Huawei's urges faster AI development | Satellite carries Arctic-Antarctica call

Your morning brief on Chinese technology.

Bottom Line Up Front

A U.S. proposal to slow frontier AI drew a counterargument from Huawei rotating chairman Xu Zhijun, who said Chinese model makers must speed up until they can feel the risks of AI development, in a transcript Huawei published Monday. A domestically built satellite system carried a video call between the Arctic and Antarctica with under one second of delay in a first test during the Mid-Autumn holiday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. A 3D atlas of rice gene activity across the plant's full life cycle was published in the journal Cell by Yazhouwan National Laboratory and 12 partner research institutions, Xinhua reports.

Huawei rotating chairman Xu Zhijun said Chinese AI model makers must speed up until they can feel the risks of AI development, in a transcript of a Sept. 17 media session that Huawei published Monday. A coordinated slowdown would cover only the developers that join it, and Xu's answer tells Chinese model makers to move faster. He said China's mostly open source models, free for anyone to download, show their progress openly. U.S. providers with more computing power may alone know how complex their models are, he said. IT Home traces the debate to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's Sept. 12 essay urging a coordinated slowdown of frontier AI, which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman endorsed.

Read at IT Home ↗

Chinese satellite system links Arctic and Antarctica by video call in first polar test

A domestically built satellite system carried a video call between the Arctic and Antarctica with under one second of delay in a first test during the Mid-Autumn holiday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Ground networks do not reach the poles, so ships and stations there depend on satellite links. CCTV says this one uses Chinese equipment and keeps data in the country. IT Home ties the test to the GW constellation, which it calls China's first giant satellite internet program, run by state-owned operator China SatNet. Peak upload and download speeds reached about 30 megabits per second, and the equipment can also serve emergency rescue and maritime links.

Read at IT Home ↗

Chinese scientists map gene activity in rice cells across the plant's full life cycle

China's Yazhouwan National Laboratory and 12 partner research institutions built a 3D atlas of which genes are active in which rice cells across the plant's life, published in the journal Cell, Xinhua reports. Knowing which genes switch on in which tissue at each stage lets breeders aim at traits such as grain starch or protein in the cells that make them. The atlas draws on more than 850,000 cell nucleus profiles across 61 growth stages, gathered with tools from genomics firm BGI that read each cell's gene activity along with its position.

Read at China Military Onlinestate media ↗

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

State Grid builds wind and solar microgrid to replace diesel power on Fujian fishing island

State Grid, China's state-owned grid operator, is building a microgrid of wind turbines, solar panels and energy storage for Taishan Village, a Fujian island community that runs on diesel generators. Ice plants and cold stores need more power than the generators can supply, so the microgrid, a small self-contained power network, would let fishermen freeze their catch on the island. It should produce 1.2 million kilowatt-hours a year, according to Ye Jing, a deputy general manager at State Grid's local branch in Fuding. CCTV's report says that output is three times the island's current generation. Villagers are discussing a joint investment in a 300-ton cold store with a large ice plant.

Read at Global Timesstate media ↗