china

I have climbed to the Xiaomi Su7 Ultra. It is the definitive proof that China already plays in another league

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The Shanghai 2025 Motor Show is an anthill of Western executives with a face of concern. I have traveled his eight pavilions to confirm what he already sensed: China has ceased to be the applied copion to become the outstanding student. And few models exemplify it better than the Su7 ultra from Xiaomithat made me spend more time with him than I planned: The necessary to make the long tail of curious that we wanted to get on to him … … and he who went in front of his steering wheel. It is not just an attractive and devilishly fast car (it exceeds 350 km/h), it is The materialization of a phenomenon that questions our understanding of the world order. When a company that a few years ago was limited to selling cheap mobiles and presumed without taping to be plagical to Apple created a car that surpasses the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT? The Ultra Su7 in all its splendor and in one of its colors sign of identity. Image: Xataka. Xiaomi’s badge about Morro is not the same in this model as in others: it is 24 carat gold. And it is not only Asian ostentation, which also, but the signature of a manufacturer who knows that he has created something special. Of course, despite the fact that its weight is so scarce that it does not exceed 30 dollars of value, There are already cases of robberies. The gold and carbon fiber badge over the nose. Image: Xataka. When touching it, before the frown of one of the brand attendees who guard the car, I notice the transition between metal and carbon fiber that rests under the badge. Nothing creates, nothing gives. As in the best European GT, but with details that have another design philosophy. The cabin destroys the prejudices of anyone. Even, Ahem, an Apple enthusiast who looked at the Redmi With compassion. The surround seats with red details (optionally, in yellow or black) embrace my body. The steering wheel, which claudica before the fashion of blazing it at its base, includes haptic controls. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Integration with Hyperosthat I cannot try why I use iOS, it goes beyond what is expected: the assistant has changed his gaze torva for affable eyes to explain that the car understands who you are and advances to your needs before you express them. At some point we can really try it, and not just get fleeting to him, and we will test it. And speaking of mobiles: admits double wireless load of up to 50W. A subtle reminder that we are facing A manufacturer that dominates several industries at the same time. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. The contrast to the Su7 base It is evident. And a reminder: the Ultra is not only a “beyond”, but a rethinking of what a sports electricity should be, with emphasis on the latter. When we put it on motion, we will not only try Hyperos promises, but also their autonomous driving capabilities (such as its obstacle detection or its anti -collision system, which ignores the accelerator pressure to avoid impacts), its Pirelli P zero, its Brembo Carboceramic brakes or its carbon fiber wing. And perhaps even the ground reinforced with that “bullet resistant” material that they have promoted so much. A laboratory of ideas transformed into car. The assistant patient twisted the gesture when I told him that I would love to try it too. Just KiddingI told him before saying goodbye to him and thank him for his explanations and temper Zen. I left seeing how the next one in the tail (western features, by the way) climbed to SU7 ultra without hiding his enthusiasm. This car not only confirms that China already plays in another league, It also forces us to ask ourselves if in ten years we will continue playing the same sport. Time will say. Do like us on this trip and Stay connected whatever your destination. Always navigate at high speed and With unlimited data with the ESIM from Holafly and forget about unpleasant surprises on the bill. Easy to install, keeping your physical Sim card to receive calls and No positions of Roaming. And with a 5 % discount! Council offered by the brand Outstanding image | Xataka In Xataka | Xiaomi has managed to make a car massively in three years. This is how he has achieved

