Trump blames China for not stopping Covid-19 pandemic

( May 15) In an interview with Fox Business this Thursday Trump continued to criticize China about the COVID-19 pandemic claiming that China had failed to prevent the spread of the virus and the pandemic had cast a pall over the US trade deal with China.

The interview

In the Fox Business News interview Trump said that he was very disappointed with China's failure to contain COVID-19 and claimed that the pandemic cast a pall over their trade deal in January this year. Trump said: "They should have never let this happen. So I make a great trade deal and now I say this doesn't feel the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn't feel the same to me."

While before Trump has stressed his good relationship with President XI in the interview he that at present he did not even want to speak to him.

Trump even suggests that the US could cut off its whole relationship to China.

Trump insists cutting off Chinese imports would save billions

Trump insists that if the US cut off all relationships with China it would save $500 billion. He is referring to the estimated annual imports from China which he has before referred to as lost money. This is nonsense in that the money buys goods that are often cheaper and just as good as from other sources and some are not even available in the US. The US also exports to China which brings money in to the US. Many US businesses are dependent upon raw materials or parts made in China. Cutting off China trade can only hurt them and force them to find other often more expensive sources for items they need. This could even make some US firms noncompetitive. Given the negative results for breaking off all relations with China perhaps Trump's suggestion is an empty threat unlikely to be carried out. However, perhaps the negative consequences will be overlooked.

Zhao Lijian Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said to reporters in Beijing Friday that maintaining a steady bilateral relationship between the two countries benefited both countries and world peace and stability :"Both China and the U.S. should now be cooperating more on fighting the virus together, to cure patients and resume economic production, but this requires the U.S. to want to work with us on this."

Previously published in the Digital Journal

China world leader in electrifying its bus fleets

While the US had only 300 electric buses in the entire country, last year China had a total of 421,000. The global fleet of electric buses grew 32 percent in 2018.

China's electric bus fleet

By 2025, China's municipal electric bus fleet is expected to top more than 600,000 according to BNEF the Bloomberg division that researches clean energy. At the same time the US is expected to have just about 5,000. In 2009, China began to prioritize the electrification of its public transport system.

New York-based BNEF analyst Nick Albanese said: “There’s no industrial policy in the U.S. for e-buses. So unless the U.S. manages to become a big exporter of e-buses, China will continue to stand apart.”

Of an estimated 425,000 buses in the world in 2018 only 4,000 were outside China. Europe had only 2,500 electric buses.

In China the government takes the lead

The change to electric vehicles in China is not being driven by free market principles. The government is taking the lead in a bid to curb pollution, a huge problem in many Chinese cities. The government establishes national mandates, subsidizes manufacturers such as BYD and encourages policy competition among its cities. In contrast, the US federal government is not using any of China's tools to foster a transition to electric vehicles.

Only the climate-conscious state of California has mandated that all new buses to be emission-free by 2025. The EU will require some buses to be emissions free by 2025. In contrast BNEF estimates 18 percent of China's entire bus fleet was electrified at the end of 2018.

Why electrified buses matter

The buses are large and in constant use compared to fossil-fuelled passenger cars, so there is much less greenhouse gas emissions per person when they are used for transport. The BNEF estimates that 500 barrels of diesel are displaced each day for every 1,000 electric buses on the road. While electric buses are cheaper to maintain than diesel models their upfront cost is more.

Most US municipalities consider electric buses only when their existing vehicles wear out and need to be replaced. Since the average bus lasts 12 years, according to BNEF, there are only about 5,000 new buses added in the US each year. As of now most of these will be fossil fuel run vehicles. Many municipalities will baulk at the initial cost of electric buses.

US technology is well advanced

North America already has its own electric bus manufacturers focused on gaining domestic orders. However, they do not have the advantage of huge government subsidies as do their Chinese counterparts. Ryan Popple CEO of bus-maker Proterra maintains: “While Chinese companies get more support, the best electric vehicles have been engineered and manufactured by American companies. I like that matchup.”

So far, China has implemented electrification policies with speed that has allowed them to dominate world production of electric buses. China is also home to some of the world's largest battery makers. This gives domestic bus makers an easy access to a key component of the buses.

Shenzhen

Shenzhen a large Chinese city north of Hong Kong is a world leader in electrical buses. Shenzhen is home to the Chinese electric bus maker BYD. The company sells as many as 30,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids each month in China. Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the company is hoping to double bus sales in Europe every year for the next three years.

Wang contrasted China's policy with that in the West, noting that China strives for complete electrification of its fleet, not just to adding to the existing fleet.

“It’s not like the approach taken by other countries, to only buy electric buses as additions,” Wang said. He also noted that the Chinese government prioritizes the electrification of public transport: “In the West, it’s quite the opposite. The subsidies are primarily to private vehicles, not public transportation. We propose to governments that they need to learn from China’s example of a staged transition.”

