Tag: china

Vivo Executive, Three Others Arrested by ED in Money Laundering Case

India’s financial crime agency on Tuesday arrested four industry executives including one Chinese national working for smartphone maker Vivo in India in a case of alleged money laundering, according to legal papers and lawyers working on the case. 

The arrest adds to the legal troubles of the Chinese phone maker in India and comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and New Delhi over issues ranging from border disputes to India’s increasing scrutiny of Chinese businesses and investment. 

Vivo said in a statement it “firmly adheres to its ethical principles and remains dedicated to legal compliance. The recent arrest deeply concerns us. We will exercise all available legal options”. 

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Earlier in the day, two sources told Reuters that four Vivo employees had been arrested, but during a court hearing where executives were produced lawyers said only one Vivo employee, a Chinese national identified in legal papers as Guanwen Kuang, was arrested. 

Further details of the investigation were not immediately clear. The ED’s counsel, Manish Jain, sought 10 day custody for the arrested individuals, but the judge ordered only three days. 

The names of three other executives, and their affiliations, were not immediately clear. 

The executives were arrested in relation to an ongoing 2022 case where the ED raided Vivo’s offices and accused it of money laundering, the first of the sources said. 

Vivo has repeatedly denied the allegations. It has previously said it cooperated with authorities to provide them with all required information and was “committed to be fully compliant with laws”. 

Vivo is owned by China’s BBK Electronics, which also operates brands such as Oppo and Realme in India. Vivo is the second biggest smartphone brand in India with a 17 percent market share in shipments, trailing behind Samsung, according to data from research firm Counterpoint. 

In 2022, the ED blocked 119 bank accounts linked to Vivo’s India business, but a court later revoked the move. 

Indian police also have formally accused Vivo of helping transfer funds illegally to a news portal under investigation on charges of spreading Chinese propaganda, Reuters reported last week. Vivo hasn’t commented on the matter. 

Relations between India and China have increasingly soured since a 2020 military clash on their disputed Himalayan border in which 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops were killed. 

Since then, India has banned hundreds of Chinese apps including TikTok, citing national security concerns, and tightened scrutiny of incoming investments from its neighbour. 

Recently, carmaker BYD’s proposal to invest $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,321 crore)to build electric cars and batteries in India faced increased scrutiny from New Delhi, forcing the carmaker to drop its plans, Reuters reported in July. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023

The Vivo X90 Pro has finally made its debut in India, but is the company’s flagship smartphone for 2023 equipped with enough upgrades over its predecessor? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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Apple’s App Store Missing From List Mobile Storefronts Submitting Filings to China’s CAC Under New Rules

China’s cyberspace regulator released on Wednesday names of the first batch of mobile app stores that have completed filing business details to regulators, signalling it has begun to enforce new rules that expand its oversight of mobile apps.

A total of 26 app stores operated by companies including Tencent, Huawei, Ant Group, Baidu, Xiaomi and Samsung have submitted filings to the authority, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

Apple’s App Store is not among the app stores on the list. Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Beijing has been expanding oversight of smartphone and mobile app usage over the past several years. The country now requires mobile app stores and mobile apps to submit business details to the government.

These rules are causing consternation in the industry that publishing apps in the world’s second largest economy will become very difficult and many apps may need to be taken down.

Beijing’s push to tighten scrutiny over apps came into focus when in June last year the CAC issued a new rule requiring app stores to submit business details and said it would hold app stores accountable if apps contain illegal content.

In August this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published another notice requiring mobile apps to complete filing by the end of March.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that app stores operated by companies including Tencent and Huawei have started demanding apps on their app stores comply with the new rules.

Apple has not disclosed how its app store in China will comply with Beijing’s new rules. Experts said Apple’s compliance could lead to tens of thousands of apps being removed from Apple’s App Store in China.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Will the Nothing Phone 2 serve as the successor to the Phone 1, or will the two co-exist? We discuss the company’s recently launched handset and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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China Flags Security Problems With New iPhone 15 Models, Restricts Use in Government Departments

China flagged security problems with iPhones while saying it isn’t barring purchases, the government’s first comments on the topic after news reports that authorities are moving to restrict the use of Apple products in sensitive departments and state-owned companies.

