardened their restrictions for Nvidia chips not to reach China. So they are sweeping the black market

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A few days ago Nvidia got what It seemed impossible: That the US government allowed you to sell your H20 GPU very soon to Chinese clients. It was an important turn in the Trump administration policy, which since April had raised his restrictions. Despite the hardness of the sanctions, the plan has had lagoons, according to an investigation of the Financial Times. What happened. The Financial Times has accessed sales contracts, to presentations of companies already involved in the industry and has drawn a conclusion: three months after Trump harden the export control, chips worth $ 1 billion were sent to China. In context, it is a huge figure, if one takes into account that Nvidia entered 17,000 million last year. The process began in May according to the Financial Times, when Chinese distributors began marketing GPU on which restrictions on data centers that work with Chinese Laboratories of AI weigh. The investigation points to something that the US already suspected: Many chips enter from Southeast Asia They are not any chips. The investigation reveals that Chinese AI companies are managing to acquire the GPU B200 of Nvidia, a beast that It already has a successorbut that is a candy to train models. And it promised multiply by four The performance of the desired H100 in MLPERF 4.1. The investigation also mentions the sale of other chips on which export controls weigh, such as the aforementioned GPU H100 and its successor, the H200. The price of a Rack Of eight B200 ready to use is approximately $ 489,000, and has dropped in price since they arrived in China in May. The difference with the sale that is authorized? An extra 50%. Publication in social networks announcing the sale of ASUS H200 racks. Image: Financial Times Nvidia’s position. The company has maintained a defense position to remain in China these months, and it is that this market supposed 13% of its global income. Jensen Huang has been praising the Chinese models of AI At a complicated moment for the company, in need of strengthening its complicity among Chinese companies while just selling chips. In full Dilemma for the US to sell or not sellHuang has placed the power of Huawei’s solutions at the height of the H200. A path full of difficulties. As Nvidia told Financial Times, buying chips clandestine is not something that allows expected yields. Mounting a data center with the GPUs is not just a process of installing parts, but about giving them service and support, something that the company does not supply to chips sold outside authorized channels. According to an operator of a data center, the export control does not prevent NVIDIA chips from reaching China, and what it does is create inefficiencies and “huge profits for intermediaries that assume risks.” Even so, a distributor recognized that “there is no shortage.” The effect of relaxation with H20. With the announcement of the permission to the marketing of the H20 to China, the sales of the B200 and other chips marketed in the black market have fallen, according to several distributors. The reasons are not clear, but buying Nvidia guarantees the aforementioned support as well as a more competitive price. Despite this, there are Chinese distributors announcing stock of the B300, which is not yet manufactured in mass. Image | Nvidia and Flickr In Xataka | The US machinery to win the “war” of AI to China is already underway. And it goes faster than expected

Mazda wants to reinvent the electric car with an electric car that is not entirely electric. In China they have improved the idea

