China's Week, November 1
Educational AI apps boom. Analog chips ace math. DeepSeek 100% up Crypto trading. $1,000 humanoid robot sells out. GDP up 5.2% YTD. 49,000 new foreign-invested firms.
The US defense industry died in Busan and nobody noticed. Western arms makers are still blocked from buying Scandium, Samarium, Gadolinium, Lutetium, Yttrium, Dysprosium and Terbium. Nor can they buy Gallium, Germanium, Antimony, Graphite, REE Processing Tech and IP, nor REE machinery and equipment. Is the nightmare over? – Ed.
Science & Technology
EU Weather Forecasts adopts Huawei’s Pingu-Weather AI model that predicts global weather.
China retains crown in scientific papers, widens lead over U.S. Japan, outstripped by Iran, falls to 13th place in most-cited studies.
Why 5N (99.999%) Purity Rare Earth Refining Still Belongs to China.
Alibaba Cloud’s pooling system slashes Nvidia GPU use 82%, serves dozens of LLMs using a fraction of the GPUs previously required.
Smallest, lightest artificial heart working fine in three children with heart failure: 45 gm. and 29 mm. diameter, suitable for children weighing 10 to 30 kg.
Analog chip solves maths problems 1,000x faster, uses 1% of digital IC power, improves precision 100,000x.
DeepSeek’s new 3B-parameter model produces 200,000 pages of high-quality LLM/VLM training data per day using a single A100-40G GPU.
DeepSeek, Qwen earns 100% profit, beat five AI rivals in ‘real money, real market,’
crypto trading experiment that tests investing abilities.
China’s moonbase, at the resource-rich south pole, has continuous sunlight, water, ice and the most valuable real estate beyond Earth.
Economy & Trade
Xiaomi’s Hitbot launched the $420 eHand-6, with precise grasping, rotation, a grip force of 10N and a lifting capacity of 5kg.
China’s economy Grew 5.2% YTD, says National Bureau of Statistics.
China minted a new billionaire every day last year: 1,434 individuals with a $700 million net worth made it onto Hurun’s rich list.
Profits at major industrial firms jumped 21.6% YoY in September, up 1.2% from August.
China’s Pharma Leverage Is ‘Nuclear Option’ in US Trade Talks.
The greatest threat to Boeing with Trump’s latest gambit is the indefinite postponement of an order from China for up to 500 aircraft.
Chinese fire trucks cost $400,000, ready in 6 weeks. In the US, it’s $2 million in 4 years.
The US is building 30 GW of generating capacity but no nuclear power plants. China’s building 300 GW, including 35 nuclear reactors.
China exported 421 tonnes of REMs to the US last month, down 29% from August and YoY.
Europe hosts China’s self-driving technology: Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX, DeepRoute.ai, Momenta and Apollo Go make Europe the next stage of technological rivalry.
The Yangtze carried 3.8 billion tons of freight in 2024, the volume of 5 Mississippis or 12 Rhine waterways.
48,921 new foreign-invested firms registered YTD, up 16.2% YoY.
Society, Environment
China distributes maternity allowances directly to individuals. Spent $21 billion on maternity insurance in 2024: average allowance $4,000.
Record 3.51 Million Compete for 38,000 Posts in 2026 Civil Service Exam. China’s elite have always been Civil Servants, and still are.
EV battery recycling recovers 99.6% of material thanks to new national standards for dismantling and recycling.
China aims to double its electric vehicle (EV) charging service capacity by building 28 million charging facilities nationwide by the end of 2027.
China launches world’s first all-electric cargo ship of over 10,000 tons.
Coal and gas power generation fall 5%, for a 1.2% YTD fall. Crude steel production fell 5%, cement by 9%.
Governance & Diplomacy
“Where is the dignity of a major power? In Trump’s words: America has, in many ways, become a failed state, it is ‘dying from within’”.
China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) now works in 189 countries and regions.
Most Americans want more friendly engagement with China, oppose higher tariffs on Chinese imports.
The International Organization for Mediation met in Hong Kong, aligns with the Global Governance Initiative’s reconciliation, cooperation and harmony.
China’s SOEs breathe life into Xiongan, Xi’s ‘city of the future’. As state-owned firms relocate to new metropolis, jobs travel with them..
15th Five-Year Plan themes: 1). Recalibrate government/market balance . 2). Innovate in science and education, upgrade manufacturing. 3). Improve public services through greater ‘investment in people’.
Defense
Unusual Black Trimaran Drone Ship Spotted. A semi-submersible arsenal ship?
AI designs warship’s electrical systems in one day vs. 300 days using the most advanced computer tools.
China will suspend its export controls of October 9 for one year but t
The April 2025 dual-use license restrictions on the seven defense-related rare earths, remain in place: Scandium, Samarium, Gadolinium, Lutetium, Yttrium, Dysprosium, Terbium. Also restricted: Gallium, Germanium, Antimony, Graphite, REE Processing Tech, machinery, equipment, IP