“We noticed that there have been many media reports about security incidents concerning Apple phones,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing, without elaborating. 

China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones to a plethora of state-backed companies and agencies, Bloomberg News has reported, a sign of growing challenges for Apple in its biggest foreign market and global production base. Several agencies have begun instructing staff not to bring their iPhones to work. 

“China has not issued laws and regulations to ban the purchase of Apple or foreign brands’ phones,” Mao said, adding that the government attaches “great importance” to security and that all companies operating in China need to abide by its laws and regulations.

Mao’s comments about security incidents were slightly different in the official English translation of the news briefing. That translation, delivered simultaneously onsite by the ministry, omitted the reference to media “reports.” Foreign affairs ministry briefings are typically rigorously controlled and spokespeople’s responses are usually scripted ahead of time. 

The press conference came just hours after Apple unveiled its latest model of the marquee device, the iPhone 15. The company unveiled four new models, keeping pace with the past few generations: the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. 

If Beijing goes ahead with an iPhone ban, the unprecedented blockade will be the culmination of a yearslong effort to root out foreign technology used in sensitive environments, coinciding with Beijing’s effort to reduce its reliance on American software and circuitry.

It threatens to erode Apple’s position in a market that yields about a fifth of its revenue, and from where it makes the majority of the world’s iPhones through sprawling factories that employ millions of Chinese.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP

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Baidu, ByteDance, Other Chinese Firms Launch ChatGPT-Like Chatbots to Public

Five Chinese tech firms, including Baidu and SenseTime Group, on Thursday launched their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to the public after receiving government approval, as China’s government pushes to widen the use of such products amid competition with the United States.

Baidu, China’s leading online search provider, said in a statement that its ChatGPT-like chatbot, Ernie Bot, was now fully accessible to the public. A SenseTime spokesperson told Reuters via email that its chatbot, SenseChat, was also now “fully available to serve all users”. 

Three AI start-ups, Baichuan Intelligent Technology, Zhipu AI and MiniMax, also announced similar public launches on Thursday.

Shares in Baidu and SenseTime jumped in Hong Kong trade, gaining 2.1 percent and 2.3 percent respectively in a broader market that was trading 0.55 percent lower. 

Unlike other countries, China requires companies to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.

Authorities have recently accelerated efforts to support companies developing AI as the technology increasingly becomes a focus of competition with the United States.

Chinese media reported that a total of 11 firms had received approvals from the government, including TikTok owner ByteDance and Tencent Holdings. Neither company immediately responded to requests for comment about their AI plans. 

Baidu’s CEO Robin Li said on Thursday that by making Ernie Bot widely available, Baidu would “collect massive amount of valuable real-world human feedback” to further improve the chatbot. 

Baidu also plans on releasing a series of “AI-native apps”, the company said. 

Early mover advantage

It is unclear whether Alibaba has received approval as of this week. But an Alibaba Cloud spokesperson told Reuters that the company had completed filings for its AI model, Tongyi Qianwen, and that the model was awaiting its official launch. 

The person also said the company expected the regulators to release a list of companies with approvals within the coming week. 

Being the first to market in China is considered critical for the country’s cut-throat internet industry. Baidu’s Ernie Bot topped the free app category on Apple‘s App Store in China on Thursday after the announcement. 

“I think the ones that got approved have an early mover advantage to be able to fine-tune their product faster than competitors,” Kai Wang, an analyst at Morningstar.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, is on track to generate more than $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,270 crore) in revenue over the next 12 months, tech-focused publication The Information reported on Tuesday. 

The approvals were widely anticipated after China published a set of interim rules aimed at regulating generative AI products for the public that went into effect on August 15. 

Previously, companies were only allowed to conduct small-scale public tests of AI products but with the new rules, companies have widened their AI product tests by enabling more features and engaging in more marketing. Prior government approval is not needed for products targeting businesses.