At the end of 2017, Shenzhen had completed its transition to all electric buses. Shenzhen, population about 11.9 million, now has more electric buses than top US metropolitan areas conventional and electric.

An article in January of 2018 notes: "Shenzhen’s transport commission said on Dec. 27 that it had transitioned its 16,359 buses to all-electric models. The city’s 17,000 taxis are next (63 percent of them are already electric). China chose the city as a pilot for electric transit in 2009, now intends to expand the effort nationwide."

Previously published in the Digital Journal

New Chinese regulations reduce number of part-time ride-hailing drivers

During the last few years, millions of Chinese workers earned extra money by working as ride-hailing drivers. Driving around in China is a status symbol even at the price of having to pay off a car loan every month.

Didi Chuxing

Didi Chuxing has about 90 percent of China's e-hailing trips in 2017. Most of its drivers are part-time. Half of its drivers worked less than two hours a day according to a report by Bain and Company.

The sharing economy

The ride-sharing drivers are part of what is called the "sharing economy" that the Chinese government has been keen to promote.

The phrase "sharing economy" is used vaguely to cover many different things. Wikipedia says: " Sharing economy is an umbrella term with a range of meanings, often used to describe economic activity involving online transactions. Originally growing out of the open-source community to refer to peer-to-peer based sharing of access to goods and services, the term is now sometimes used in a broader sense to describe any sales transactions that are done via online market places, even ones that are business to business (B2B), rather than peer-to-peer. For this reason, the term sharing economy has been criticized as misleading, as some argue that even services that enable peer-to-peer exchange can be primarily profit-driven. However, many commentators assert that the term is still valid as a means of describing a generally more democratized marketplace, even when it's applied to a broader spectrum of services. Alternatively, collaborative consumption or the sharing economy refers rather to resource circulation systems which allow a consumer two-sided role, in which consumers may act as both providers of resources or obtainers of resources. The exchange may be performed directly on a peer-to-peer basis, or indirectly through a mediator (ex. store, website, app); online or offline; for free or for other compensation (ex. money, points, services, etc.)."

China includes shared platforms, from mobility to elderly care services under the sharing economy. The sector is expected to show a 30 percent annual growth over the next five years in many different fields such as agriculture, education, medical treatment, and care of the elderly. A recent Chinese newspaper article notes: "The market turnover of China's sharing economy reached 4.9 trillion yuan ($763.5 billion) last year, a 47.2 percent increase from the previous year, according to a report released by the Sharing Economy Research Center of the State Information Center."

New regulations will make part-time driving expensive

New regulations that came into effect January 1st 2019 bans drivers who do not have the required double licenses. One of these licenses is for drivers and the other one for the cars they use. The licenses are intended to vet drivers more adequately than in the past.

In certain cities the ride-hailing permit requires drivers to have a local residency permit allowing them to legally work in the area. Many drivers did not have these local permits but are migrant workers from rural areas. These drivers will become ineligible to drive using the ride-hailing apps

Drivers will still be able to work as independent contractors. A Didi driver from Shenzen told TechCrunch: “No part-time drivers want to register their private car as a commercial one because of the high costs that come with it. Being part-time doesn’t pay the bills anymore.”

Didi’s dilemma

Ride-hailing took off quickly as there was relatively lax regulation of the industry at first. Even companies such as Uber jumped into the rising business although it was later bought out by Didi. However, regulations have gradually increased. The latest tightening of regulations was no doubt partly caused by a reaction to the deaths of two Didi passengers in 2017.

The tighter regulations are causing a steep decline in driver and car numbers. In Nanjing alone, Didi claims the regulations have weeded out more than 160,000 illegal vehicles according to local media. Didi has to consider way to maintain a constant supply of drivers as the decline of cars and drivers leads to longer wait times for customers as well as dissatisfaction with the service.

Didi is burning through cash

Originally there were generous subsidies for users and drivers to help the industry grow, But now Didi lost $585 million in just the first half of 2018. Didi cannot afford to offer cash heavy incentives in the near term. Didi is offering test preparation for drivers to ensure a supply. It is also letting drivers rent licensed cars it gets from car rental and auto maker partners.

Didi is also facing new competition from companies such as BMW, and Volkswagen with its Chinese partner.

Dong Feng, the founder of a Chinese car rental company said: “Didi has educated China about what is ride-hailing. If it doesn’t react swiftly to changing dynamics, the billions of yuan it’s burned through will suffer from low returns.”

Previously published in Digital Journal

After tariffs imposed, Tesla raises prices on two models in China

According to Electrek and the Wall Street Journal Tesla has raised the price of its cars in China because of the country's retaliatory tariffs directed against the U.S. as a trade war between the two countries begins.

