China has said it will forgive African countries their interest-free loans for the year while it pledged to reinforce its African allies’ medical resources as the continent battles the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking to attendees at the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against the Covid-19 Pandemic in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said via…
China has vowed to cap the nation’s coal-fired capacity at 1 100Gw and its active coal mines to 5 000 sites by the year’s end. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it would decommission outdated and inferior coal-fired power units, while it would still approve new coal plants provided their contribution fell within the…
China National Biotec Group (CNBG) is planning late-stage human trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine after scientists at its Wuhan-based medical facilities noted the experimental drug caused positive antibody responses in 100% of all tested human subjects. Initial trials for the potentially life-saving vaccine started in April this year. Over 1 100 healthy candidates, aged…
A ‘million-mile battery’ unit for electric vehicles that can last up to two million kilometres and for 16 years is ready for mass production, says Chinese battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL). The battery will cost around 10% more than current EV standard power units, says CATL, one of China’s largest manufacturers of EV…
A team of scientists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has replicated the structure and workings of a human eye, in a world-first that could help to heal the blind or make night vision a reality. Professor Fan Zhiyong and his team, who have been working closely with colleagues at the…
A Chinese minitruck found itself trending on the popular social media platform, WeChat, last week. The truck’s market debut under the Wuling brand coincided with the Shanghai government’s decision to lift stall and vendor bans in the city. The minitruck, a light-vehicle joint venture between SAIC-GM and Wuling Motors, is 4.5m long and costs US$7…
Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to play a significant part in China’s battle against poverty and will also benefit the hard of hearing community in an era of compulsory mask-wearing, says iFlytek, a Chinese speech-to-text, translation and online-education technologies company. Chairman, Liu Qingfeng, says his company, along with other prominent IT giants in China, has…
Internet giant, Baidu, has completed the world’s largest testing facility for autonomous motor vehicles. The Beijing-based tech company announced in late May that the massive project will be used to test autonomous driving and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. Situated in Beijing’s Yizhuaung Economic Development Zone, Apollo Park is a 13 500 square meter area that will accommodate…
Zambian state-owned power company, Zesco, has announced a partnership with Chinese construction company, PowerChina, to construct three large solar power plants that will add a further 600MW of electricity to the African nation’s grid. The signing of the deal, worth a reported US$548 million, coincides with the news that the Zambian government is aiming to…
Shortly after US President Donald Trump signed a law blocking Chinese telecommunications group Huawei from using US-made hardware and software, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported it had received $2.2 billion in funding. The move is part of China’s efforts to end its reliance on US chips. Shanghai-based SMIC, which creates around 6 000 14-nanometre…