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An electric that is not electric. Or that, at least, it is not completely electric. In Spain we are not very accustomed to seeing extended rank electric cars, a proposal that makes a lot of sense in some conditions and that they want to exploit in China. A proposal that Mazda already put on the table. What is an EREV? Extended Ranger Electric Vehicle, for its acronym in English. Or extended autonomy electric vehicle, How we know him in Spain. They are particular electric cars because they are halfway between the plug and electric hybrid. In general, it is a car designed by and to be used as an electric car on a day -to -day basis. Unlike a plug -in hybrid where when the battery is over the car works like a hybrid to use, the idea with the EREV is to always have the feeling that we are using an electric car. It would be something like an electric with a “emergency” combustion engine. Mazda is clear. Although in the market we have seen some other incursion, perhaps the company that has emphasized the system is Mazda. Although the Mazda 6e He is going well in sales and can be a hard rival for him Tesla Model 3 In Europe, the Japanese have insisted on several occasions that they are not completely clear that the future must be exclusively electric. He Mazda Ionic spfor now, only a prototype, affects this idea of extended autonomy electric. Designed for completely electrical use but with a small rotary engine that allows you to pull it when you need to work with gasoline. If, for example, we want to leave the weekend and make a mountain port. Although it has not been a great success, the idea has already explored it with the Mazda MX-30an electric of very contained autonomy (just over 200 kilometers on the highway) to which a rotary engine that recharges the battery when it is emptied. Thus, the engine acts as an electricity generator but is still decoupled from the wheels so the touch is the same as with an electric. Works in that case as a series hybrid. Why do they insist? When Mazda has influenced the disadvantages of the electric car, he has emphasized two issues: Large batteries are more expensive: Following Toyota’s philosophy of 1-6-90Mazda specifies that a battery to give autonomies of hundreds of kilometers forces them to make prices more than they would like. Large batteries are heavier: and that threatens its philosophy of Light Sports rather than powerful. That is why they prefer to explore the combination of two engines (thermal and electrical) for a possible new sports launch and that is why they bet on a rotating, very compact and low weight engine. In China they buy it. Mazda is not alone in this idea. As we said, in Europe we have already seen cases such as Mazda MX-30 but in its day BMW also tried with a BMW I3 Rexa car that was undoubtedly an advanced in his time. In Spain you can also buy the LEAPMOTOR C10 REEVa Chinese car distributed by Stellantis that has this peculiar technology. And in China these cars are the most common. They are vehicles that enter the Nev category (which in the country covers plug -in hybrids and electric). They have a multitude of options and even It has been rumored that the next Xiaomi will set up this structure. The advantages, as we said, smaller batteries (lower price) and electric touch. Or take it to the next level. But the last step of an EREV is to ensure that yes or yes, it becomes an electric for 99% of situations and that the combustion engine really provides support exclusively in emergency situations. This is what It will present the Chinese company IM Motors next August. Your proposal It is that of a 66 kWh battery car, equal to or superior to many electric cars that are already sold as an option for day -to -day Peugeot E-3008 It exceeds it by little, with 73 kWh). It is what they call an outstanding “super rank” car because, without intervening the electric motor, I would already deliver 450 kilometers of autonomy (according to the Chinese homologation cycle). And with all the advantages of an electric. Because the idea is not only that the car works almost as an exclusive electric vehicle or that the touch of it is the electricity even if it has a combustion engine pushing, the battery may work at 800 voltsso extremely high recharges are expected. The recharge power has not yet been revealed but the 800 V batteries allow to exceed 250 kW, powers that in Spain are unusual and available at a few points but are more than usual in China. In fact, IM Motors will be the company that offers the extended rank electricity with the largest market capacity but only a few months ago than Catl already put on the table The same structures with 4C ultra -grape load, that is, that can multiply the battery capacity by four. n The case of IM Motors, will have to load more than 264 kW of power to match the load of the catl option. Photo | Im Motors and Mazda In Xataka | Hybrid, plug or electric hybrid: which to buy depending on the use and advantages of each

Something is happening in Silicon Valley. More and more startups are going to the day ‘996’ of China

