China has successfully completed its first-ever interplanetary mission with the Tianwen-1 Mars mission launch. Propelled into orbit from Hainan Island at 12.40pm local time on 23 July, the Long-March 5 rocket used in the mission is one of the largest and most powerful of the Long March rockets built by China. The craft and its…
Sinopharm, one of China’s leading medical companies and a global contender in the race for a Covid-19 vaccination, may develop the much-needed vaccine ahead of schedule. The drug could be available this year, several months ahead of what was originally thought, according to Chinese state media on 22 July. Liu Jingzhen, chairman of the Beijing-based…
A group of Chinese scientists and Shenzhen-based tech firm, Tencent have created a model that uses artificial intelligence to quickly assess the likelihood of a patient’s Covid-19 infection turning severe or life-threatening. Research, published in the gold-standard journal Nature, showed that nearly 7% of Covid-19 cases can deteriorate rapidly, resulting in a near 50% mortality…
South African telecoms company, Vodacom, and Alipay, China’s largest digital payments platform, have announced a collaboration to further Vodacom’s transition from a telco to a tech giant. The two firms announced on Saturday that they would co-develop a ”super-app’ which will serve as a digital marketplace for goods and services for clients whether or not…
Pony.ai, one of China’s leading autonomous vehicle (AV) firms, has announced it will be beta testing self-driving cars as part of its bid to become a leader in the competitive market. The AV start-up, founded by former Baidu developers, James Peng and Lou Tiancheng, announced Saturday that it would be working with city officials to…
The cloud gaming market in China is expected to grow by 400% in the next 24 months, as the rollout of 5G nationwide spurs growth, said research group CNG. The Beijing-based group, which released the 2020 Cloud Gaming Industry Survey Report in June, says the relatively new marketplace will become a US$141 million sector by…
Construction companies in China are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to monitor worker safety, efficiency and on-site conduct, as sites using technology are found to have significantly improved output and worker safety, says a China Academy of Sciences report. The technology, developed by the Institute of Automation in Beijing, syncs with CCTV cameras. It is able…
Beidou, China’s two decades-long global navigation satellite system project, is complete. The Long March 3B rocket carrying the final satellite necessary for the system, was successfully launched into orbit, ending China’s reliance on the United States for the technology. The launch, in Xichang, South China, was declared a success as the Beidou satellite achieved the…
Shenzen-based tech giant, Huawei, will replicate its mobile, digital classroom, DigiTruck, in five more countries, including France and the Philippines, after the success of its programme in Kenya. The repurposed semi-trailer truck, which was trialled in Kenya, is designed to increase accessibility to digital skills. The DigiTruck Project is a collaboration between Huawei and Belgian…
Chinese internet giant, Tencent Holdings plans, to build a futuristic ‘Net City’ for employees in the port city of Shenzen. The futuristic city, designed by renowned architect Jonathon Ward, will be two million square feet – roughly the size of Monaco. Tencent’s city inside a city, located near Shenzen’s reclaimed Pearl River estuary, will accommodate…