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The new tariffs will add 150,000 to 250,000 Yuan to the cost of Tesla's Models S and X as a 40 percent import tax is imposed. In U.S. dollars this is about $22,600 to $37,600.

New tax comes just after tariffs had been reduced

Just a few months ago China had reduced taxes on foreign vehicles from 25 to 15 percent. This had shaved about $14,000 off the price of Tesla's more expensive cars.

The auto industry is just one of many to be hurt by the trade war between the two countries. Car-makers rely on a global supply chain that spans the globe. Competition also results in thin margins making them vulnerable to the tariff war.

Some companies racing against the clock

Data from a number of U.S. ports show a surge both in vehicle exports and imports last May. In the US the three leading ports in the U.S. for importing autos unloaded 23,000 more cars this May than last year. Auto exports from Baltimore and Jacksonville in May were up 39 percent and 19 percent respectively according to port officials. Automakers other than Tesla have so far not put up their prices.

China is a big market for Tesla

Tesla is a relatively low volume operation and hence it is not surprising that it boosted its price early. China is a key market for Tesla as it accounts for about 17 percent of the company's total sales as of 2017.

Even with high price tags before the tariffs, Tesla models were selling well in China. The government is pushing to phase out fossil fuels and the large size of the market makes it a tempting one for electric car makers.

Avoiding import tariffs

Many automakers have decided to build their vehicles in China thus avoiding any tariffs. However, up to now China has required foreign companies to partner with local ones in joint ventures if they want to manufacture vehicles inside the country. This lowers profit margins and puts trade secrets at risk according to some firms.

Even so Tesla has spent the last two years attempting to create a GIgafactory in China. The Chinese government recently announced that would allow him to build the factory without a joint venture. The rules have been specifically changed for those who manufacture electric cars.

A recent article reports: "As per CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments, Tesla is expected to soon announce a project for a Gigafactory in China. Ahead of the announcement, Tesla has registered a new company in Shanghai’s Free-Trade Zone – seemingly in preparation for this new manufacturing project. The new business license has been reportedly approved on May 10th, according to Sina Finance. It was registered by Tesla’s Hong Kong subsidiary and approved by the Shanghai Pudong New Area Market Supervision board."

The article also confirms that new rules allow a foreign country to own 100 percent of a facility that makes electric cars.

Previously published in Digital Journal

China is launching an impressive build up of naval resources

A recent Chinese fleet review shows that during the last four years, China has launched naval vessels with a total tonnage equal to many of the world's major established naval powers.

An earlier review of PLAN

Even in the period from 2000 to 2005 the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had made great strides. An article in February of 2005 states: "In the last five years the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commissioned more frigates and destroyers than in any comparable period in its history. However, it also now has fewer destroyer and frigate hulls in service than at any point in the last decade." The defect noted has been remedied more recently.

Review of the Plan this April

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) was reviewed in April of 2018. The review drove home the dramatic progress that has been made in recent years. It also shows the operational potential that the fleet now has.

During the last decade of the 20th century and the first decade of this, Chinese naval shipyards produced a large range of vessel type with many improvements on earlier ships However, recent construction has settled on just a few designs which are produced in large numbers. The new Type-052D destroyers have already seen 13 launched since 2012 as many as the previous five destroyer designs. The same thing is happening with other types of vessels.

The size of the new fleet

Since 2014 China has launched more submarines, warships, principal amphibious vessels and auxiliaries than the total number of ships currently in service in the navies of Germany, India, Spain, Taiwan, and the UK in terms of individual hulls. However, Japan and the UK have slightly higher tonnage during the period 2014-2018.

Of individual ships built since 2014, the most prevalent type has been a corvette, Type-056 (Jinangdao I/II) with 28 launched since 2014 out of 46 built to date. These have been built at four different shipyard. They have approximately 1,300 tonnes full displacement. These have been produced at a faster rate than any comparable vessel since the Cold War ended. As well as output for the PLAN, China Coast Guard is also benefiting from its own shipbuilding program.

Recent PLAN vessels much larger than older ships

The larger size of the newer ships is necessary to accommodate modern weapon systems and sensors and larger quantities of them. The size also means the ships have better endurance for undertaking longer and more distant operations. For example the Type-054 series of frigates built from the 1970's right up until the early 2000s had a displacement of about 2,000 tonnes. In contrast, the new Type-054/A has double that displacement.

Output accelerated in recent years

Comparing recent output in the US and China shows some striking comparisons. In the period 212-2014 the United States remained just ahead in total tonnage but that included the launch of the huge 100,000 tonne aircraft carrier, USS Gerald Ford. In 2015-2017 China was significantly ahead and launched its own aircraft carrier.