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“If you want to leave at 5 you are not at the right work.” Lucy Guo said it, Founder of the Startup Scale AI. And it is not the only one. More and more Silicon Valley startups, especially those dedicated to AI, which are betting on this “extreme commitment” model that reminds us of the endless 996 Conference that were so controversial in China. What is happening? New culture. The culture of ultra-productivity defended by figures like Elon Musk It has been installed in Silicon Valley. In statements a WiredAdrian Kinnersley, CEO of a hiring company, says that “it is becoming very common. We have several clients who have as a prerequisite when selecting candidates who are willing to work on days 996”. Hysteria. In California, labor legislation is very favorable for workers and Kinnersley is surprised that many companies are “breastfeeding it.” It is one of the consequences of the AI career. Not only is there a great competition between China and the United StatesSilicon Valley has become the battlefield where small startups fight for being number one in his. The price: squeeze your workers. What was given was over. Not long ago, working in Silicon Valley was a dream for many. Companies like Google were known for offering gyms, coffee shops and even masseuses. All kinds of comfort for that employees felt at home. That is over. With the return to the offices after the pandemic, The dream began to fade. The tortilla has turned around. Today it is common for any startup to ask its employees to make marathon days and even work on weekends. Extreme commitment. It is another way of saying that you will not go through home much. We recently talked about the young CEO of Greptile and his controversial statements. “We do not offer conciliation”he said in Your X profile. The CEO says it directly in the work interviews: they work from 9 in the morning until late at night and, often, also on Saturdays. It looks a lot like China 996: from nine to nine, six days a week. The excuse: be competitive. In an interview, this CEO said that “nobody cares about the third best company, not even the second best, in any software category. If you are going to strive 95%, it is the equivalent of striving to 0%.” There are arranged people. In Spain we have attended the opposite in the hospitality sector: The waiters rebelled against the 12 -hour days, to the point that there was no labor. In Silicon Valley it seems that there are enough people willing to work 996. In Rilla, another AI startup, they say that 80% of their employees are working 72 hours a week. Even They put it in their job offers And they are not having problems hiring. His CEO says that there is “a very strong and growing subculture, especially in my generation (the Gene z), who grew up listening to stories by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, entrepreneurs who dedicated their lives to create companies that changed the world. ” 996 in China. The 996 day became popular in China among Chinese technology last decade. This model was the growth engine of companies such as Alibaba or JD.com for years, but there came a point where The workers were fed up and The protests began demanding better working conditions. The Chinese government ended up prohibiting The endless days and went from 996 to 1065 (from 10 in the morning to 6 in the afternoon, five days a week). Temporary and only for those who want. There are startups that defend a slightly more moderate hyper-productive culture. The CEO of Sotiraa startup that applies AI solutions to the logistics sector, sees it as something temporary: “During the first two years of your startup, you have to work in the 996 style.” He also states that these days are for the leaders of the companies and does not believe that the entire employee base must be imposed. This vision creates a kind of structure on two levels, where only a part of the company meets these schedules. It is what the CEO of the “Telesalud” Fella & Delilah company proposed to its employees in a Publication in your LinkedIn. Employees who adhere to this schedule will receive a 25% increase in their salary. Image |Ron Lach, Pexels In Xataka | Work tired, stress and generates burnout. There is a way to reduce all that impact: the four -day week

China begins to build the largest dam in the world. His neighbors fear that they use it as a “water pump”