Shawn Yang, an analyst at Blue Lotus Capital Advisors, said the government’s move to greenlight AI products could spark consolidation in the industry. 

“Many people were rushing into the large language model business,” he said, “But the industry may soon consolidate. Only those with data and tech capability will be able to push forward.”

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Smartphone Maker Honor Stages India Relaunch, Aims to Start Local Manufacturing in Early 2024

Chinese smartphone brand Honor will relaunch in India through a licensing deal with a local company and is aiming to start domestic manufacturing by early next year, its country head told Reuters.

Honor had stopped selling its smartphones in India and reportedly retreated last year amid limited marketing budget and less prudent portfolio management.

“India was never a focus market for the Huawei Technologies-owned Honor until 2020 – when it was forced to spin-off the brand and reassess strategy,” said Neil Shah, vice president at Counterpoint Research.

Honor’s comeback is underpinned by a licensing deal with a newly formed Gurugram-based firm Honor Tech for an undisclosed “agreed-upon cost” tied to the transfer of technology and hardware.

It will launch three variants of Honor phones in India, with the mid-ranged Number series expected by September.

The company, wholly owned by local shareholders, will make, sell and service Honor-branded smartphones in India.

“All the phones will be eventually manufactured in India,” CEO Madhav Sheth said, without disclosing further details.

“The biggest challenge with the (Indian) government in the past was how can a (Chinese) brand be accountable in India?,” said Sheth, a former executive at rival Realme who was credited for its India expansion.

Of late, Chinese businesses have struggled in India with the government banning several apps and stepping up scrutiny on investments to stave off takeover moves from its neighbour.

Honor will compete with the likes of Samsung Electronics – the top seller in India with a near 20 percent market share – followed by Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, and others, per Counterpoint Research.

Honor Tech aims to capture a 5 percent share of India’s smartphone market by sales volumes in 2024, with a revenue of at least Rs. 10,000 crore ($1.20 billion), Sheth said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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US Warns Its Space Industry Against Cyberattacks, Hacking by Foreign Entities

US counterintelligence agencies on Friday warned the American space industry to guard against efforts by foreign intelligence entities to steal research and trade secrets as they try to boost their own countries’ space programs. 

“We anticipate growing threats to this burgeoning sector of the US economy,” a US counterintelligence official told Reuters, adding that “China and Russia are among the leading foreign intelligence threats to the US space industry.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) issued a two-page bulletin, saying unspecified foreign entities were using cyberattacks and techniques such as strategic investment through joint ventures and acquisitions to gain access to the US space industry.

The move is the latest push by Washington to raise awareness about an issue that has long vexed counterintelligence officials and has become a higher priority as the US space industry spends billions of dollars developing new rockets and other technology.

The document warned companies to be on guard for facility visit requests, and attempts to gather confidential information at conferences. It also said individual employees were at risk of recruitment efforts through offers of travel abroad or consultancy work and payment for proprietary information. 

It urged companies to contact the FBI or AFOSI with any concerns of being targeted, as well as to track “peculiar incidents” and establish “insider threat” programs as part of vetting individuals in sensitive positions. 

US authorities have for years said Chinese hackers are targeting US space know-how, including having accessed computers at the NASA Goddard Space Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as numerous companies involved in aviation, space and satellite technology. 

In 2019, Chinese national Tao Li was sentenced to 40 months in prison for conspiring to illegally export military- and space-grade technology to China, including radiation-hardened power amplifiers and circuits. 

China says its space program is for peaceful purposes, but US military officials say Beijing sees space as crucial to its military strategy. 

The US warned this year that China seeks to match or surpass it as a leader in space by 2045. 

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Binance Reportedly Saw Monthly Illegal Crypto Transactions Worth $90 Billion in Banned China Market

Binance users traded $90 billion (roughly Rs. 7,42,800 crore) of cryptocurrency-related assets in a single month in China, where cryptocurrency trading has been illegal since 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing internal figures and current and former employees of the exchange.

