TheNewsGuru

Tag: China

  • China’s Alibaba Group to split into 6 business units

    China’s Alibaba Group to split into 6 business units

    Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Tuesday announced that it would split into six smaller business units.

    The split will include online trading, media and cloud services and turn the 220 billion dollars company into a tech holding company,

    In an unusual move in China, each unit will have its own executive board and be able to seek outside capital and a stock exchange listing.

    The step came two years after the government acted to curb the tech company’s activities.

    Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, had fallen out of favour, media reports said.

    A planned listing of the Ant Group fintech company, owned by the group, was cancelled and cartel proceedings opened.

    However, there have been indications recently that Beijing has softened its approach to technology companies.

    Jack Ma was this week seen in public in China for the first time in more than a year.

    Alibaba stressed that it was proceeding with a planned cost-cutting programme, in spite of the split.

    It said it had become necessary after the government intervention put a brake on Alibaba’s growth and caused a sharp fall in market capitalisation.

    Meanwhile, the domestic retail unit in China is to remain fully owned by Alibaba.

    Shares listed in the United States rose 9 per cent on the news in early trading.

    The market was the best litmus test, Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang said in a staff email.

    The restructuring will allow all units to react more quickly to market changes.

    Daniel is to continue to head the group and the cloud unit.

    Analysts saw the split as an indication that Alibaba could seek fresh investment on capital markets.

    They also saw signs that artificial intelligence, AI technologies, are to play a larger role.

  • S/Africa’s naval exercise with Russia, China raises Western alarm

    S/Africa’s naval exercise with Russia, China raises Western alarm

    South Africa would launch a joint naval exercise with Russia and China on Friday, a move it described as routine.

    However, the move has fuelled domestic criticism and fears that the drills will endanger important relations with Western partners.

    World powers are vying for influence in Africa amid deepening global tensions resulting from the war in Ukraine and an increasingly aggressive Chinese posture towards self-ruled Taiwan.

    Some African nations are steadfastly refusing to take sides as they seek to benefit from the diplomatic tug-of-war.

    Analysts, however, said hosting the 10-day Mosi II exercise, which coincides with the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, was a risky strategy.

    “These exercises are going to be a lightning rod,” said Steven Gruzd of the South African Institute of International Affairs.

    South Africa said it maintained a neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict and abstained from voting on a U.N. resolution last year condemning Russia.

    Pointing to similar exercises it’s held with other international partners, including one with France in November, it has rejected criticism.

    South Africa’s defence ministry in January said “South Africa, like any independent and sovereign state, has a right to conduct its foreign relations in line with its national interests.”

    However, six South Africa-based diplomats, all from NATO or EU countries told Reuters they condemned the exercise.

    “It’s not right, and we told them that we do not approve,” one said.

  • US fighter jets shoot down Chinese Spy Balloon

    US fighter jets shoot down Chinese Spy Balloon

    The United States has shot down a Chinese Spy Balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of America.

    Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Saturday that US fighter jets shot down the Spy Balloon on the order of President Joe Biden.

    CNN quoted Austin as saying that recovery efforts began shortly after the balloon was downed.

    Austin said American fighter aircraft “successfully brought down the high-altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace.”

    According to him, Biden gave his authorization “as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.”

    Before downing the Balloon, three airports were closed and airspace was shut down off the South Carolina coast as US military planes targeted the object over the Atlantic Ocean.

    According to BBC, Biden faced intense pressure to shoot it down since it first appeared across the US last week.

    Tracking website Flightradar24 showed US Air Force and Coastguard aircraft operating in the skies between Wilmington, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach.

    Biden who spoke with reporters said on Wednesday when he was briefed on the balloon, he ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down as soon as possible.

    He said they decided without doing damage to anyone on the ground.

    CNN reports that prior to the balloon being shot down, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued a ground stop for airports in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Charleston and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.

    The FAA also restricted airspace near Myrtle Beach “to support the Defense Department in a national security effort.”

    On Friday, the Pentagon said the balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. A defense official told CNN that US Northern Command was coordinating with NASA to determine the debris field if the balloon was to be shot down.

  • WHO has not informed us of any deadly Chinese flu – Minister

    WHO has not informed us of any deadly Chinese flu – Minister

    The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, says though the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other world health bodies had not informed Nigeria of any deadly flu from China, the Federal Government is on the lookout for any occurrence.

    He said this on Monday in Abuja, during a ministerial bi-weekly meeting on the update of COVID-19 response and development in the country’s health sector.

    According to him, when there is an outbreak of any flu or disease anywhere in the world, WHO will announce it to the world and send advisory on how it can be handled, but there is no such alert with the case of the strange flu.