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The Pharaonic works They are not easy. Tell them The Linethe gigantic Horizontal skyscraper that he was confident years ago and that more and more and more. China, however, does not raise your foot from the accelerator and, every little time, it surprises us with some megaestructure. Now, and after a long planning, they have announced the beginning of the construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. And neighboring countries have shouted in the sky for a reason: the possible use of water as a throwing weapon. A monster. China has the largest dam on the planet. The three throats is the largest energy plant in the worldit is so huge that GROUNDS EARTH ROTATION With a refueling, and it is estimated that it has a production capacity of 88.2 million MWH per year. Impressive, but will soon be in a second place because they are preparing an even bigger dam. A set of dams, rather. Located on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Lto new biggest in the world It will have the capacity to generate 300 million MWH per year, you can cover the energy needs of 300 million people each year and “only” will cost 130,000 million euros. That impressive capacity will be possible thanks both to your turbines as to the use of the energy generated by the two -kilometer unevenness presented by the river in certain areas and a construction with five cascade dams. “The project of the century”. The area is one of the richest in hydroelectric resources in the world, and the idea is to drill between four and six tunnels of 20 kilometers in length through a mountain to divert half of the river flow to achieve 2,000 m³ per second and take advantage of all that force. It will not be a simple operation due to the conditions of the area and at the cost of the project, and that is what has led to China’s prime minister to qualify it as “the project of the century”. As we read in The GuardianLi Qiang made the statements during a ceremony in the region to commemorate the beginning of a construction that was announced in 2020 and has Aroused numerous criticisms. Out of China, yes. Risks. First, for natural reasons. Is found in the Tibet area And it is one of the most regions seismically active of the planet. It is where the Indian and Eurasian plates contact and where numerous earthquakes are given every year, some with important magnitudes. In fact, a recent earthquake already damaged five hydroelectric dams in the area, and the weight of accumulated water itself is another factor that can trigger earthquakes, As has happened. On the other hand, human reasons. Apart from the consequences that an earthquake of that magnitude can have for the local population, it is not the first time that displaces a population to build a dam. These population movements is something that fear Tibetan groups that claim to have no visibility on the plans of the Chinese government. And, when they have complained about other hydroelectric projects in Tibet, they have been repressed by the authorities. The area could not be more geologically complicated. Either at the geopolitical level And geopolitics. India and Bangladés too They look at the dam With the arched eyebrow. He Brahmaputra It is essential for agriculture and access to drinking water of millions of people along the river and fear that dams seriously alter their flow. It is something that would directly affect the agriculture and food security of these people and already They drop That the project is a strategic tool from China to exert pressure on neighboring countries, by being able to control or modify water flow at will. Neeraj Singh Manhas is the special advisor for South Asia in the Parley Policy initiative (organization that seeks to solve conflicts through diplomacy) and in statements to BBCHe commented that “China can always use water as a weapon, blocking or diverting it.” Even if they do not do it on purpose, it would not be the first time that a accidentlike him collapse In cascade of the Banqiao dam and another 61 dams in 1975, an event that caused 85,000 direct deaths and displaced 11 million people. “Water pump”. In addition, it is something that can go against the direct interests of India, which aims to build a hydroelectric dam on the Sang River (one of those feeding on the Tsangpo). Apart from the fact that the flow of the river can affect the energy interests of India, there are voices that warn about the possible use of China as a “water pump.” PEMA KHANDU, Minister of Arunachal Pradesh -a state of the Republic of India -, commented In a recent interview that the dam “can cause an existential threat to our tribes and a half visa. It is quite serious because China could use this as a ‘water pump’. Suppose that, suddenly, they release water: all our Siang belt would be destroyed, finished with tribes that would see how all its properties would be destroyed”. Nothing to worry about. From the Chinese government have always been rejected Those criticisms, ensuring that they do not seek “water hegemony” or intend to get benefits at the expense of their neighbors. On the other hand, it is alleged not only that the project will generate employment in the region, but will cover the energy needs and encourage something that China is advancing by leaps and bounds: he Renewable sector. In addition, the Prime Minister said that these concerns about ecological conservation have been taken into account when planning the project to “avoid environmental damage.” We will see what it is, but it is evident that the dam will be built and the intention is that it is operational in record time: by 2030. Images | Yogho, Guganij In Xataka | China is moving whole buildings at the same time to build underneath. Because? Because it can

If the question is what China is giving Russia in the Ukraine War, we have news: a complete army

