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Showing posts with label High tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label High tech. Show all posts

Sunday, 20 April 2025

What lies behind Nvidia’s commitment to ‘unswervingly serving the Chinese market’

 

Nvidia Photo: VCG


Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has visited China again three months after his trip in January, recently publicly stated that the company would "unswervingly serve the Chinese market" and emphasized China's key role in the global supply chain. He said Nvidia has grown together with the Chinese market and achieved mutual success. Against the backdrop of the US imposing tariffs and banning Nvidia's export of H20 chips to China, Huang's visit and his emphasis that China is a "very important market for Nvidia" can be seen as US companies' indirect resistance to US government's protectionist trade policies. His stance, viewing China as an opportunity rather than a threat, and the call for cooperation rather than decoupling, resonates strongly with the American tech and business community.

China is one of the world's largest consumer markets, and its thriving industrial ecosystem and broad application scenarios provide crucial momentum for continuous innovation for many American companies like Nvidia. As Huang put it, in-depth cooperation with Chinese companies has enabled it to evolve into an even more competitive international enterprise. Previously, some US business leaders also noted that they don't need to hitch a ride with the US government, they need the government to clear the path for us. The importance and urgency of cooperation with China have "unexpectedly" been highlighted against the backdrop of the US' reckless imposition of tariffs.

Not just in the tech and business industry, the call for "We need China" has recently spread across various sectors of American society. A recent poll by Pew Research Center also revealed surprising results. The survey showed that fewer and fewer Americans now view China as an enemy, with significant year-over-year decline in the share of Americans with an unfavorable view of China over the past five years. Bloomberg described this as "a sentiment that runs counter to the tariff," calling the finding "surprising." Moreover, on overseas social platforms like TikTok, Chinese e-commerce has unexpectedly risen to prominence, sparking a new wave of "Made in China" enthusiasm among US consumers. Many influencers have posted unboxing videos of products bought from Chinese e-commerce platforms, exclaiming that they can get the same quality items for just a tenth of the price.

Despite Washington frequently sent signals of confrontation, which has pushed China-US economic relations to the brink and, American society is not in favor of a zero-sum game between the two countries. Pew's survey results, to some extent, puncture the bubble of the so-called tariff policies inflated by Washington. Relevant approach has not reflected public opinion in the US, but instead oversimplifies the complexity and multifaceted nature of the bilateral relationship, turning it into a full-scale confrontation. Washington's abuse of tariffs ignores the high degree of economic complementarity between the two countries and the practical needs of their people, creating chaos and uncertainty for both the US and the global economy - something the American public is feeling firsthand.  

Those who are "surprised" by public opinion should reflect on what exactly is American public's attitude toward China, and who is "influencing" Americans' perceptions of China. Over the past few years, the so-called "China threat" has almost become the default opening line for politicians when discussing China, and the attitudes of some members of the public have also been affected. "China is taking advantage of the US," "the US must get the trade imbalance fixed," and "pursuing economic containment of China to achieve 'America First'" - this is the outdated logic behind Washington's so-called tariff policies toward China.

China-US economic and trade cooperation has brought enormous economic benefits to both sides, and the US has benefited just as much as China. The US imports a large volume of consumer goods, intermediate goods, and capital goods from China, supporting the development of its manufacturing supply chains and industrial chains, enriching consumer choices, lowering the cost of living, and improving the real purchasing power of the American public, especially for middle- and lower-income groups. When taking into account goods trade, services trade, and the local sales revenue of domestic enterprises operating in each other's countries, the economic gains from China-US trade are roughly balanced. These facts cannot be concealed by lies or slander; in fact, the more China-US economic and trade relations come under strain, the more likely these truths are to resonate within the US. 

Gavin Newsom, governor of California, recently announced plans to sue the US federal government over its abuse of tariff policies, stating, "We're standing up for American families who can't afford to let the chaos continue."

The hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in the two societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels. According to the public opinion survey conducted by the Global Times Institute (GTI) on "mutual perceptions between China and the US" in 2024, around 90 percent of respondents from both China and the US express concern over bilateral relations, with mainstream public opinion in both countries favoring strengthened economic and trade exchanges, people-to-people exchanges, and cooperation on climate change. 