China reserved all its content

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It happened in October, but it went unnoticed by the general public so far: United States He enhanced his investment In Brazil mines capable of dealing with the supply of rare earth and critical minerals that dominates with iron fist Asia. At that time, Trump was only a presidency candidate, and global trade, and that of China and the United States in particular, followed the monotony of those days. What happened a few months later We already knowand when Washington has gone to “her” Mina in Brazil, he has encountered a surprise. Context: A unique mine. The Green Serra Minelocated in the Brazilian state of Goiás, it is currently the only active producer Out of China that extracts heavy strange earth from ionic clay, a easier type of deposit to process than the hard rock, since it does not require crushing. These minerals, essential for The manufacture of magnets permanent used in electric vehicles and wind turbines, have turned this mine into a key piece within the MSP strategy led by the United States. With the beginning of commercial production and the announcement in October of a round of US financing by 150 million dollarswith contributions from Denham Capital, Energy and Minerals Group and Vision Blue, Serra Green began to position himself as a crucial actor in the race for reduce dependence Western China. Its executive director, Moraitis thras, He then stressed that these funds would allow the company to reach a scale to compete economically in a market distorted by low Chinese production costs. But there was a problem. The paradox and the Chinese domain. After the months of that operation, in the heart of the Brazilian municipality of Minaçu, an old region Asbestos Minera In the center of the country, a huge pit that contains has already been opened, According to expertsthat possible solution to the urgent problem facing the West: access to heavy rare earths, the essential strategic minerals to manufacture all kinds of critical technologies. As we said at the beginning, the green serra mine, mostly backed with US capital (and to a lesser extent), it is currently the unique out of Asia which produces significant amounts of some of the rare earths most difficult to obtain. However, the geopolitical potential of this operation has been immediately tied to a paradox Structural: All its production is already contractually compromised … To Chinathe only country that has the technical and industrial capacity to separate and process the elements heavy extracted from that clay soil. The Beijing Monopoly. The case of Serra Verde is not an anomaly, but the reflection of carefully cultivated hegemony. China dominates not only extraction, but especially processing Of the 17 known rare earths, essential for automotive, aerospace, electronic and military industries. Although these elements abound in the earth’s crust, their separation is technical and economically complex, and for decades West relegated That task to China. In the particular case of heavy rare earths, which include elements Like Disposio and TerbioChina practically has the global monopoly of separation and refinement. The situation is such that, even when Western countries discover viable deposits, such as Serra Verde in Brazil, They lack infrastructure and industrial knowledge to process them. China, thanks to long -term planning, is now in an unsurpassed position, even in the middle of the growing commercial tensions. Its agreement with almost any mine comes long because it is a fundamental part of the process of exploitation of these lands. A critical block. Interest in Brazil as an alternative provider is not new, but urgent. Since in 2010 China interrupted its exports From rare earth to Japan for a territorial dispute, the world has become aware of its vulnerability in this area. As we said, Denham CapitalBoston -based private investment firm, was one of the first to bet on Brazil that same year, when financing the Serra Verde Project. However, for the next eight years, the project had difficulty taking off due to a fundamental lack: outside China, No one could really refine the materials that the mine would extract. Thus, at the time he finally managed to inaugurate, after fourteen years of work and that additional investment of 150 million dollars In October, the paradoxically the mine had already sold its production to China Up to at least 2027. Its executive director, Moraitis thras, admitted thatalthough now everyone wants their minerals, they cannot do anything: the contracts are signed and the materials already have a destination insured. Long -term response. In addition, Serra Verde is not the only example of this unit. MP Materialsanother company backed by the US government, extracts and separates light rare earth in California, but, again, until recently it sold 80% of its production to China, since it could not process the heavy elements. Had the New York Times that a plant is currently being built in the same state, Financed by the Pentagonone that in the future can perform this task, as well as Other projects In progress in France and Estonia. However, all these initiatives will take years to materialize. Even if they are completed according to the planned deadlines, access to new heavy rare land deposits will continue to be very limited. Serra Green itself hopes to produce just some Hundreds of tons Of these critical minerals for 2027, which, if specified, would double the offer outside Asia. The rest of the international supply currently comes from marginal sources, such as by -products of the coal and uraniumwhich, once again, underlines the urgency of the problem. Strategic advantage. Thus, China’s consolidation as indisputable power In this sector it does not seem fruit of chance, but of a sustained industrial vision for decades. While the United States and its allies just begin to react to The severity of the matterBeijing has built not only technical capacity, but also Supply chain and the contractual links that guarantee control. Moraitis counted In the Times That there is nothing more to recognize the obvious: the strategic planning of the … Read more

China had been buying tons and tons of soy to the US for years. A country has won in place: Brazil