China's navy still lags behind in some respects

Even though the PLAN results in navies far larger than that of the UK or France the Chinese do not have the same extensive operational experience or even some of the technical abilities of the French or British navies. As an example it is not yet evident that the Chinese navy has precision-strike cruise missiles.

However, it may not be that long before the Chinese naval capability will have developed further and China will have amassed an impressive armada in the South China Sea and even further challenging the attempt of other nations such as the US to dominate the area.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Artificial Intelligence helps China alleviate its doctor shortage

Artificial Intelligence is already used in medical treatment to examine medical scans and spot diabetes in many places. In China, AI can do much more than simply help doctors. It can actually aid in alleviating China's doctor shortage.

Software developed by the Beijing startup PereDoc can expedite the lung scan screening process. The software will start being used next month. It can spot nodules and other early signs of lung cancer in the scans.

China's AI push

Back in July of last year, the State Council of the People's Republic of China announced a scheme to push AI that would spend $150 billion on the AI industry. The plan is to make China the global leader in the field by 2030.

This may be bad news for AI research in the U.S. which is now a world leader. The Trump administration is anti-science to some degree and has cut research spending.

Chinese companies are already showing themselves very adept at commercializing AI technologies. China has shown a growing willingness to invest in fundamental research and development.

China's doctor shortage

As part of its AI scheme, China is beefing up its health care facilities with more AI tools. It needs to as there are only 1.5 doctors for every thousand people. In the U.S. by comparison there are 2.5 for every thousand.

A recent report even claims that the demand in China for AI health services could be as much as $930 million by 2022.

Some of the new AI tools being developed are one that can design dentures and another that analyzes ultrasound data and is able to detect blood clots that are often caused in lymphoma treatment.

PereDoc partners with hospitals

With help from 180 hospitals that collaborate in its research, PereDoc is able to continue to develop and refine its software.

A Beijing hospital that treats about 10,000 outpatients each day will start sending its lung scans to be examined by PereDoc. With such an enormous number of patients, doctors at the hospital simply do not have the time to examine each and every scan that is done thoroughly. The software will ensure both that the doctors do not miss anything and also will lighten their load substantially.

PereDoc already has installed its software in 20 Chinese hospitals. However, there are probably many more Chinese hospitals that face a situation such as that of the one described in Beijing. The software is soon likely to spread to many hospitals throughout different parts of China.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Ontario university to partner with 2 Chinese institutes to research self-driving technology

The University of Waterloo located in Waterloo,  Ontario,  will become partners with two leading institutes in China to pursue research in connected and autonomous vehicle technology.

The university will partner with the Qinqdao Academy of Intelligent Industries (QAI) and the State Key Laboratory for Management and Control of Complex Systems (SKL-MCCS). An agreement was recently signed by all three parties.

The nature of the research

The Waterloo center's research activities will involve automated vehicle testing, human-like autonomous driving, applied artificial intelligence and deep learning in automated driving.

A number of initiatives are included in the agreement, including a shared research center for automated driving, faculty and graduate student exchanges, plus a Waterloo PhD program that will focus on autonomous vehicles, and the potential for Chinese startup companies to establish research and development facilities in the Waterloo region.

University of Waterloo taking a global view of research in the area

Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of the university said: “Waterloo is committed to taking a global view on research and development and this partnership represents a significant step in our goal of advancing the world’s understanding and use of new technologies. Our dedication to innovation and these types of partnerships will help us to continue to shape the future of Canada and the world’s technologies and economy.”

Yanchen Gao, senior vice-president of QAII for Intelligent Technology Research and Development and Incubation also stressed the international aspect of the research saying: "The Waterloo collaboration is another significant step to strengthen QAII's international profile, and we are committed to make it a great success. Parallel driving for intelligent vehicles is one of our hallmark technologies and we hope our joint venture with Waterloo brings networked autonomous driving to reality."

Funding of the research

The Chinese partners are committed to contributing up to one million dollars Canadian each year for five years. The university will provide $4 million to build a new autonomous lab in 2018. It is seeking matching funds from the government to support its initiative. Funding from other external sources will be pursued by all partners. The partners expect that many university-industry partnerships will be created using this joint research platform.

President of China's QAII and director of SKL-MCCS praises partnership

Fei-Yue Wang claimed:"I have been in close academic collaboration with Waterloo Engineering for 30 years in control, robotics, and intelligent systems and I am glad to witness this exciting opportunity to bring our cooperation to a new and much more grand level. Waterloo has been a world leader in engineering and computer science education and research and the Waterloo mechatronic vehicle research program has provided a solid foundation for the success of our collaboration.I am confident our joint effort will make Waterloo, QAII, and SKL-MCCS the leader and best in research and development of artificial intelligence and intelligent technology for autonomous driving. I also hope our joint effort will lead to the world's first PhD program specializing in intelligent vehicles and make Waterloo the hub of innovation and incubation in intelligent vehicles and technology."

