CX Daily: China’s Drive to Develop the Tech to Move Machines With Thoughts Alone
TOP STORY
BCI?/
In 2023, a 55-year-old man surnamed Yang became the first person in China to undergo semi-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) surgery, an emerging technology that allows him to control devices using his brain signals. Afterwards, Yang, who is paralyzed, was able to use his thoughts to direct a robotic arm that can grip and move items.
The concept of BCI was first proposed over half a century ago by American professor Jacques Vidal, who envisioned direct brain-machine communication through the analysis of the brain’s electric activity.
Vidal’s vision has since become a clinical reality. The technology has been used to treat patients with consciousness disorders, language disabilities, and paralyzed individuals. ?
BUSINESS & TECH
AstraZeneca?/
AstraZeneca PLC’s China president is under investigation by the Chinese authorities, the company disclosed this week, as the British pharma giant continues to grapple with allegations involving medical insurance fraud and the importing of unapproved drugs in the country.
Leon Wang is “cooperating with an ongoing investigation,” AstraZeneca said in a Wednesday press release, adding that it will also “fully cooperate” with the probe. ?
领英推荐
Energy Insider?/
BRIEFING
A run-down of key developments in China over the past 24 hours:
Honor fundraising: Honor Device Co. Ltd. has launched a new fundraising round that could pave the way for the smartphone-maker’s IPO. Honor, which was spun off from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. in November 2020, did not disclose its valuation after the round or how much money it raised. Investors included China Telecom Corp. Ltd., a fund under Costone Capital, SDG Corp. and a fund under China Capital Investment (Group) Co. Ltd.?
Renewable energy: The central government has set targets to accelerate the replacement of fossil fuels with renewables as China looks to meet its dual goals for reducing carbon emissions. New guidelines released Wednesday aim to boost total renewable energy consumption to at least 1.1 billion tons of standard coal equivalent by 2025, and to at least 1.5 billion tons by 2030. The guidelines also emphasize the need to expand renewable energy capacity and improve the infrastructure of the power grid.
Delivery profits: Profit growth picked up at China’s leading express and courier companies in this year’s third quarter amid regulatory concern that aggressive price cutting was hurting the enormous industry. Four of the country’s largest package delivery companies reported faster profit growth compared with the first half as industrywide revenues grew more than 15% to 347 billion yuan ($48.8 billion).?
Official PMIs: The increases in China’s major purchasing managers indexes (PMIs) for October signaled a recovery in business activity driven by the recent economic stimulus and the boost from the weeklong National Day holiday. The official manufacturing PMI ticked up to 50.1, while the non-manufacturing PMI edged higher to 50.2. The rise of both readings above 50 indicated the activity in both sectors had started growing again. The Caixin manufacturing and services PMIs for October are set to be released on Friday and Tuesday.
China-Saudi links: Hong Kong’s stock exchange plans to set up an office in Saudi Arabia’s capital in 2025 to strengthen links between China and the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia in particular has been creating more financial connections with China this year, especially ways for investors in each country to access the other’s stock market. On Wednesday, the Gulf nation’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks debuted. In July, the first two Chinese mainland-listed ETFs that track the Saudi stock market started trading.
Surrogacy: A reproductive company executive has been arrested and two doctors have lost their licenses to practice medicine over their work at an underground surrogacy clinic in eastern China. Dozens of unauthorized egg retrieval and embryo transfer procedures took place at the clinic, which was located in the basement of an auto parts center in Qingdao, Shandong province. Surrogacy is banned on the Chinese mainland, but it has persisted underground because there is a real demand for the service. This case reignited a years-long debate over whether surrogacy should be legalized. Proponents argue that the practice offers a solution for infertile couples. Opponents, however, contend that it essentially commodifies women’s reproductive capacities. ?
Long Read?/