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China likes American soybeans. A lot. Every year matters from the fields of Illinois, Minnesota or Iowa Millions of tons From a crop that is consumed directly in pod, it is processed or is intended to feed cattle. The problem is that in full Commercial Warand with him Tariff crossing Of more than 100% applied by Washington and Beijing to their respective exports, that American grain will probably stop being attractive in Chinese factories. It has already happened years ago, during the commercial war of the first mandate of Donald Trump. And then, as now, China began to look with increasing interest other sources of soybeans. Which is it? Argentina and especially Brazil. A figure: 27 million. He Tariff pulse Between the US and China, which has resulted in a rise in encumbrances of more than 100% to the commercial flow in both directions, threatens to hit a key merchandise: soybeans. The reason is very simple. American farmers sell a lot, a lot of soy to the Asian giant. In 2024 that flow exceeded 27 million tons metrics, with a value of 12.8 billion dollars. Moreover, oleaginous seeds (group that includes soy) were one of the main US exports to China in terms of value. Two years ago, the US-China Business Council calculated that, together, oleaginous seeds and cereals represent the largest export of the US to China, with a value that was then ascended to 25.4 billion. To have a clearer image of what soybeans supposes in those accounts, The New York Times Precise that last year mobilized nine cents of each dollar of goods that the US sold in China. USDA data shows that the Asian country monopolizes Something more than 40% of the Total US Soy Sales. A percentage: 135%. That is the rise of tariffs that will have to deal with that huge flow of American grain to China from now on. The percentage is the sum of two increases: the 10% imposed by Beijing in March to the importation of certain agricultural products and The extra 125% With which, already in recent weeks, he responded to the escalation of the commercial war with the US. The question they leave by driving those rise in levies is obvious: how will it affect the flow of American soybeans? Will it remain attractive to the Chinese market with that 135% rates? The issue has generated expectation between The analysts And of course Farmers worry From the US, a good part of them installed in states that, such as Iowa, Indiana or Ohio, are important soy producers and last November they voted for Donald Trump. “We deal with bad weather, pests, tractor breakdowns,” he lamented recently Heather Feuerstein, owner of a Tnyt Michigan farm. To all these challenges are now added tariffs, which in their opinion suppose “a threat” for their way of life. One date: 2017. While the tariff pulse with which he has started 2025 is being particularly intense, it is not the first time that Feuerstein and the rest of his colleagues are seen in a similar situation. Years ago, during his first presidential mandate, Trump has already started a commercial war with China that fully affected soy exports. As? Leading Beijing to bet on other suppliers and reducing the flow of grain ‘made in USA’. Nikkei precise which in 2017 was behind almost 40% of Chinese imports. Although the commercial flow remains high, in 2024 that figure was already 20%. Recently the CNN elaborated A detailed graph in which it shows that between 2017 and 2018 the US soybeans exports to China foster from 31.7 million metric tons to 8.24. Since then the flow has been recovered until it is located at 27.2 last year, although the data remains below the one registered before Trump’s first mandate. In general, from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) esteem that the commercial war caused direct losses to the US agricultural exports that exceeded the 27,000 million of dollars between 2018 and 2019. A country: Brazil. Every war has its winners. And the commercial open years between the US and China has a very clear one if we talk about soybean trade: Brazil. He same graph The CNN shows that as US exports lost bellows those of Brazilian grain shot. From 2016 to 2018 the flow destined for China rose to 68.6 million metric tons and in 2024 the 72.5 million tons were exceeded, well above the US export levels. In general, it is estimated that in recent years China increased 35% Its annual imports of Brazilian soybeans while they reduced the Americans by 14%. If the growth is ever seen the growth was Very superior. What does that mean? That in 2017, Brazilian soybeans supposed about 50% of its imports for China, now Round and 70%. A reflection “will have to acquire more”: “If you can’t get it from the United States, you will have to acquire more than Brazil. And they will have to pay more,” Comment to Tnyt Neusa Lopes, agricultural tour directive, an outstanding soy producer of the state of Mato Grosso, in Brazil. The truth is that the commercial war comes after, at the end of 2024, XI made a state visit to Brazil to strengthen ties between the two countries and the Brazilian Association of Soy Producers I confirmed recently that at the beginning of the month the Asian giant signed contracts for millions of tons of grain. Beyond Brazil, There are analysts They point out that Beijing could rely on Argentina, Another great producer. Between what happened eight years ago and the current scenario there is however An important difference. After years of commercial flow between China and Brazil, today the first one has much easier to stock up on the crops of the South American country. The Asian giant has invested in warehouses, railways, ports and other infrastructure that facilitates the transfer of Brazilian soybeans in Chinese ships. The clearest example is the great open terminal this year in the … Read more