The University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo is a public research university. Its main campus of about 1,000 acres is located in Waterloo next to Waterloo Park. The university has six faculties and ten schools faculty-based. In 2016 the university had 30.600 undergraduate and 5,300 graduate students.

The university is a member of the U15 a group of research-intensive Canadian universities. It is famous for its cooperative education programs that allows students to integrate their education with relevant work experiences. It claims that its program is the largest post-secondary coop education program in the world with more than 17,000 undergraduate students in more than 140 coop programs.

In 2001 the university announced the development of the Waterloo Research and Technology Park in the north campus. The park was designed to house many high-tech industries in the area. It has the support of the university, Waterloo Regional Municipality, the provincial and the federal government. The aim is to provide businesses with access to the university faculty and co-op education students, and the university's infrastructure and resources. The project was started on June 2002.

The university has also worked in partnership with the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai. It even had a Dubai campus that opened in 2009 and provided degrees in chemical engineering, civil engineering, financial analysis, risk management, and information technology management. However in October 2012 the university's board of governors decided to close the Dubai extension.

Waterloo's research in the field of engineering has been ranked 43rd in the field in the 2011 URAP rankings and second in Canada. The engineering program has been rated as among the best in the world. It is often ranked second or even first in Canada although it has a much lower ranking on the world scale.

Previously published in Digital Journa

Chinese pig farmers using AI to become more efficient

In China pig-rearing used to be a predominantly a backyard operation. The etymology of the word "home" in Chinese means literally a "house with a pig in it". That is now all changed.

China's "pork miracle"

Since the nineteen eighties China has been modernizing its pork industry and upped production. China now has some 700 million pigs, half of the world population, most on huge farms. To manage such huge numbers China is turning to new technology including artificial intelligence (AI).

AI and pig farming

The Chinese tech giant Alibaba has signed a deal with the pig feed manufacturer Tequ Group and Chinese farming corporation Dekon Group worth tens of millions of dollars

Alibaba Group Holdiings Limited is a huge Chinese multinational e-commerce, retail, Internet, AI and technology conglomerate. As of January 2018, the market cap of Alibaba was $527 billion US. It is one of the 10 most valuable companies in the world.

The aim of the project is to develop a pig-tracking system powered by AI. At present RFID wireless radio frequency tags are used but they are expensive and time-consuming to manage. Each RFID has to be fitted to each pig and scanned individually to track them.

Tequ Group's chief information officer Zhang Haifeng said: “If you have 10 million pigs to raise, you can barely count how many piglets were born on a daily basis when the due date comes.” The existing system causes real bottlenecks.

The AI solution

Machine vision technology is used to identify numbers tattooed onto the pigs' bodies using overhead cameras. The system will be able to count pigs and piglets but it is hoped to also provide more sophisticated analysis.

The system will be able to combine temperature readings from infrared cameras with data on how much each pig moves every day. This will enable the system to estimate the health of each animal. There will be voice recognition as well which can monitor such sounds as pigs coughing.

Zhang Sheng of Alibaba said:“On one hand, we hope to bring down husbandry costs and achieve agricultural reform. On the other hand, we’d like to translate AI technology into safe, tasty pork.”

As the Chinese population demands more and more pork, pig farming will need to become more automated and efficient. AI could be a crucial part of this process. The appended video shows a Chinese pig farm.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Cryptocoin Tron's Peiwo App wins Chines government award and approval

(January 9) Tron is a new cryptocoin having been released just last September. Tron intends to build a worldwide free content entertainment system using both blockchain technology and distributed storage technology.

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The Tron protocol allows users to freely publish store and own data. The Tron website says that the protocol, will form a decentralized content entertainment ecosystem.

Tron hopes to undercut its centralised competitors such as Google Play and Apple's App Store, both of which it claims charge high fees.

The TRON team members see their protocol as an asset for people rather than a tool to make profit for a few. The group are followers of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Berners-Lee is inventor of the World Wide Web and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford.

Tron is based upon the technology used in etherium, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Tron is a 1982 US science fiction movie written and directed by Steven Lisberger and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Presumably the coin is named after the film.

The coin associated with Tron is called Tronix (TRX).

The TRON Foundation

The team members established the TRON foundation in Singapore as a non-profit organization that operates the TRON network based upon the principles of fairness and transparency. The Foundation supports the TRON development team.

The Foundation is set up with approval from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority(ACRA) under the supervision of the Company Law of Singapore. Singapore is well known for having a stable and well-established set of laws and financial establishment. Any surplus will be retained to use for the purposes of the foundation and members of the foundation will never obtain a share of any surplus.