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At the beginning of July Bloomberg he took Some documents They showed how a little known firm based in Khabarovsk, at the eastern end of Russia, had emerged as one of the main drone manufacturers of the country. I did it thanks to a dense cooperation network Covering with Chinese companies. Now, Ukraine’s intelligence has shown something much bigger: Beijing is giving Moscow a 100% Made in China complete army. A new generation. The Ukraine Defense Intelligence Directorate (Gur) He has revealed The existence of a new type of Russian decoy drone manufactured entirely With Chinese componentsa disturbing milestone that shows the growing implication of Beijing in the Kremlin war machine. Although for years it is has documented the use of foreign pieces (including Chinese) in Russian arsenalthis would be the first time that an unmanned aerial system used in the Ukrainian front is completely built with technology from a single country: China. Chinese shahed. The drone, of the delta and reduced size, reminds superficially to the Shahed-136 Iranianbut it works mainly as a decoy to saturate Ukrainian aerial defenses, although it can also incorporate an explosive load of up to 15 kilos. The existence of this platform confirms that Russia has not only perfected its saturation tactics With drones, but has also consolidated new technological supply chains that avoid international sanctions. All the components and blocks of the drone are of Chinese origin Commercial components. Of the two drones recovered by the Gur, one of them contained exclusively Chinese pieceswhile the other included two still unidentified components. According to The investigationalmost half of the pieces of the first came from a single company: Cuav Technology Co., a Chinese firm based in Guangdong that It specializes in open source created systems. The components were flight controllers with autopilot functions, navigation modules, antennae and air speed sensors. The most notable is that this company, which in 2022 had publicly announced restrictions on the sale of products both to Russia and Ukraine to avoid its military use, has ended up starring in The technical nucleus of a new Russian weapon. The paradox. The contradiction is even more striking to know that Russia had previously presented a supposedly native vertical take -off drone that turned out to be a direct adaptation of a Cuav acquired product acquired Through Aliexpress. The fundamental difference with the new lure does not lies in the origin of its parts, but that it is now a Russian endogenous production based completely on Chinese technology, not a simple direct purchase. Some of the Chinese components found in a new Russian decoy drone AI and tactical expansion. Chinese involvement is not limited to passive electronics. Ukraine has documented The use of artificial intelligence in Russian drones as the V2Uwhich uses algorithms to Identify and select Objectives autonomously. This drone used a Chinese Leetop A203 minicomputer and a central processor with Jetson Orin de Nvidia module, which reveals a combination of Western and Chinese hardwareused by Russia to incorporate AI capacities in its operations. In addition, Beijing has contributed to the development of fiber optic drones long journey, allowing Russia to extend the scope of these platforms up to 50 kilometers. This technology offers immunity against electronic interference and signal blockages, in addition to overcoming geographical obstacles that limit control via radio frequency. Thus, Beijin has endowed Kremlin with key tools to maintain Your tactical advantageespecially in an increasingly conditioned conflict for The electronic war and the saturation of enemy sensor. Foreign pieces war. We had gone counting In the previous months. Actually, the drone lure manufactured in China is only one more piece within the vast Russian war gear assembled with foreign components. The Gur has recovered multiple Russian arms systems (such as Shahed-136 drones, cruise missiles S-8000 flagcommand vehicles with Radar 9S932-1attack helicopters KA-52 and missiles KH-101) that They contained pieces Native of the United StatesIran, Taiwan, Switzerland, Japan or South Korea. In all cases, the parties escaped the export controls and ended Integrated in armament deployed on Ukraine. Even complete systems have been detected, Like a laser of Chinese origin designed for Brink Ukrainian droneswhose presence in Russia was confirmed after circulating videos on social networks. This transfer, identical to systems already provided By China to Iranreinforces the hypothesis of an active and sustained collaboration between both authoritarian regimes in the development of sophisticated weapons. China and implications. Although Beijing claims to maintain a neutral position before the war in Ukraine, its behavior seems the opposite. Filtered statements This month in CNN they revealed that Foreign Minister Wang Yi confessed to a meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Head of Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, which Beijing “cannot accept a Russian defeat” because it would allow the United States to focus their attention on containing China. In private, admitted that a prolonged war could benefit Beijing by distracting Washington from their strategic interests in Asia. This geopolitical calculation does not seem trivial: it reflects that for China, Ukraine is not a secondary issue, but A key piece on the global power board. His strategy seems to focus on keeping Russia sufficiently strong to erode Western influence, without compromising enough to become target of direct sanctions. The axis and the transformation of the conflict. Plus: unlike North Korea support (focused on Artillery, missiles and troops), the Chinese contribution It aims to silently mold the technological architecture of the conflict. The supply of microelectronics, complete platforms, AI tools and critical components has allowed Russia reconfigure your economy In war code and adapt your military industry to resist in the long term. A pattern that suggests that the flow of Chinese technology will not only continue, but will probably intensify, extending, perhaps, throughout the Russian arsenal. With Moscow Diplomatically isolated and financially pressedthe convenience alliance with Beijing is emerging as one of the most decisive variables in the future of war. Image | Gur In Xataka | It is not that the war is asymmetric, is that Russia is attacking with … Read more