The transactions made China Binance’s biggest market by far, accounting for 20 percent of volume worldwide, excluding trades made by a subset of very large traders, the WSJ said. The newspaper did not specify the month during which the transactions were made.

Binance’s origins lie in China, though the world’s largest crypto exchange withdrew from mainland China in 2017 during a regulatory crackdown. It did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment on the Journal report.

“The Binance.com website is blocked in China and is not accessible to China-based users,” a company spokesman told the WSJ.

The exchange has also been under the scrutiny of US regulators like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The CFTC sued Binance for operating what it said was an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program, while the SEC sued Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao saying that Binance artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds, failed to restrict US customers from its platform and misled investors about its market surveillance controls.

The exchange is also under investigation by the US Justice Department over possible money-laundering and sanctions violations, Reuters has reported.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company’s new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Tesla Asked to Emulate Apple in Finding Indian Firms to Partner Chinese Suppliers for Electric Car Factory

As Tesla examines building a plant in India, officials have asked the company to emulate Apple in finding local firms to partner with any Chinese suppliers involved, according to three government sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Tesla has been in talks with India for weeks about setting up a factory which will potentially build a $24,000 (roughly Rs. 20 lakh) car for local sales and exports, however strained India-China ties threaten to complicate Tesla’s plans for bringing in Chinese suppliers.

Tesla founder Elon Musk is seeking to expand beyond the company’s biggest foreign base of China where regulatory approvals for expansion are slow to come.

But Chinese suppliers could be critical if Tesla were to establish a plant in India and keep costs in check for a cheap EV. India does not have local suppliers for components such as battery cells, with even India’s largest EV maker, Tata Motors, importing them from China.

In meetings with officials in New Delhi, Tesla executives informed the Indian government that it would like to have some of its vendors from China set up base locally to boost its supply chain, three Indian officials with direct knowledge of talks said.

In response, officials told Tesla that granting approvals for wholly-owned Chinese companies in India could be difficult due to intense scrutiny of Chinese firms since a 2020 border clash between the two countries.

Instead, the Indian officials said they had suggested a workaround in which Tesla would emulate the approach of Apple. The US smartphone giant in recent months has obtained approvals to bring Chinese suppliers to India after they found local joint-venture partners.

Tesla, the spokesperson of the Indian government and the trade ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Apple has a fast-growing supply chain in India which includes Taiwan’s Foxconn assembling its iPhones.

New Delhi in recent months has been approving some Chinese suppliers’ JV partnerships with Indian companies on a case-to-case basis, one of the government sources said.

India remains hesitant about allowing Chinese companies, especially automakers, to expand in the country, however.

Last month, China’s BYD told its Indian partner it would shelve a new $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,233 crore) investment plan to build EVs there after its investment proposal faced scrutiny from New Delhi.

Without specifying Chinese vendors, a fourth source with direct knowledge of Tesla’s discussions in India said the US company is looking at supply chain partners for its India factory.

One of the Indian officials said pairing local and Chinese players could work for Tesla.

“Tesla has been demanding a separate ecosystem for their (Chinese) vendor base … those approvals can be granted on a case-to-case basis if there an Indian joint venture partner,” the official said.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company’s new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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US President Said to to Sign New Order to Limit US Tech Investments in China by Mid-August

US President Joe Biden is planning to sign an executive order to limit critical US technology investments in China by mid-August, according to people familiar with the internal deliberations.

The order focuses on semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. It won’t affect any existing investments and will only prohibit certain transactions. Other deals will have to be disclosed to the government.

The timing for the order, slated for the second week of August, has slipped many times before, and there is no guarantee it won’t be delayed again. But internal discussions have already shifted from the substance of the measures to rolling out the order and accompanying rule, said the people familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The restrictions won’t take effect until next year, and their scope will be laid out in a rulemaking process, involving a comment period so stakeholders can weigh in on the final version.

A spokeswoman for the National Security Council declined to comment.

The investment controls are part of a broader White House effort to limit China’s capabilities to develop the next-generation technologies expected to dominate national and economic security. The effort has complicated the Biden administration’s already fraught relations with China, which sees the restrictions as an effort to contain and isolate the country.