Peiwo App and the Chinese government

The first TRON-compatible entertainment app is the Peiwo App with a huge number of users.

Peiwo Huanie Technology Co. (Beijing), the parent of Peiwo APP is in the list of high--tech enterprises identified in 2017 by the Chinese government. This means that Peiwo APP and the online entertainment forms and technologies of its audio content community have been recognized by the government. No doubt its market will expand.

Ironically, this approval is happening just as is reported in a recent Digital Journal article the Chinese government is moving to clamp down on bitcoin mining operations causing a decline in bitcoin and other cryptocoin prices.

The National High-tech Enterprises is a policy of the Chinese government meant to promote rapid development of high-tech enterprises. There are strict standards governing inclusion. Companies that qualify obtain a series of concessions including tax relief to help chosen enterprises to do more independent research and development.

Peiwo APP

Peiwo APP is the largest audio content provider in China, in fact, in the world. It has more than 10 million registered users and over one million active users each month.

Users of Peiwo APP are mostly young people between the ages of 17-25 located in cities in China, but as well in North America, Australia, Japan, Western Europe and other areas.

Justin Sun, founder of TRON and the Peiwo APP said:“Peiwo APP is a leading application of online audio content community and a core member of the TRON Union. This access to the national high-tech enterprise qualification represents significant recognition of the long-term persistence of Peiwo APP. Recently, we also noticed that the popularity of online audio entertainment has been on the rise, and the market is constantly expanding. For Peiwo APP, we can only make progress steadily and provide better Service, so as to live up to everyone’s support.”

The appended video gives more background on Sun who has plenty of experience in cryptocurrencies.

Tron's present price and market cap

As I finish this article on Tuesday evening, Tron's price is at 0.135741 a big drop of almost half from its price on Friday when it reached about 25 cents. However, it is still a huge gain from December 1st last year when it was only .002, a fifth of a cent.

Tron is the tenth biggest cryptocoin by market cap. Its cap is $8,924,725,395.

Tron has faced criticism for possible plagiarism and recently rumours of a sell off by Sun of a huge number of shares may have led to panic selling.

Previously published in Digital Journal

Global EV sales surge during the third quarter of 2017

In the third quarter of 2017 electric vehicle (EV) sales soared 63 percent higher than the same period last year setting a record. The uptick was mainly fueled by rising demand in China.

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China is making the transition to EV's a priority. EV powerhouse Tesla has recently partnered with a local manufacturer in China to further the popularity of electric cars in this booming market.

EV sales increase year by year

A sales record was set in 2016. The International Energy Agency (IEA) claimed that more than 750,000 EVs were sold worldwide last year. In 2015 only 547,000 were sold.

By June of this year there were more than 2 million EVs on the road globally. However, this makes up only a minuscule 0.2 percent of the total light-duty vehicles in use around the world.

In the U.S. only 30 percent of buyers consider purchasing an EV and of those only three percent actually buy one.

Sales for EVs and hybrids in third quarter of this year

The sales of EVs and plug-in hybrids was more than 287,000 units in the quarter ending this September. This was up 63 percent from last year and 23 percent from the previous quarter according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) report.

More than half of these global sales were in China.

China encouraging EV purchases

Aleksandra O'Donovan, an advanced transport analyst, and one of the authors of the BNEF report, said: “The Chinese government is very focused on pushing up EV sales. One reason for that is the local pollution levels in the cities, and a second is for China to build domestic heroes to compete internationally in this market.”

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of the Industry and Information Technology Ministry said that the country had started research on a timetable to phase out production and sales of vehicles that run on fossil fuels. Although he noted that the new measures would bring profound changes to the automotive sector he gave no indication as to when they might come out. Experts believe the ban will not take effect until 2040 at the earliest.

China has over 60 million cars on the road now. To help create an infrastructure to serve EVs the government has pledged to build 12,000 new charging stations by 2020

China is now the world's largest EV market. Its own manufacturer BYD is larger than Tesla.

China has tax exemptions, discounts for purchases, and government mandates to buy EVs. O'Donovan said: "The national subsidies can make EVs up to 40 percent cheaper than regular internal combustion cars.”

Chinese sales of EVs have been increasing year by year. In 2016 China sold 507,000 commercial and passenger EV's including hybrids. This was 53 percent higher than in 2015. Pure EV sales rose even more by 65 percent to 409,000 accounting for 80 per cent of EV sales.

North America lags behind China and Europe in EV sales

Europe was the second biggest EV market in the third quarter with 24 percent of sales. North America was third.

Both France and the U.K. claim they will ban sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2040. Netherlands is setting a target of just 2030 for all new cars sold to be emissions free.

In North America, California is also considering a ban on new fossil fuel cars being sold there.