Nvidia cannot sell her most powerful chips to China for sanctions. So you have found a plan B: Risc-V

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Nvidia has announced that Its CUDA platform will be compatible with RISC-V processors. He has done so during the Risc-V Summit in China and the chosen place is not accidental: this announcement clearly points to the Chinese market. For the first time, the technology that allows applications to communicate with the NVIDIA GPUs will be extended beyond ARM and X86, towards an open source architecture. Why is it important. CUDA It is the software that operates the Nvidia’s ecosystem. Without a CUDA, the GPU would lose much of their parallel calculation apacities. That Nvidia opens this technology to RISC-V It means that processors based on this open architecture can now serve as the main CPU in NVIDIA GPU systems. The background. The announcement, in addition to making in China, comes while China is accelerating its efforts to reduce its dependence of western processors. Nvidia can’t sell your most powerful models GB200 and GB300 to China for US sanctions, so in this way finds a way to maintain relevant Cuda in the Chinese market. Between the lines. There is a lot of geopolitical strategy in this decision: NVIDIA has been integrating RISC-V nuclei for years into its own GPU for low-level control tasks. Now it makes the jump to support RISC-V as the main processor. And that responds to a reality: if China is going to develop its own processors using open architectures, Nvidia wants to be there from the beginning. In detail. The configuration shown by NVIDIA shows a heterogeneous system: The GPU handles parallel loads. The RISC-V processor executes the CUDA controllers and the application logic. And a DPU manages network tasks. This architecture allows you to orchestrate GPU computations completely within the CUDA environment, something impossible so far with RISC-V. Deepen. Historically, Nvidia has behaved Cuda to each important architecture: X86, ARM, PowerPC and even Sparc de Sun. The company understands that it must be present from the first day on any platform that can take off in the business sector. With a value already exceeding 4 billion dollarsNvidia can afford to bet on all promising architectures. And now the movement positions RISC-V as a viable alternative for future designs of AI processors and high performance computing. If the stars align, other manufacturers could follow the example of Nvidia. And that would accelerate the adoption of RISC-V in data centers beyond China. Outstanding image | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | On his way to the authentic quantum supremacy, China has set an objective: a “real” quantum computer before 2030

China built the largest high speed network in record time. Now you want something more difficult: improve it

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China has already shown that you can do what no other country has achieved: display in record time The largest high speed network on the planet. But it is not enough to have it. The new challenge is even more complex: to improve it, make it more efficient, more connected, more useful for the economy. And that demands less colorful, but equally ambitious decisions. To grow quickly to grow well. Between 2021 and 2024, China added 10,000 Kilometers of track to your high speed network. The figure impresses, but it is no longer what defines success. The Ministry of Transportation has made it clear that the current objective is not to extend the railway map without pause, but to squeeze its potential. In fact, The country has set As a goal to reach 50,000 operating kilometers before the end of 2025. The network adds 48,000 kilometers, more than 70 % of the world total, and connects 97 % of cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. Millions of travelers, but there is still a margin of improvement. Only in the first half of 2025, Chinese high -speed trains They transported 2,240 million people. The figure impresses, but the authorities are not formed. The objective now is to make this system more comfortable, more predictable and better coordinated with the rest of the transport ecosystem, from the urban metro to airports. High speed yes, but also logistics. China wants its high -speed trains to cease to be just a solution for travelers. The new approach includes routes adapted to the transport of goods, interconnections with airports and sea nodes, and improvements to integrate the system into the production chain. What is at stake is no longer only mobility, but the country’s competitiveness. Beyond traditional rails. While the current network is kept, China develops new generations of trains, such as magnetic levitation. These advances do not seek to replace what is built, but prepare for a future where speed, autonomy and sustainability are key. The country has already tried prototypes that reach 600 km/h In cities like Qingdao. Figures that impress. Security that holds. Moving millions every day with punctuality is an achievement. Doing it without major incidents, for years, it is even more. China has built a network that not only runs quickly, but aims to resist earthquakes, storms and overloads. According to Xinhuasince 2012 no serious accident has been registered in the high speed network. Centralized planning. Faced with chronic delays that affect many countries, China has maintained a clear strategy: centralized decisions, sustained investment and state control of the process. It is not a perfect model – there are errors, cost overruns and debatable decisions. But its results in deployment and integration are difficult to ignore. A mature network, a major challenge. As we have seen, the Asian giant continues to expand its network, especially towards interior and less connected regions. However, it is no longer just about adding cities to the map. The real challenge is another: to ensure that a gigantic infrastructure works better and better, with less margin of error and more logistics demands. The stage of the big deployments is giving way to the stage of precision. Images | N509FZ (Wikimedia Commons – CC by-SA 4.0) | N509FZ In Xataka | China has not only created the world’s broader high -speed network: it wants to operate it at 1,000 km/Hy has taken a new step