It cannot guarantee that their avant -garde chips will not arrive in China

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TSMC faces a crossroads. At the current situation of tension between the US and China this Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer, The Major on the Planethe has chosen to develop drastically Your production infrastructure In the country led by Donald Trump. This strategy will allow you dodge future tariffs which presumably will apply to the integrated circuits produced abroad. However, this is not all. In addition, having more manufacturing plants and more advanced packaging centers in the US will allow TSMC to better protect your business if in the future it is triggered A war conflict between China and Taiwan. In these circumstances it is evident that the company led by CC Wei is interested in sustaining an affable relationship with the US. However, their ties are currently committed because of the integrated circuits manufactured by TSMC that are arriving in China. TSMC has been sincere with the US This semiconductor manufacturer is subject to an investigation by the US Department of Commerce Since October 2024. The organization that then led Gina Raimondo suspected that this company could have secretly reached agreements with Huawei to take care of the manufacture of its semiconductors for smartphones and applications of artificial intelligence (AI). In December 2024 TSMC broke its commercial relationship with Powerair, a Singapore company that, apparently, was responsible for delivering to Huawei the chip manufactured by TSMC that appeared on the card for the Ascend 910b. Interestingly, this was the second company presumably responsible for getting to Huawei Integrated circuits produced by TSMC. In 2023 this last company stopped offering its manufacturing service to the Chinese Chips Design Company Sophgo to illegally mediate with Huawei. TSMC could receive a fine of one billion dollars, or even more, from the US Department of Commerce However, their problems did not end here. At the beginning of last March the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), An American organization that is dedicated to elaborating strategies that seek to guarantee the security of the US, accused TSMC having manufactured indirectly for Huawei for 2024 no less than two million chips of the Ascend 910. With these integrated circuits this Chinese company could have produced a huge amount of units of its ascend 910c solution, which is currently its hardware for the most advanced. As we explain in early April, TSMC could receive a fine of one billion dollars, or even more, of the Department of Commerce. US regulation establishes that in this context the sanction can ascend twice the value of the transactions that have violated export restrictionswhat could place this fine as one of the highest in history for this type of infraction. TSMC has recently published its last annual report and has not let out the opportunity to explain to the US Administration What is your position in this conflict: “Our role in the semiconductor supply chain inherently limits our visibility and the information we have about the final use or the end user of the products that incorporate chips manufactured by us. This limitation hinders our ability to fully guarantee that the semiconductors we produce are not diverted to an endless use or user avoid controls. ” It is likely that the US responds to this TSMC statement very soon. We will keep you aware of everything. Image | TSMC More information | TSMC In Xataka | The US tariffs are already hurting two of the companies that support Taiwan’s economy: TSMC and Foxconn

An unexpected buyer is turning houses, temples and abandoned factories from Japan into tourist accommodations: China