The phenomenal grassroots interactions between Americans and Chinese on social media recently also reflect that, beneath the anti-China clamor stirred up by some Washington politicians, there remains a strong, constructive desire among the people of both nations for peaceful coexistence and cooperative engagement. If the US continues to go its own way, pressing China with tariff blackmail and inciting for China-US "decoupling," the growing opposition from their voters may become a political reality that Washington can no longer ignore.
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Tuesday, 22 November 2011

How Israel turned itself into a high-tech hub?



Tel Aviv



WATCH: How did Israel establish itself as a fertile ground for hi-tech start-up companies

When a grey-haired grandmother clutching a smartphone mounted the stage at Montreal's Start-up Festival this summer, young Israeli entrepreneur Guy Rosen knew he had pocketed a very special award.

His company, Tel Aviv-based Onavo, offers an application that shrinks mobile phone data to help users save money - and appeals to any age. That made Onavo the winner of the Grandmother's Award for best start-up, judged by tech-agnostic ladies in the later stages of life.

Standing in his office in Tel Aviv, Mr Rosen recalls the moment: "They went on stage and said: 'We love Onavo and we understand what it does... it is such an easy app to understand' - we just save money, that's it, period, they loved us."

Guy Rosen is one of Israel's many young, enthusiastic entrepreneurs who, fresh out of the army, decided to set up a tech firm.

Tiny Israel, a country embroiled in conflicts for decades, has managed to transform itself from a stretch of farmland into a high-tech wonder.



Formula for success 

Israel currently has almost 4,000 active technology start-ups - more than any other outside the United States, according to Israel Venture Capital Research Centre.

In 2010 alone the flow of venture capital amounted to $884m (£558m).

The result: high-tech exports from Israel are valued at about $18.4bn a year, making up more than 45% of Israel's exports, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Israel is a world leader in terms of research and development spending as a percentage of the economy; it's top in both the number of start-ups and engineers as a proportion of the population; and it's first in per capita venture capital investment.

Not bad for a country of some eight million people - fewer than, say, Moscow or New York.

Serial entrepreneur Yossi Vardi says there is a whole blend of factors responsible for turning Israel into a start-up miracle. He himself has invested in more than 80 Israeli high-tech firms - among them the first web messaging service ICQ. He sold many of them to technology giants such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and Cisco.

Tel Aviv, Israel For high-tech firms, Israel offers much more than beautiful beaches
 
"If you look at how this country was created, it was really a start-up on the large scale," says Mr Vardi, who has been dubbed the godfather of Israel's high-tech industry.

"A bunch of crazy people came here, to a piece of desert, trying to pursue a dream of 2,000 years."

Over just a few decades, Israeli start-ups have developed groundbreaking technologies in areas such as computing, clean technology and life sciences, to name a few.

"Look at... agriculture, at the defence industry, at the universities here," says Mr Vardi.

"The high-tech is a popular story right now, the internet gave it a lot of visibility, but the story of the culture and the spirit is part and parcel from the kinds of the cultural genes of [the Israeli] people."

“Start Quote

These entrepreneurs are thinking big, they are trying to build global businesses, trying to create something huge”
Saul Klein Index Ventures
 
Government's role
 
But there is more to this start-up scene than certain aspects of Israeli culture - the lack of hierarchy, a constant drive for individualism, regular risk taking. The government played a key role in the rapid rise of this start-up nation.
"The government jump-started the industry," explains Koby Simona from Israel Venture Capital Research Centre.

One was the creation of the Yozma programme in 1993, a so-called fund of funds set up to invest in local venture capital funds that would channel money into new technology firms.

Soon numerous start-ups dotted Israel's industry landscape, and venture capital funds mushroomed all over the country - a blooming industry that quickly attracted foreign investors.

Israel's defence forces are also boosting entrepreneurship.