part of Azure’s support was in China

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The last thing one expects when you think about the digital security of the US Department of Defense is that part of the technical support passes through engineers that are on the other side of the world. But that is just what has been happening. A group of Microsoft workers based in China participated in assistance tasks linked to Pentagon contracts, under a remote supervision system. Now, after a revelation, that scheme no longer applies to defense contracts. The cloud is not in heaven. Although it sounds ethereal, the cloud is very real. They are physical servers Distributed throughout the world, managed by technological giants such as Microsoft, Amazon or Google. These companies offer remote access to infrastructure, platforms and applications through the Internet, which allows saving costs, operating from anywhere or climbing services in seconds. But that comfort implies a huge dependence on a few suppliers. Azure not only serves private companies: It also manages government contractsincluding the US Department of Defense. And here the technical support as a key pillar comes into play: people who resolve incidents, help with configurations and guarantee that everything works without interruptions. That was where the controversy we talked about today emerged: part of that support was lending from China. A model that now makes noise. An investigation published by Propublic He revealed more than the participation of engineers based in China in sensitive contracts. He uncovered an inherited system, designed more than a decade ago, which Microsoft used to meet the security requirements of the US government. These foreign engineers did not directly access the systems: their instructions were replicated by authorized personnel from within the country. That model is known as “digital escorts.” In theory, it offered a protection layer. In practice, it opened the door to errors. Those who executed the orders – American employees with access – did not always have the necessary experience to understand what they were doing, according to the medium. In an environment of increasingly complex threats, that architecture has ceased to be a solution. Microsoft has decided to deactivate it. Microsoft moves card. After the publication of the report, Microsoft soon pronounced. In a statement released by Frank Shawits communication director, the company announced an immediate change in its operations: no team based on China will return to technical support for the Pentagon and other sensitive federal clients. The measure directly affects Pentagon’s contracts and is presented as an adjustment to “guarantee security” in critical environments. The company also insisted that its teams acted according to the protocols established by federal agencies. Even so, he promised to review his security procedures with his national partners. “We continue working to offer the safest services possible to the US government,” said Shaw. The language was diplomatic. The turn, not so much. The Pentagon responds. The reaction of the US government was swift. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, described the situation as “unacceptable”underlining that such a system has no place in the current context of digital threats. This is an architecture inherited from the Obama era, he said in a video published in X, where he announced a complete review to detect if there are more similar cases in other technological contracts. Another case on stage. The question about which suppliers deserve our trust does not end in Microsoft. In Spain, A contract awarded to HuaweiTo store judicial listening has caused diplomatic tensions with the US and Brussels. Both question if certain technological infrastructure should be in the hands of actors considered sensitive. Images | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 Flash | Microsoft In Xataka | The impossible challenge of China: becoming 100% of the West to have a bomb -proof chip industry