    “So the Ministry of Health finds the message going round in the social media, odd and strange.

    “By default, when there is an outbreak of any flu or disease anywhere we will hear it first from WHO and WHO has not said anything about it, we will also hear from the US Centre for Disease Control (US CDC), but there’s nothing like that also from there and we have not even read anything from the Chinese people.

    “Usually, their embassy will send somebody to come and inform us if there is anything. So I begin to wonder about the authenticity of that paper going around the place because up till today no confirmation of anything like that,” he said.

    The minister also said that foreign media outlets were also silent about a flu from China, an indication that the news making the rounds is a fabrication.

    He, however, said that the Federal Government is on the lookout for anything suspicious.

    “This is a season where people generate stories, throw them into the media and everybody starts panicking, whilst those who generated such stories are laughing at the chaos that they have created.

    “So we are watching the situation, everything we hear we take seriously, but I want to assure you again that any outbreak of such a character, first of all, is announced by WHO, they will then send us advisory and information about it.

    “The US CDC, the equivalent of CDC in the UK, in Europe, they have not said anything. So reports of that nature I also want you to take with a big pinch of salt,” he added.

    There had been trending reports that amid the resurgence of COVID-19 in China, there had been an outbreak of an unknown deadly flu in China, which has led to the death of residents, including three Nigerians.

    According to the reports, though the initial clinical analysis ruled out COVID-19, the symptoms of the fatal flu include dry throat, fever and difficulty in breathing.

    Speaking about Diphtheria, a disease which broke out recently and has spread to four states with 123 confirmed cases and 38 deaths, Ehanire said everyone had a joint responsibility to address diseases.

    He, however, said it was the responsibility of the Federal and State Governments to address particular diseases as they break out and that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Health was doing its part.

    “I want to assure you that every disease outbreak everywhere is given full attention by this ministry and nothing is left that is our duty to do that we do not do, but I will also expect all states to carry out their own responsibility.

    “They need to play their role in managing some of the social fallout.

    “Also, every single person who has appeared in our hospitals has received treatment and no one has been turned back because they didn’t have money,” he added.

  • U.S. seeks to win over Africa as China records $254 billion trade in 2021

    U.S. seeks to win over Africa as China records $254 billion trade in 2021

    President Joe Biden will host the second United States-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington DC next week to reinforce the US-Africa commitment to democracy; mitigate the impact of Covid, respond to the climate crisis and amplify diaspora ties.

    Some 50 African leaders are expected to attend the two-day conference, which starts on December 13.

    Senior policymakers say talks will focus on economic engagement, human rights, food security and climate, with an emphasis on partnerships that demonstrate an intention to go beyond strategic geo-political interest.

    The White House will also seek to offer reassurance to African governments concerned by a perceived decline in relations with the US.

    A former under-secretary at the US Department of Commerce Gilbert Kaplan, said the key objective of this conference “should really be to enhance trust between African leaders and the United States”.

    “Africa is faced with some of the biggest governance challenges on the globe,” President of the Cameroon People’s Party and the first woman in the nation’s history to run as a presidential candidate in 2011 Kah Walla said.

    “We need government that is functional, competent and innovative, and what we are getting instead is the US and a global international system that is supporting autocratic and dysfunctional governments. We can’t continue in this way,” she added.

    Africa’s 54 nation states span six time zones and the continent’s population of 1.4 billion is on course to make up a quarter of the global population by 2050.

    It boasts the youngest demographic in the world, a potentially huge labour resource for private sector investors seeking to expand in manufacturing and processing

    But despite the continent’s tremendous economic potential, the US has lost substantial ground to traditional and emerging partners, especially China which surpassed the US as Africa’s largest trade partner in 2009, with total bilateral trade reaching more than $254 billion in 2021, a 35 per cent rise on 2020.

    A member of the World Economic Forum’s Regional Action Group for Africa Landry Signé, told a Senate subcommittee on Africa last year that while recent trends indicate that the US engagement with the region has cooled down, “it has not and should not cede its relationship with the region to other powers”.

    The first United States-Africa Leaders Summit was held by President Barack Obama in 2014.

  • Osun community appeals to government over minning activities

    Osun community appeals to government over minning activities

    Awolumate Zone 3 Community in Ile-Ife, Osun State, has raised concern over the activities of some expatriate miners, alleged to be Chinese.

    They appealed to security agencies and the state government to come to their aid.

    A large portion of land close to residential buildings had been dug out by miners, in the affected community, putting over 20 houses at risk due to their activities.

    The chairman of the community, Abimbola Olafare, called on the relevant organs of government and security agents to come to their aid, and stop mining activities in the area.