Military service is compulsory, but besides regular military units, the army also has designated hi-tech units, where computer-savvy conscripts are constantly prompted to come up with innovative ideas in disciplines such as computer security, cryptography, communications and electronic warfare.

"The military enables young people in certain units to get technological skills, to run large technological projects at a very young age, where they need to improvise in order to get fast solutions," says Prof Niron Hashai from the Jerusalem School of Business Administration at Hebrew University.

Once back in the real world, many military alumni use the newly acquired experience to launch their own technology start-ups.

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv has several high-tech hubs: Herzliya is popular with international tech giants; Rothschild Boulevard is home to many young start-ups
 
And then, of course, there is Jewish immigration - a key driver of the country's economy since its foundation.

The biggest and the most important wave of immigration came from Russia, says Prof Hashai.

"Many were very smart people with technological background," he says.

"Maybe they were not so much entrepreneurs, but when these guys meet Israeli-born guys, many interesting things happen."

Lost decade 

The first start-up boom of the 1990s lasted just a few years though. When the global dot.com bubble burst in 2000, the fortunes of Israeli venture capital started to decline.

Today, industry insiders speak of a lost decade.

Samuel Keret, Waze Waze, a web community-based GPS app, has been extremely popular in the US and Israel ->
 
Still, venture capital continued to flow into the country, and now investors are reaping the rewards.

During the past two or three years, all around Tel Aviv a new generation of start-ups has begun to emerge, ready to prove that Israel's high-tech industry is back in business.

Take Takadu, a company founded in 2008 that offers smart water infrastructure monitoring, remotely detecting leaking pipes in real-time all around the world. One of Takadu's customers is Britain's Thames Water. When a water pipe in London bursts, chances are that it will first be spotted by a computer in Tel Aviv.

Another example is Boxee. The five Israeli founders decided from the get-go to headquarter the company in Delaware in the United States, but locate the company's research and development office in Tel Aviv.

Boxee tries to provide the missing link between content on television and the internet. Once you connect Boxee's small shiny black cube to your TV, it will also link wirelessly to your home network. With a remote control, you can then browse and watch all online content on the big screen - not just your movies, YouTube videos or web TV, but also videos uploaded by your friends to Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Shortly after its launch in 2008, Boxee's little box could be found in more than two million homes across the US, Canada and the European Union, says Tom Sella, one of the firm's co-founders.

Then there is Waze - a firm that has developed a free app that turns your smartphone into a web community-based GPS device.

It will guide you through a city's road labyrinth, but combines the map with updates from other users - or "wazers" - from traffic jams to construction works to accidents.

Silicon Boulevard 

The bright Middle Eastern sun may be setting slowly, painting Tel Aviv's roofs in warm shades of red, but one part of the city will continue to buzz for many hours.


Tel Aviv-based start-up Onavo offers a free smartphone application that shrinks a phone data to help users save money - and appeals to any age

This is Rothschild Boulevard - also known as the Silicon Boulevard, home to the offices of many hot start-ups such as Face.com and Soluto.

Some of them do not mind following in the footsteps of ICQ, 5Min, LabPixies and others, who have been scooped up by international tech giants.

Take the Gifts Project, for instance, set up by a handful of young enthusiastic employees sharing a tiny office with a balcony that looks out to Rothschild Boulevard and sports a huge logo of a pink pig. They've just been bought by the world's biggest online store eBay.

Others want to strike out on their own. One of them is Soluto, a firm that aims to make computers more user-friendly and crowdsources technical support that helps computer users anywhere in the world, for free.

Whatever their strategy, it seems that they are here to make an impact.

"These entrepreneurs are thinking big, they're using the latest web technologies, they are trying to build global businesses - they're not satisfied by building something small, they're really trying to create something huge," says Saul Klein, a Tel Aviv-based investor working for British venture capital fund Index Ventures.

"I think the new Israeli technology scene is almost rebelling against the last 10 years, where Israel for many years has underdelivered.

"This is Rothschild Boulevard - and I believe this is the place to watch."

Sony and other companies, Israel Many foreign companies set up their research and development hubs in and around Tel Aviv

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