In Canada sales of EVs are also on an upward trend, but they are still a minuscule part of the global market.

Previously published in Digital Journal

China faces problem of recycling lithium ion batteries from EVs

A Shanghai recycling plant will be faced with recycling piles of dead lithium ion batteries after spending years dismantling old television sets and computers. The dead batteries result from China's emphasis on introducing more electric vehicles (EVs).

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Li Yingzhe who manages the facility that is part of the state-owned Shanghai Jinquiao Group said that the plant was undergoing upgrades and had secured licences to handle the increasing amounts of battery waste. Yingzhe said: “We believe there will be so much growth in the number of electric vehicles in the future."

Jianqxi Gangfeng Lithium and GWEM Co. Ltd. are already in the recycling market. Their share prices have been rising as they are investing in their own recycling facilities. However, those entering the market face a number of hurdles including high operating costs. However, the government is determined to increase the number of EV and phase out fossil fuel burning vehicles as part of a broader program to improve air quality especially in cities.

Sales of electric cars have been increasing in China with 507,.000 being sold in 2016 which was a 53 percent increase from 2015. The government hopes to see sales of 2 million EVs by 2020 and 7 million by 2025. That would be still just be a fifth of Chinese vehicle production. According to the International Energy Agency. China accounted for 40 percent of global EV sales last year. It is also is now the largest market for EVs beating out the US.

As the number of EVs in China increase, so has the production of lithium batteries. So far this year China has produced 6.7 billion batteries up over half from the same period last year according to Chinese government data. China produced its first EVs in 2009. As these cars reach the end of their lifespan the amount of lithium battery waste will soar. Industry experts estimate that by next year there will be 170,000 tons.

While the dead batteries are not classified as hazardous waste as yet and so not so far subject to stringent disposal standards, the waste does include heavy metals such as cobalt and nickel, and toxic residues that might end up in waterways and the soil if not properly handled. However, the recycling industry could profit from the waste with the China Automobile Association estimating the recycling market to be worth $4.68 billion by 2023.

Wang Chuanfu, who is president of BYD Co Ltd. the leading Chinese EV maker described the lithium,. copper, and cobalt that can be extracted from the spent batteries as "treasures". Already the share prices of two recycling companies has soared more than 200 percent just this year.

Yet costs for recycling are very high and there is no agreement yet on standardization. Some company executives say that the government is not providing sufficient subsidies and needs to better enforce environmental regulations.

Zhang Tianren, chair of Tianneng Power that makes batteries said in a proposal to China's parliament last March: “Speeding up the recycling of lithium batteries is a matter of urgency, and has become a major issue for the development of the new energy vehicle industry.” Zhang said the recycling industry was plagued by soaring costs of recycling as well as high taxes.

Zihang cited one recycling company that claimed the value of materials it extracted from one tonne of lithium-ion-phosphate battery waste was 8,110 yuan but the cost of recycling would be 8,540 yuan. Zhang said automation was being held back by lack of standardized product designs and also poor equipment and technology especially among smaller recyclers.

Last year, the industry minister had urged the industry to introduce standardized designs and improve technology to international levels by 2020. Zhang complained that regulators were not enforcing policies or penalizing companies that did not meet qualifications.

Zhang claimed: “Because policies are not enforced and there is no clear incentive mechanism, lithium battery recycling is not profitable." The Chinese government did not respond to requests for comments on Zhang's remarks.

Battery-making companies are for now bearing most of the cost of recycling batteries. Automakers are technically liable for recycling the batteries but have managed to sign deals with suppliers that passes the cost of recycling onto them. Green Cheng CEO of Shenzhen Cham Battery Technology Co claimed that recycling was becoming a strain on the resources of battery manufacturers.

The company makes about 300,000 lithium batteries a day at its factory in Dongguan in southern China. The company pays a recycling company to recycle its batteries. Cheng said: “If manufacturers like us are going to be responsible, then the government definitely needs to provide funds to support us."

The US EV-maker Tesla has just announced that it will build a plant in Shanghai as more foreign and Chinese companies join to make China the global leader in the manufacture of EVs. However, it will also become the world leader in the production of waste battery material. China will need to develop policies to avoid this waste from becoming a new pollution problem within the country.

Major Chinese cryptocurrency exchange to close by September 30

BTCC , one of China's three big exchanges announced that it would cease trading cryptocurrencies after carefully considering the announcement by Chinese regulators back on the fourth of September.