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Something is happening in Japan for a while to this part, a phenomenon that began with waves of Chinese tourists who came to the nation To stayand then extended through zones, where the proliferation of “new chinatowns” was giving rise to neighborhoods with Chinese than Japanese. The theme became something more serious when this “chinification” reached one of the national bastions: Pop culture. The latest: Beijing is buying its most traditional architecture and turning it into Resort tourist. Kyoto as shuttle. He told him Nikkei weekend In an extensive report. In a Japan where modernity threatens to eclipse centuries of tradition, the figure of Yuichi Ishikura embodies a phenomenon as unexpected as decisive: the Rescue of the architectural heritage traditional by Chinese citizens. Born in the province of Fujian and raised from adolescence in Kyoto, Ishikura found her vocation after a personal experience in a guest house during her university studies in the United States. Upon his return to Japan in 2015, with just 23 years, he acquired his first Machiya (Typical narrow and deep wood housing built since the EDO period) for just over 10 million yen. He transformed it into a tourist accommodation and, in just three years, he had recovered his investment. Since then he has renewed More than 60 properties Similar, including the Shichikutei house, near the Kyoto station, and has declared its intention to become the number one operator of Machiyas throughout Japan. The threat of the Machiya. It is not a trivial theme in Japan. The Kyo-Machiya are architectural jewelry of the old capital, and are disappearing to the alarming rhythm of about 800 a yearpressed for the high cost of its maintenance, inheritance taxes and the real estate voracity that replaces them with apartments and floors. And while the Japanese seem to resign themselves to that disappearance, foreign investors (especially of Chinese origin) They are turning that crisis into the opportunity. Here, like Nikkei explainedFigures like Lee Wendy, a native restorative of Shanghai who have rehabilitated 40 Machiya and perfectly reflect this trend. The phenomenon has grown so much that, according to a study by the city of Kyoto, a 30 % of the accommodations Under municipal license are in the hands of some 500 foreigners, many of them Chinese buyers who have converted these traditional houses in tourist accommodations without losing their aesthetic or historical value. Temples for sale. The phenomenon is not limited to houses. In rural areas such as Shiso, in Hyogo Prefecture, Buddhist temples They have also started Change hands in the absence of successors priests. One of these temples, acquired by a Chinese buyer after the death of the main priest in 2017, has generated local controversy for the informal use of the enclosure. Meanwhile, other temples have had to publicly go out to Define rumors Sales disseminated on platforms as Rednotea Chinese social network in which deceptive ads circulate that promise tax benefits for acquiring religious properties. One of the most popular cases was the Jisso-in Monzeki templewith 800 years of history, which He denied categorically Be for sale, after detecting false publications aimed at Chinese investors. The fiscal attractiveness. Behind this fever for acquiring temples, sanctuaries and Japanese traditional houses Nikkei had That there is a double attraction: on the one hand, the cultural and architectural value that represents for many Chinese citizens a difficult heritage in their native country. On the other, and equally important, the favorable fiscal conditions For religious institutions in Japan, which attract investors with commercial vision. Real estate sector executives in Osaka confirm that they have intermediate in the sale of religious properties to companies based in Hong Kong and are currently promoting other enclosures in Kyoto and Nara. And the sake. The phenomenon has gone much further. The conservation of the cultural legacy has also reached other spheres. In 2019, Zhou Chunbao, Shanghai businessman, Matsuoshuzojo acquireda historic Sake distillery in the saga prefecture that was on the verge of closing due to management problems. Motivated by their desire that the Chinese people know the Japanese culture through the Sake, Zhou revitalized the company and its production, which in 2022 reached regional recognition by winning the highest award in the Junmai Daiginjo category. Zhou’s intervention saved from oblivion a local institution whose history goes back at the end of the Edo period, at a time when the sake industry is It has drastically reducedwith a 40 % decrease in the number of distilleries and a 20 % drop of its historical volume of national sales. The “soul” of Japan. Thus, and while the tangible heritage of Japan (from traditional houses to centenary temples and ancestral distilleries) faces a slow but constant disappearance due to the lack of successors, it seems that it is a generation of Chinese investors who are willing to assume the challenge of keeping it. What for some represents a loss of cultural control, for others it becomes an unexpected form of continuity. Thus, in the face of the passivity or inability of certain local sectors, new heirs (Chinese) are arranged not only to invest capital, but also to revalue with sensitivity and pragmatism that for centuries has been the material essence of Japanese identity. Image | GIVE CRUSE In Xataka | Japan is living something unpublished in its most emblematic neighborhoods: the “chinification” of anime and video games In Xataka | A phenomenon that has already happened in New York is spreading throughout Japan: neighborhoods with younger than Japanese

Extract rare land of old batteries without going through China

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The efforts to electrify the world bring with them a growing demand for materials to make batteries. Materials that, to a large extent, depend on China. In full United States trade war against the Asian countrya solution is gaining strength: old battery mining. And a known name, that of JB Straubel, co -founder of Tesla, leads the race with his company Redwood Materials. Context. The world needs more batteries. The demand does not stop growing between the electrification of transport, with more than 57 million electric vehicles in circulation, and the energy transition, which requires large storage systems to compensate for the intermittent nature of renewable sources. The problem, in full tariff climb, is that most of the materials necessary to manufacture these batteries come from China. Especially rare earths, which explains the United States interest in Greenland and the Recent pressures on Ukraine. But these bets to produce materials outside China can take several years. An alternative. Urban mining. There is a huge amount of batteries already imported in countries such as the United States (electric cars, electric scooters, electric bicycles, consumer electronics) that contain a valuable metal mine. These materials can be recovered by recycling, which now seems like a very lucrative business. Unlike plastic recycling, which comes out much more expensive than the virgin material, the high value of batteries metals makes its recovery economically viable. Material redwood. Founded by JB Straubel (Tesla co -founder and one of Elon Musk’s trusted men), Material redwood It is one of the pioneer companies in this field. Your business model focuses on collecting batteries at the end of your useful life and Extract the relevant elements to create new batteries High quality. A few days ago was associated with Limewhich has a gigantic fleet of bicycles and electric scooters, to recycle its batteries. For Lime, whose batteries usually last about 500 cycles (between five and seven years), this alliance not only solves the problem of what to do with the inventory of old batteries, but also reinforces its sustainable company image. Almost everything is used. Redwood states that its recovery rate is up to 95-98% of materials To manufacture new batteries. The scale is significant: in 2024, he recycled 20 GWh of old car material, scooters, electronic devices and production residues; enough to produce about 250,000 batteries for electric vehicles. Together with Redwood, a recycling company, reuse companies have also appeared, Like the Canadian Moment Energy. His proposal is to take advantage of the batteries of withdrawn electric cars that still retain around 80% of their ability to create stationary energy storage systems. Give them a second life. They have collaborated with companies such as Mercedes-Benz Energy and have just received a subsidy of more than 20 million dollars from the United States Department of Energy to build the first “gigafactoría” of battery reuse in Texas. Although the recycling process and the logistics of collection of old batteries remain complex and expensive, the high value of the recovered materials, especially now with geopolitical pressure, is promoting these solutions that transform old batteries into a strategic source of resources or reuse for other uses. “Urban Mining” is a way to skip China and, therefore, a lucrative business. In Xataka | In the middle of the electric car, a Canadian company has smelled money: a battery recycling gigafacto