    Speaking on the matter, Olafare said, “As many as 20 houses have been affected by the activities of these miners. There was no agreement signed with them before they commenced work in the area.

    “We have to rescue people whose houses are close to the river. An old woman fled from home because of the activities of these miners. We never consented to them working in our community. Security agents and government should come to our aid.”

  • US raises security concerns about TikTok, claims China has influence over App

    US raises security concerns about TikTok, claims China has influence over App

    United States Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Chris Wray, on Friday, raised national security concerns about TikTok.

    He warned that control of the popular video-sharing app is in the hands of a Chinese government “that doesn’t share our values.”

    Wray said the FBI was concerned that the Chinese had the ability to control the app’s recommendation algorithm, “which allows them to manipulate content, and if they want to, to use it for influence operations.”

    He also asserted that China could use the app to collect data on its users that could be used for traditional espionage operations.

    “All of these things are in the hands of a government that doesn’t share our values, and that has a mission that’s very much at odds with what’s in the best interests of the United States. That should concern us,” Wray told an audience at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

    Those concerns are similar to the ones he raised during congressional appearances last month when the issue came up. And they’re being voiced during ongoing dialogue in Washington about the app.

    US raises security concerns about TikTok, claims China has influence over app

    Concerned about China’s influence over TikTok, the Trump administration in 2020 threatened to ban the app within the U.S. and pressured ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company. U.S. officials and the company are now in talks over a possible agreement that would resolve American security concerns, a process that Wray said was taking place across U.S. government agencies.

    “As Director Wray has previously said, the FBI’s input is being considered as part of our ongoing negotiations with the U.S. Government.

    “While we can’t comment on the specifics of those confidential discussions, we are confident that we are on a path to fully satisfy all reasonable U.S. national security concerns and have already made significant strides toward implementing those solutions,” TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in an emailed statement.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance. The TikTok statement Friday noted that ByteDance is a private company and that “TikTok Inc., which offers the TikTok service in the United States, is a U.S. company bound by U.S. laws.”

    At a Senate hearing in September, TikTok Chief Operating Officer, Vanessa Pappas, responded to questions from members of both parties by saying that the company protects all data from American users and that Chinese government officials have no access to it.

    “We will never share data, period,” Pappas said.

  • Former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin dies at age 96

    Former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin dies at age 96

    Former President of the People’s Republic of China Jiang Zemin is dead. Reliable sources announced via letters that Jiang died in Shanghai on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at about 12:13 p.m. at the age of 96.

    The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the State Council of the PRC, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Military Commissions of the CPC and the PRC made the announcement via a letter they issued.

    It was announced in a letter addressing the whole Party, the entire military, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

    The letter quoted all the groups as condoling with the whole party, the entire military, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups over the passing of “our beloved Comrade Jiang Zemin” who died of leukaemia and multiple organ failure after all medical treatments had failed.

    The letter said that Jiang was an outstanding leader who enjoyed high prestige and was acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military, and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.

    It described him as a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, a statesman, a military strategist, a diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, and an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

    It added that Jiang was the core of the CPC’s third generation of central collective leadership and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents.

  • Flights cancelled in China as Covid cases continue to surge

    Flights cancelled in China as Covid cases continue to surge

    Many airports across China have cancelled the majority of their flights due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.

    China’s state newspaper, Global Times, reported on Thursday.

    The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, which had a particularly bad outbreak of cases, cancelled over 1,000 flights.

    More than 700 flights were also cancelled at two major airports in the capital Beijing.

    The government is implementing strict measures to contain the spread of the virus such as flight cancellations, lockdowns, forced quarantines and mass testing.

    In spite of the country’s zero-Covid policy, which has put a heavy strain on its economy, the number of infections across China has been on the rise again for weeks.

    After reporting 8,176 coronavirus cases the day before, authorities reported around 8,800 more infections nationwide on Thursday.

    The number of infections in major cities other than Guangzhou, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing has also been rising again in recent days.

  • Apple warns customers to expect delays in iPhone 14 shipments

    Apple warns customers to expect delays in iPhone 14 shipments

    Apple has warned customers to expect delays on iPhone shipments due to COVID-19 restrictions at a manufacturing factory in China.

    Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn’s iPhone plant in Zhengzhou, China, is operating under restrictions, temporarily impacting the primary iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max assembly facility.

    Recently there were reports that workers at the iPhone assembly factory in China ran away from the premises after a spurt of COVID-19 cases forced a complete lockdown at the factory.

    Foxconn, which is a supplier to U.S.-based Apple, has many workers at its Zhengzhou complex and has not provided an official count of how many are infected by COVID-19.

    Apple stated that it is working closely with the supplier to return to normal production levels while ensuring the health and safety of every worker.