China wanted to turn a village into a great tourist resort. Did not have the numantine resistance of a neighbor

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For a while to this part, the Guizhou area, in downtown China, has become the stage of impossible architectures. In fact, there is a imposing mountain chainbut a bridge so high has been raised that they fit Two Eiffel towers Under him. Not far from there, one person is raising another titanic work: a kind of street castle. A challenge to demolition. I told the weekend The New York Times. In a high grass plain in the Chinese province of Guizhou, a structure that Challenge the laws of physicsurbanism and the very bureaucracy. Composed of eleven floors of reddish wooden rooms embedded by each other, supported by pulleys, water cubes and recycled columns, Chen Tianming’s house seems taken from an enlightened novel by Dr. Seuss or delighted world From El Castillo Ambulante of Ghibli. At first glance, it may seem like a fragile and improvised extravagance, but for its creator and inhabitant, 43, it represents a tenacious affirmation of freedomidentity and resistance to state power. From the ninth floor, to which I access homeless stairs without any railing, Chen observes the uniform apartment buildings where his old neighbors They were relocated. He chose another way: a vertical, personal and challenging. Architecture against forced uprooting. It all started In 2018when the Xingyi government announced the demolition of Chen’s hometown to build A resort. The compensation offer was considered ridiculous by his family, who refused to leave. When the excavators began to destroy, Chen left his messenger work in Hangzhou and returned to defend his parents’ house. Initially motivated by an economic logic (compensation depended on the built area), began adding floors with his brother using recycled materials. But what began as a pragmatic measure became a personal obsession. Apartment on floor, his house grew with him, as a physical extension of his determination to stay, resist, and transform a rural home into a work of inhabited art. And architecture as a manifesto. While officials They insisted in outlaw The structure and sent eviction notifications, Chen responded With nails, ropes and books. The man had studied mathematics before leaving the university, and worked as a calligraphy seller, insurance agent and delivery man, but found in the construction a form of expression that transcended the utility. Each floor had A function or a symbol: A reading corner in the fifth, an outdoor tea house in the sixth, hanging plants and suspended objects in the eighth, a bedroom always higher. Your tools: stairs, pulleys, old woods and their own body. The house became newspaper, shelter and trench. Chen, what He claims to feel “Guardian of the village,” he dedicated his mornings to inspect every corner and repair damage with such ingenious solutions as strategic buckets and columns elevated by the windows. A family history. Despite the skepticism of their neighbors, who accuse them of selfishness or foolishness, the Chen family He has joined Around this unlikely structure. Their parents, accustomed to receiving curious visitors on weekends, with stoic patience the decision of their child. Even his brother has suggested decorating the house With lanterns at night. Together they have chosen isolation against the contempt of the former neighbors who moved. Meanwhile, demolition threat seems have deflated: The resort project was frozen due to lack of funds, in a province marked by Pharaonic developments unfinished. Chen, however, continues to build, not by necessity or ambition, but because it says that each new floor is a personal challenge, an intimate conquest against time and entropy. Uncertain legacy. Obviously, Chen Tianming’s house is not intended to last, and he knows it. He acknowledges that, without its constant maintenance, he would collapse in a couple of years. But he also states that while he is standing, his house will be. He has invested little More than $ 20,000 in materials and about 4,000 in lawyers. His expenses, no doubt, are not those of a professional builder, but rather those of a stubborn artist. Although the government has placed a sign warning of Structural Dangersmany neighbors express admiration against originality and will embodied in the structure. Its construction violates known urban codes, but embodies a form of resistance that many feel their own. “If they demolished it, it would be a shame,” some counted to the Times. In a constant China Forced modernizationthe Chen tower is more than a nail: it is a declaration of intentions. Image | Azylber, YouTube In Xataka | This bridge built by China is so high that two Eiffel tower fit under it. And they have built it in just four years In Xataka | China has an imposing sacred mountain of 2,500 meters high with a surprise at its top: two temples

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