China has a new hydrogen pump. It is so destructive that it seems nuclear

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The hydrogen pump is The most terrifying weapon created so far by the human being. A conventional atomic bomb as the ones that launched the USA about the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and with which The Second World War concluded In 1945, it triggers a very powerful explosion and the release of a huge amount of energy by firing a uranium -235 or plutonium -239 nucleus. However, a hydrogen pump is even more devastating. It is also known as the thermonuclear weapon, and, very broadly, it uses a small atomic fission pump as a detonator device for induce fusion of the fuel composed of two hydrogen isotopes: deuterium and tritium. The energy that is able to release one of these bombs can be much higher than that of a conventional atomic weapon. In fact, the “Tsar bomb”which is the most powerful thermonuclear weapon so far, was thrown by the Soviet Union on the Barents Sea in 1961 and reached a power of 50 megatones. China has just tested a new type of hydrogen pump To understand with some precision how the bomb that China has developed works and why it is not a nuclear weapon it was necessary to briefly review what are the principles of operation of atomic bombs and thermonuclear weapons. The Complete Prohibition Treaty of Nuclear Essays approved by the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 1996 prohibits any type of nuclear test. Unfortunately, this agreement has not come into force because it has not been ratified by all countries that have nuclear weapons. This weapon uses magnesium hydride (MGH₂) because it is a chemical compound capable of storing hydrogen in a solid way In any case, as I mentioned, the bomb that China has tried is not a nuclear weapon. Unlike the hydrogen pump in which we have investigated a few lines above this weapon uses as a magnesium hydride fuel (MGH₂) because it is a chemical compound Able to store hydrogen in solid way. This fuel is stable from a thermodynamic point of view, but it has a peculiarity: it reacts in a violent way when it comes into contact with water or acidic substances, releasing hydrogen. Once its release has occurred, this chemical element enters into combustion, reaching a temperature of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. However, its destructive capacity is not the consequence only of the temperature reached by the fireball it produces; His devastating power is also linked to the fact that he calls her lasts for more than 2 seconds. It may seem little time, but it is not. It is a long time. In fact, the flame of a TNT explosion hardly lasts 0.12 s, so its destructive capacity is much lower. Of course, the explosion of this hydrogen pump is approximately 60% less powerful than that of a TNT device in terms of pressure. What China has carried out for the moment is just a test, but this country already has a factory capable of producing 150 tons of magnesium hydride per year. It is evident that this nation is serious with this weapon. Presumably it can be used to destroy drone swarms, end objectives endowed with state -of -the -art shields or ravage a wide area of ​​land, among other possibilities. Hopefully neither China nor any other country decides to use this type of weapons in the future. One last note: we do not know what the appearance of this pump is, although it weighs 2 kg, so it is not very large. Of course, the explosion you can see in the cover image of this article is real. Image | 705 Research Institute | PFC Lukas J. Blom More information | SCMP In Xataka | In the Cold War, USA designed something more intimidating than the atomic bomb: a nuclear missile that pursued goals

China has organized a half marathon in which 21 robots participated. We have questions