China’s envoy in Washington said earlier this month that Beijing would retaliate if the US imposes new limits on technology or capital flows but didn’t detail what actions the country could take.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has sought to calm Chinese anger over the curbs, saying they wouldn’t significantly damage the ability to attract US investment and were narrowly tailored.

“These would not be broad controls that would affect US investment broadly in China, or in my opinion, have a fundamental impact on affecting the investment climate for China,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg Television earlier in July.

Yellen emphasized the restrictions as well as existing export controls were not in retaliation for any specific actions from China or intended to curtail the country’s growth.

During her visit to China earlier this month, Yellen reiterated that stance in a meeting in Beijing with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan first publicly discussed the concept in July 2021. China hawks in the US are eager for tougher and faster action. Lawmakers from both parties have also shown interest in legislating on the matte,r although a bill has not yet made it to Biden’s desk.

The Senate this week passed an amendment to the national defense policy bill that would require firms to notify the government about certain investments in China and other countries of concern, although they wouldn’t be subject to review or possible prohibition.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company’s new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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China’s BYD Tells India JV Partner It Wants to Drop $1 Billion EV Investment Plan

China’s BYD has told its India joint-venture partner it would shelve plans for a new $1-billion (roughly Rs. 8,225 crore) investment to build electric cars after its investment proposal faced scrutiny from New Delhi, two people with knowledge of the discussions said.

BYD and its partner, privately held Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, submitted a proposal to the Indian government in April to jointly build electric cars in India, Reuters reported earlier this month.

But in the initial review, officials from three Indian ministries, including finance and external affairs, raised what two Indian officials described as security concerns about investment from the Chinese company and signalled opposition.

BYD executives told Megha Engineering last week that the battery and EV maker wanted to drop pursuit of the investment, according to the two people with knowledge of that exchange.

It was not immediately clear whether BYD could have second-thoughts, and as of Thursday BYD had not formally withdrawn the investment proposal from government review, the two officials with knowledge of the review said.

BYD, China’s largest EV maker, declined to comment on the status of its investment proposal and whether it would pull the plan to produce electric cars in India.

In a statement to Reuters, the company said it has had a presence in India for 16 years, selling both passenger cars and electric-drive buses.

India’s finance, external affairs and home ministry did not reply to an email seeking comment. Megha Engineering did not respond to request to comment.

During a meeting last week, Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering urged BYD to wait for more clarity on the situation before moving to drop the electric cars manufacturing plan, according to the two people with knowledge of the discussion.

BYD had understood its investment proposal would be politically charged because of the scrutiny of Chinese investment in India and had attempted to head off concerns, the two people with knowledge of its planning said.

For instance, the proposal said voice-activated commands for apps would be available in Indian languages in BYD electric cars built in India and that all data from the vehicles would be housed in India, one of the people said.

BYD had proposed starting production in India by 2025, the people familiar with the plan said.

India began subjecting investment from China to closer scrutiny in 2020 amid a series of border clashes between the two countries.

China’s Great Wall Motor shelved its plans to invest $1 billion after failing to get clearances from the Indian government.

A final decision on whether to approve BYD’s investment proposal would be taken by Indian ministries of trade and heavy industries.

BYD, the world’s largest producer of EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles, entered the Indian market in 2007 producing batteries and components for mobile phone makers.

In 2013 it started building electric buses in India with Megha Engineering, under a joint venture company called Olectra Greentech.

BYD, which has already invested over $200 million (roughly Rs. 1,645 crore) in India, markets the Atto 3 electric SUV and the e6 EV to corporate fleets and plans to launch sales of its Seal electric sedan later this year.

BYD has sold about 1,950 cars in India since starting sales in 2022, according to government registration data.

India’s EV market is small but growing with domestic automaker Tata Motors dominating sales. Electric models made up less than 2 percent of total car sales in 2022 but the government wants to grow this to 30 percent by 2030.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company’s new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
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