Translation Category: Technology
Two researchers from East China Normal University argue that the technological superiority and rapid deployment of Starlink satellites from U.S. firm SpaceX raise a range of new international security issues. These include transforming space from a strategic support domain to a domain of military operations in its own right, crowding out space for satellites from other countries in low-earth orbit, and posing data control and information security challenges for other nations, including China.
Researchers at the National University of Defense Technology analyze the development of Starlink, SpaceX’s flagship satellite internet technology, its early connections with the U.S. military, and its uses on the battlefield in Ukraine. The authors argue that the United States is militarizing Starlink in ways that disrupt existing rules and norms governing the development and utilization of space-based technologies. They recommend Beijing track Starlink carefully, invest in developing and deploying domestic alternatives, and coordinate closely with fellow “socialist” countries to pare back Starlink’s global reach.
In this piece, two researchers from PLA-affiliated National University of Defense Technology argue that Starlink will negatively impact global stability, in light of its clear military applications, increased risks of accidents and collisions in space, and SpaceX’s close relationship with the U.S. military. The authors foresee a worsening security dilemma as other countries react to broad U.S. deployment of Starlink, thereby impacting strategic stability in space.
One of China’s top demographics and labor scholars analyzes how labor markets will be transformed by the emergence and industrial integration of artificial intelligence (AI). He provides several policy recommendations for Beijing to manage this transition with minimal social disruption. These include improvements to the social welfare system and household registration systems, both of which he sees as necessary to address inevitable disruptions to the human capital landscape.
This lengthy piece outlines the underlying logic behind China’s new industrial upgrading policy, dubbed “new industrialization.” Jin Zhuanglong, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, lays out what he sees as key accomplishments and challenges for China’s industrial system going forward. Jin details steps Beijing will undertake to advance the manufacturing sector, emphasizing the need to better integrate and synergize technology innovation, digitalization, and industrial upgrading.
In this piece, the CCP Central Committee Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission (CAC), known under its public regulatory-body name as the Cyberspace Administration of China, outlines a vision for cybersecurity policy and regulation. The piece suggests that private industry, critical information infrastructure, and cybersecurity providers will be vital partners in improving China’s cybersecurity in the years to come. Cybersecurity, CAC argues, cannot be achieved without more government visibility into private industry’s data on cybersecurity threats and incidents.
Scholars from Huaqiao University explore the implications of generative AI for China’s prosperity and national security, following the launch of ChatGPT. They emphasize the pivotal role leadership in AI research and applications will play in global power distributions going forward, given implications for standards-setting ability, productivity growth, and information control.
This white paper from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a key research institution advising the government on science and technology issues, explores the potential impacts of generative AI. Written before the launch of ChatGPT, the paper focuses on applications around the consumer experience – in terms of e-commerce, film and TV, and news and broadcasting.
Wu Zhaohui, vice minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology and China’s lead delegate at the 2023 Bletchley AI Summit, delivered a keynote address at a summer 2023 AI conference in Beijing. This news coverage includes highlights of his speech where he suggested ChatGPT will usher in a ‘new industrial revolution,’ and have significant impacts on labor, production, business models, and the global economic landscape more broadly.
This is a news report of a January State Council meeting, where rural revitalization, regulation of the food delivery industry, and capital market regulation were discussed. Alongside these topics, the State Council emphasized the need to better integrate artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing. This signals focus at senior leadership levels on the role AI can play in China’s bid to become an advanced manufacturing powerhouse.