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Last Saturday a popular half marathon was held in Beijing in which there were some unique participants: 21 robots joined thousands of human runners to try to complete the 21,097 meters of the urban tour. The event has allowed to yield some conclusions about the Robotics art statusbut it has also generated new questions. Varied robots. In the race They participated Humanoid robots of Chinese manufacturers such as Droidvp or Noetix Robotix. The designs and sizes varied significantly, and were from 1.2 m high models to others that measure 1.8 meters. One of them remarkably imitated the human appearance in a robot that even waded his eyes or smiled. You by your side, I for mine. Although the organizers brought breast, stating that it was the first race in which humans and robots ran at the same time, in reality the Robots route was separated from that of human corridors. The robots were also accompanied by teams of engineers who monitored that their operation was correct (or that the batteries changed during the race). Slow. At the moment the performance of biped robots in the race was modest, and everyone ran clearly more slowly than human corridors. The fastest robot It was the Tiangong Ultra of the Ubtech company in collaboration with the Beijing Humanoid Robots Innovation Center. The tour ended at 2:40 hours after exchanging his batteries three times and falling on one occasion. Only six of the robots ended up crossing the finish line, and most did not last long in the test. Still far from humans. He was the only one that ended before the time limit was fulfilled to finish the test for human runners, which was 3:10 hours. The world record is in 56 minutes and 42 seconds, while a good time for human amateur runners is 1:45 hours for men and 2 hours for approximately women. Varied disasters. As they point out In Wiredthe Tiangong Ultra and the second classified, the N2 of Noetix Robotics at least managed to end at a slow but consistent rhythm. Others were a disaster. It happened with a robot named Huanhuan that moved at snail speed while moving his head uncontrollably. Another call Shennong had to be disqualified (he used small wheels) but the serious thing was that he turned on himself after starting the race and He fell next to their human operators. In some cases the operators used adhesive tape to protect the “feet” of the robots, but also to hit the head of one of them when it fell during the race. Critable autonomy. In addition, the robots were accompanied as we said of human operators. Some had control panels to go to the robots, and others went ahead to point out the way and remove obstacles from Enmedio. During the broadcast several spectators commented how operators seemed exhausted with all that operation to help robots to advance. But running is not theirs. The truth is that these robots are not designed to run, but the objective of the companies that design them is to be able to execute a variety of tasks that have nothing to do with moving quickly. Even so experts indicate that this test demonstrates the evolution of the market, because a few years ago It was difficult until they were walking. Even Elon Musk launched a job offer to “teach Tesla’s Robot Optimus to walk”. That some can already run a half marathon It is a good proof that some companies have created especially robust models. Important absences. Chinese manufacturers participated in the race, but many were absent reference companies In the market. Was not for example the Optimus of Tesla, but neither does the Atlas from Boston Dynamics, the Figure O2 of figure ai or the Apollo of Apptronik. There were also absences of large Chinese robotics companies Like Unitree (which did not officially participate, although two were used by other institutions), AGIBOTor the runner robot Star1 Robot was. Is this for something? The test organized by Chinese institutions served to demonstrate the advances of some of the robotics companies, but it was also a clear demonstration of the limitations of these robots. As we said, these companies do not design these robots with this type of purpose, and specialization is usually a key aspect of current robots. However, this half marathon serves to boost new ideas among robots developers, which should undoubtedly pursue that intensive motor capacity for their projects. Image | Xataka with Freepik In Xataka | China’s robots represent an existential threat to the US, according to semi -health experts

The one to get its new chip for AI with the Nvidia market in China

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Until just a few months ago Nvidia monopolized some more than 90% of the Chinese chip market for artificial intelligence (AI), but after the entry into force of the last US sanctions package its leadership with all probability is being committed. The Chinese government is allocating a lot of resources to the development of Your own lithography teamswhich are those used to manufacture integrated circuits, and also to the tuning of their own Vanguard chips for artificial intelligence. As we told you last week, the US Department of Commerce It has imposed restrictions to the export to China of The H20 GPUand this in practice means that this chip presumably will not reach the Chinese clients of Nvidia. The company led by Jensen Huang is already paying it. His shares have fallen 6% and Nvidia has announced that this prohibition will cause a hole in its accounts of 5.5 billion dollars due to the commitments linked to the H20 GPU that the reserves of this chip had already acquired that it will finally not be satisfied. Huawei’s Ascend 920 GPU is ready to occupy the hole left by the H20 chip Some of the Chinese companies that have bought large amounts from the H20 Chip to NVIDIA and who presumably planned to continue doing them are Tencent, Alibaba or Bytedonce. The interesting thing is that this situation puts Huawei in a tray the opportunity to increase its market share in its own market taking advantage of the fact that US government prohibitions are weakening Nvidia’s position. However, this Chinese company is doing very well in this market because invoices annually about 7,000 million dollars Only in China. Huawei invoices about 7,000 million dollars only in China Huawei has lists its own GPU for iathe chips ascend AI, for more than five years. During this period of time it has been refining them and increasing their abilities with the purpose of matching or even overcome performance of the chips A100 and H100 of Nvidia. According to some analystslike those of the Chinese company Ifly Tek, the gross power of its GPU equals that of the Nvidia chips, but they are still one step behind if we stick to its performance in a real -use scenario. In any case, Huawei was prepared to react to the regulation that prevents Nvidia from delivering its most successful GPU (in China) to its Chinese clients. And it is that only one day after the US Department of Commerce formalized its latest sanctions He has presented his GPU Ascend 920a chip for AI that is clearly intended to occupy in the Chinese market the gaps that the NVIDIA H20 GPU is going to leave. The GPU Ascend 920 will begin to be manufactured on a large scale during the second half of 2025 using 6 Nm integration technology that presumably have developed side with huawei elbow and SMIC. The characteristics of this lithographic node have not yet been officially confirmed, but it will probably use the technique known as Multiple patterningwhich is the same one that SMIC is using 7 Nm chips. In addition, the GPU Ascend 920 will reach a 4 TB/s transfer speed for the memory subsystem thanks to the use of HBM3 chips. Image | Huawei More information | Digitimes Asia In Xataka | The Nvidia pulse and US administration becomes more virulent. The B20 GPUs for danger