BTCC was one of the earliest cryptocurrency trading platforms in China, indeed the world. The company announced that other operations including its mining operation BTCC Pool would not be affected by the change. China has huge cryptocurrency mining operations. On September 4th, the People's Bank of China announced a ban on all initial coin offerings (ICO's) by which new cryptocurrencies were financing operations as discussed in a recent Digital Journal article. The announcement caused a precipitous decline in the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

On Thurdsay at 8:13 AM Eastern TIme bitcoin was trading down 6.6% at 3,634.82 to the US dollar. Bobby Lee, the Bitcoin CEO tweeted the announcement on Thursday. Bloomberg, reports that China Business News claims that the City of Shanghai had ordered the closing of all bitcoin platforms. The Crypto Coins News also cited a local newspaper as saying that banning bitcoin exchanges was certain. China is not the only country that is worried about cryptocurrencies. The Financial Conduct Authority , a UK monitor warned investors about the risks and dangers of ICO's. To add to the unease Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan claimed that bitcoin was a fraud and would eventually blow up. While bitcoin's price may have risen in a bubble blown by speculative investment and much hype about the coin, it will probably survive. Indeed it is now being used more often in transactions. The block chain technology that underlies the production of bitcoin will likely revolutionize financial and other transactions. No doubt this may appear as a threat to JP Morgan. Contrast Dimon's reaction with that of China that while seeing independent exchanges as a threat is contemplating its own cryptocurrency. North Korea appears to be amassing the coins and will use them to avoid the global system of which JP Morgan is a part. Early investors in bitcoin could point out that although it is has dropped a quarter from its September 1 high, it is still up almost 300 percent this year, not a bad return on investment. However, many may be deciding to reap some of their profits now and buy back in when the decline stops and a recovery in the price is evident. Many investors avoid purchasing during a decline in hopes that there will be a quick turnaround, or "trying to catch a falling knife as it is called". No doubt there is short selling as well, but that will need to be covered in time, perhaps halting the decline. Although exchanges may be shut in China over the counter (OTC) trading between individuals will still be allowed and no doubt volume will increase dramatically. There is some doubt whether China will actually ban all exchanges or only regulate them as suggested in the appended video from Dubai.

China may launch its own cryptocurrency while strictly regulating others

The People's Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, has already developed a prototype for its own cryptocurrency that could begin circulating in the near future alongside the official renmibi or yuan.

The bank will be simulating possible scenarios and also running mock transactions in cooperation with some commercial banks.

There are many benefits for China in developing such a currency and system:First, it would decrease the cost of transactions, and therefore make financial services more accessible, which would be a big help to the millions of people in the country who are unconnected to conventional banks. Second, as it would be supported by blockchain, it has the potential to decrease the rates of fraud and counterfeiting, which would be of service to the government’s attempts to reduce corruption — a key concern. Third, it would make the currency easier to obtain, which would increase the rate of international transactions, allowing for more trades and faster economic growth.

Some of the promoters and early developers of cryptocurrencies thought of them as providing an alternative to traditional capitalist banking systems which would allow financial transactions without third party intervention by banks and governments. Some of the strong libertarian strands are exhibited by some participants in the appended video.

However, as more and more merchants and buyers accept the main cryptocurrency bitcoin, companies and even governments are becoming more interested in them. The deputy of Russia's central bank said that “regulators of all countries agree that it’s time to develop national cryptocurrencies.” More and more stores are accepting Bitcoin payments in many different countries. Burger King in Russia has announced its own cryptocurrency the Whopper Coin. New bitcoins are not created by governments but by a process called mining as described in one of the appended videos and also discussed in the documentary video as well.

The second biggest cryptocurrency is Ethereum. Ethereum was recently endorsed by Microsoft and JP Morgan Chase. In late February this year these economic giants teamed up with ten other companies to form the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA). Credit Suisse, ING, Bank of New York and Thomson Reuters are among the founding members of EEA.

A number of governments have legitimized bitcoin as a means of payment including Japan and Australia, and in many countries merchants will accept bitcoins as payment. Recently a study showed between 2.9 and 5.8 million users of cryptocurrencies most of whom are in North America and Europe.

Recently there have been many new initial coin offerings (ICOs) some of which may simply be money-making scams. The Chinese government is developing new rules that may be used to crack down on such offerings.

A draft of the regulations has been released by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. In part it says: "If the department overseeing illegal fundraising activities found a fundraising without proper permission, or a fundraising that violates the relevant provisions of the State, and if one of the following circumstances is found, the department shall launch an administrative investigation. Other relevant departments shall cooperate with the investigation.…. to raise funds in the name of issuing or transferring equity, raising funds, selling insurance, or engaging in asset management activities, virtual currency, leasing, credit cooperation and mutual funds..."

The new regulations are happening after public outrage over several pyramid selling scams. The new regulations have not deterred Ripple, a company that specializes in international financial transactions using its cryptocurrency from continuing with its attempts to enter the Chinese market.

China is not alone in seeing unregulated cryptocurrency development as a problem. Australia has also introduced regulations as have other countries.