The Sunday Mail
Manyika Kangai
China tells tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services
China’s regulators have told major Chinese tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services to the public, following a video released by China Daily titled “How the US uses AI to spread disinformation” that labelled ChatGPT as an American propaganda tool. Tencent Holdings and Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holdings, have been instructed not to offer access to ChatGPT services on their platforms, either directly or via third parties. China’s tech companies will also need to report to regulators before they launch their own ChatGPT-like services. This is not the first time that China has blocked foreign websites or applications. China has banned dozens of prominent US websites and apps, such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Wikipedia.
China’s FDI inflow up
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 14,5 percent year-on-year to 127,69 billion yuan in January, according to the Ministry of Commerce. In US dollar terms, the FDI inflow went up 10 percent year-on-year to US$19,02 billion. High-tech industries saw a rapid FDI increase of 62,8 percent in January. Specifically, foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing surged 74,5 percent, while that in the high-tech service sector rose 59,6 percent. FDI flowing into the country’s central region reported a year-on-year expansion of 25,9 percent, followed by 21,6 percent in the western region.
China’s loan prime rates remain unchanged
China’s one-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3,65 percent, unchanged from the previous month. The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, also remained unchanged from the previous reading of 4,3 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Centre. The country had lowered the one-year rate by 5 basis points to 3,65 percent in August 2022. The over-five-year rate had been slashed by 15 basis points twice last year, first in May and again in August, to the current figure.
China’s largest land port sees robust trade
Manzhouli, China’s largest land port, handled 4 818 China-Europe freight trains in 2022, up 37,6 percent year-on-year, according to customs data of Manzhouli in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The trains carried 382 058 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of cargo during this period, with a total value of 48,66 billion yuan (about US$7 billion). The two figures each represented a year-on-year increase of 38,6 percent and 36,5 percent, respectively. Currently, 57 China-Europe freight train routes pass through this land port, reaching 28 cities in 11 European countries and carrying about 30 percent of the total freight volume of China-Europe freight train service.
Shenzhen to build more 5G base stations
China’s southern metropolis of Shenzhen will build 10 000 5G base stations in 2023, according to an action plan issued by the Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau. By the end of 2023, the 5G base stations will be distributed at a density of 42 per 10 000 people, and 37 per square km in the city. Since 2019, Shenzhen has constructed over 65 000 5G base stations, with over 10 million 5G users. As a frontrunner in China’s high-tech industrial development, Shenzhen boasts a host of Chinese start-ups and tech heavyweights, including Huawei and Tencent.
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
― Lao Tzu
*Manyika Kangai has over 15 years of experience facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals. He is dedicated to helping African businesses and governments realise the full potential of the vast opportunities that China presents.