This bridge built by China is so high that two Eiffel tower fit under it. And they have built it in just four years

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We have been having bridges from prehistory. From that tree That someone would use to connect two sides to the majestic Roman bridges, humanity has evolved while doing the bridges he built. The more recent techniques They allow us to connect extremes that are separated by tens of kilometers, but Talk about bridges It is currently looking at China. They not only have The longest maritime bridgebut also the highest in the world. It is the Bridge of the Grand Canyon of Huajiang and the most surprising thing is not that under it two Eiffel Tower enter one over another, but that it has only taken four years to lift it. Necessary. The Gran Canyon of Huajiang is located in the province of Guizhou. It is an area that, traditionally, has been isolated from the rest of the area for a reason for weight: more than 90% of the territory is mountainous terrain that hinders communication. For centuries it did not have much importance for the rest of the empire, but China has been raising infrastructure (and also excavating) to demolish those geographical barriers. Puzzle. The objective of the government is to connect rural areas with urban centers and, in this case, you had to get the Liuzhi-Anlong highway to raffle the mountains to speed up transport times. The only way was through a bridge, and after an analysis period, in 2022 They started The construction of the great bridge. It was not going to be simple: it should not only be at a considerable height, but to have a length of almost three kilometers. And the problem was not so much to create the suspension bridge, but to raise the necessary materials. To do this, implemented Advanced technologies to raise steel beams by up to 215 tons of weight and, despite the difficulties in the field, the works have gone at a pone rhythm. To all fuse. That is what usually attracts the attention of these Chinese infrastructure that, weighing some exceptions such as half -building abandoned skyscraper For years, they are an example for the rest of the world. The works advance with speed and, if At the beginning of this year We already saw the two towers of 262 and 205 meters on both sides of the bridge, as well as the cables of 9,000 tons each, now we observe that they have already built the section that joins the ends. The length Total of the bridge is 2,890 meters and the main section, which is among the towers, has a length of 1,420 meters that positions it not only as the highest bridge in the world (it is 625 meters from the ground, reaching the end of the towers at 776 meters), but as the longest hanging section built in the mountainous area. The comparison with the height of the Eiffel Tower is interesting, but almost two Empire State Building would also enter. The technology used in construction is also interesting. For example, when the concrete pour, Guizhou Bridge Group builders devised a system of pipes that pump cold or hot water depending on the outer temperature to ensure that fresh concrete dried in the best possible conditions to avoid cracks. And, to guarantee maintenance, the cables have sensors that measure vibrations or wind intensity to offer reports on the state of the hanging section. Impact. In January of this year, it was reported that 75% of the project had been completed, but in recent months we have seen how they have advanced so much that it is practically only missing and installing the security elements. The idea is to open at some point in June this year and, once open, will allow Crossing the canyon in just a couple of minutes when before it was something for more than an hour. But beyond all this, the most impressive thing is that they have been able to build an infrastructure in a very complicated place and condense 439,000 m³ of concrete and 49,000 tons of steel in just four years. And the cost? In theory, 280 million dollars that are difficult to estimate whether they will recover by joining rural areas, but as infrastructure and demonstration of strength, the Huajiang Grand Canyon bridge is imposing. And will remove the record from the highest bridge Lege’s, also in China. Images | Xinhua (1, 2) In Xataka | With 526 meters in length, China has a new record of the longest glass bridge in the world

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