China Stresses Tech Self-reliance Target

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
TT
20

China Stresses Tech Self-reliance Target

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks at the news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

China's science and technology policies should aim to build the country's strength and self-reliance, while companies take the lead in pushing innovation, Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday.

The country effectively countered external attempts to suppress and contain China’s development over the past five years by promoting development of the real economy through innovation and fostering new drivers of growth, Li said, without naming any countries.

China is under increasing pressure from the United States, which has cited national security in restricting access to Chinese semiconductors and artificial intelligence technology.

President Xi Jinping has urged the nation to strengthen its self-reliance in science and technology and continue to strive as a global tech power.

"Scientific and technological policies should aim at building up our country’s strength and self-reliance in science and technology," the outgoing premier said in his work report to the opening of the annual meeting of China's parliament.

"The new system for mobilizing resources nationwide should be improved, we should better leverage the role of the government in pooling resources to make key technological breakthroughs and enterprises should be the principal actors in innovation."

According to Reuters, Li said China should accelerate the research and development of cutting-edge technologies and promote their application. The development of the platform economy should be supported and regular oversight conducted, he added.

The platform economy comprises China's largest tech companies, such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings. Such firms were the targets of a long, bruising regulatory crackdown that Beijing says it is now easing.

China's finance ministry and its state planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), published reports on Sunday that underlined their support for these goals.

The finance ministry said it would boost special funds for the industrial and manufacturing sectors by 4.4 billion yuan this year to 13.3 billion yuan ($1.93 billion), to support areas such as integrated circuits. It announced 6.5 billion yuan for science and tech advancement at the local level, an increase of 2 billion yuan.

The NDRC said it would accelerate the construction of hard tech infrastructure, including in artificial intelligence, 5G and big data, and promote the healthy development of instant-delivery online retail and e-commerce livestreaming, key marketing channels for China's consumer sector.

It said it would consolidate China's "leading position" in areas such as electric vehicles and solar panels, where the country occupies key places in the global supply chain.

Still, the state planner warned that China's supply chains faced the risk of numerous bottlenecks and "chokepoints", saying government would plan and implement a number of major science and technology projects to increase the country's strength in the "frontiers of international competition".



Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
20

Microsoft Pledges to Protect European Operations, Unveils Data Center Expansion

A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)
A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. (Reuters)

Microsoft pledged Wednesday to fight any US government order to halt data center operations in Europe as it sought to soothe concerns among European customers that trans-Atlantic tensions would lead to service disruptions.

The company's president, Brad Smith, said it's not something that officials are talking about in Washington, D.C. but it is a “real concern” for Microsoft's customers across Europe, which include governments.

President Donald Trump has stoked tensions between the US and Europe with his tariff-fueled trade war, and alarmed European leaders with policy changes, including pausing intelligence sharing with Ukraine, that throw into doubt his administration's commitment to the trans-Atlantic relationship, The AP news reported.

Smith, speaking at an event in Brussels, tried to allay concerns as he announced that the company was expanding data center operations across Europe.

“What we want Europeans to know is that they can count on us,” he said in a speech.

“In the unlikely event we are ever ordered by any government anywhere in the world to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe, we are committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure using all legal avenues available, including by pursuing litigation in court,” Smith wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

He noted that Microsoft has experience fighting lawsuits from the previous Trump administration as well as from former President Barack Obama’s administration.

“If we ever find ourselves losing we will put in place business continuity arrangements” that include storing computer code in Switzerland that European partners can access, he said.

Microsoft is making five digital commitments to Europe, including increasing its data center capacity by 40 in 16 countries over the next two years, Smith said. The expansion will cost tens of billions of dollars annually. Smith declined to be more specific about the cost when asked by reporters.

The expansion comes amid calls for Europe to assert tech and data sovereignty by weaning itself off reliance from big US cloud data service providers, including Microsoft, Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Google.

“Given recent geopolitical volatility, we recognize that European governments likely will consider additional options,” and Microsoft is committed to collaborating with European companies, Smith said.