Providing confidential information to China - Russia prosecuted a major Arctic researcher

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

中国に機密情報提供か、有力な北極研究者を起訴　ロシア

2020.06.18 Thu posted at 15:15 JST

モスクワ（ＣＮＮ） 中国に機密情報を渡したとして、ロシア当局が国内の有力な北極研究者を起訴していたことが１８日までに分かった。ロシアでは、外国と接触した疑いで研究者が治安機関に摘発される例が相次いでいる。

起訴されたのは、サンクトペテルブルクにある北極科学アカデミーの会長、バレリー・ミトコ被告（７８）。弁護人のイワン・パブロフ氏によると、被告は２０１８年前半、客員教授を務めていた中国の大連海事大学で、国家機密を含む文書を中国情報機関に渡した罪に問われている。

問題の文書は水中音響学を扱ったものだという。これは水中の音の状態を調べる学問で、水中航法や通信、潜水艦の監視などに応用されることが多い。

ミトコ被告は無罪を主張している。弁護人は被告が講義に使う目的でロシアから中国に持ち込んだ情報について、すべて一般に入手できる内容だと主張。一方、ロシア連邦保安局の報道官はコメントを控えた。

ミトコ被告は国家反逆罪で起訴され、今年２月から自宅軟禁下に置かれているが、国家安全保障絡みの案件を担当するパブロフ氏のチームが世論喚起を目的に弁護を引き受けたことで、今になって詳細が明るみに出た。

中ロ関係の専門家からは、北極研究者がスパイ罪で摘発されたことについて、北極で両国の競争が始まりつつあることを浮き彫りにしたとの見方が出ている。

ロシアでは近年、国家機密を外国政府に渡したとして、研究者が起訴や有罪判決を受ける例が相次ぐ。国営タス通信によると、２０１８年には、極超音速兵器についての情報を含む報告書をベルギーの組織と共有したとして、航空宇宙分野の技術者が起訴された。

Translation

Moscow (CNN) By the 18th, it was disclosed that Russian authorities had prosecuted a leading Arctic researcher in the country for passing confidential information to China. In Russia, one after another, researchers were being investigated by security agencies for alleged contact with foreign countries.

Being indicted was Valerie Mitco, 78, president of the Arctic Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. According to defense attorney Ivan Pavlov, the defendant was accused of handing a document containing state secrets to a Chinese intelligence agency at the Dalian Maritime University in China where he was a visiting professor in the first half of 2018.

It was said that the document in question dealt with underwater acoustics. This was an academic study of underwater sound conditions, often applicable to underwater navigation, communications, and submarine surveillance.

Mitco the accused claimed innocence. The defense lawyer purported that the information the defendant brought into China from Russia was for the purpose of giving lectures which was all publicly available. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Security Service declined to comment.

While Mitco had been charged with national treason and put under house arrest since February this year, Pavlov's team in charge of matters related to national security had taken on defense, with the purpose of raising public opinion and now the details came to light.

Among Sino-Russian experts, there was a view point saying that the charging of Arctic researchers on espionage highlighted the beginning of competitions between the two countries in the Arctic.

In Russia, researchers had recently been prosecuted and convicted of passing state secrets to foreign governments. According to the state-run Tass news agency, in 2018, aerospace a technician was charged with sharing a report containing information on hypersonic weapons with a Belgian organization.

              It is natural that every country has it own spying organization. While I do not think China has a role to play in the Arctic, yet China’s interested in the north pole is obvious. According to a Yahoo news reported on 12^th October 2019 which was covered by my blog on 12 November 2019, China had expressed its interest in the usage of the north pole. The article was entitled “Melting Ice Redraws the World Map and Starts a Power Struggle”. According to this article the melting ice is an opening to access new energy resources faster than predicted, thus prompting a struggle among the great powers in the Arctic. The political and economic map of the world could be changed because of this new Arctic passage.

Antibodies in bovine blood: new corona drug aiming at clinical trials - US biotechnology company

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

ウシの血液中の抗体で新型コロナ薬、臨床試験目指す　米バイオ企業

2020.06.17 Wed posted at 16:59 JST

 （ＣＮＮ） 米サウスダコタ州のバイオ企業が、遺伝子操作したウシに新型コロナウイルスのヒト抗体を作らせて治療や予防に使う薬の開発に取り組んでいる。来月には臨床試験に入ることを目指して手続きを進めているという。

 ＳＡＢバイオセラピューティクスのエディー・サリバン最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）によると、ウシの血液中にできた抗体は、実験室で新型ウイルスを無力化する作用が確認された。臨床試験の規模や期間は公表されていない。

 同社はウシの皮膚から採取した細胞の遺伝子を操作して人間の抗体を作らせることに成功し、これまでに多数のクローンウシを作製。そのうち一部に新型ウイルスを注入してできた抗体から、「ＳＡＢ１８５」と呼ばれる薬をすでに数百回分生産したという。

 感染症から回復した患者の抗体を治療に使う「血清療法」は古くから知られているが、同社によるとウシを使うことには複数の利点がある。まず、ウシの免疫力はもともと人間に比べて強いうえ、ウイルスの注入を繰り返すことでさらに強化することができる。

 またウシの体は大きいため、提供できる血液も多い。さらに、人間が血液成分を提供できるのは月１回にとどまるのに対し、ウシは月に３回まで可能だ。

 最近の研究で、同社がウシの血液から作った薬に含まれる抗体は、人間の患者から検出されるレベルの４倍に上るとの結果も報告されたという。

 遺伝子操作した動物に新型ウイルスのヒト抗体を作らせる研究では、米バイオ医薬品大手リジェネロン・ファーマシューティカルズが先週、マウスを使って開発した薬の臨床試験を始めたと発表。今夏中に供給を開始できる可能性があるとの見通しを示していた。

Translation

(CNN) A biotechnology company in South Dakota was working on the development of a drug for treating and preventing humans of the new coronavirus by using genetically engineered cattle to make human antibodies. It was said that the procedure was proceeding with the aim of entering a clinical trial next month.

 According to Eddie Sullivan, CEO of SAB BioTherapeutics, the antibodies in the blood of cattle had shown to inactivate the new virus in the laboratory. The size and duration of clinical trials had not been disclosed.

 The company succeeded in producing human antibodies by manipulating genes in cells collected from bovine skin, and had produced many cloned bovines so far. It was said that a drug called "SAB185" had already produced several hundred doses from the antibody produced by injecting a new virus into some of them.

 "Serotherapy," which used antibodies from patients who had recovered from an infectious disease for treatment, had long been known. Yet according to the company, the use of cattle had several advantages. First, the immunity of cattle was stronger than that of humans, and it could be further strengthened by repeatedly injecting the virus.

 Also, because the bovine body was large, it could provide more blood. Furthermore, humans could only provide blood components once a month, while cattle could provide up to three times a month.

 A recent study also reported that the antibody contained in the drug that the company made from bovine blood was four times as high as the level detected in human patients.

In a study of making humanized antibodies to new viruses in genetically engineered animals, the US bio-pharmaceutical giant Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced last week that it had begun clinical trials of a drug developed by using mice. It said it would be possible to start supplying this summer.

              So, this is another source of vaccine that can deal with the new virus. In the pharmaceutical world the competition to be the first to produce the vaccine is very fierce. I think the first may not be the best.

Called for wearing a mask during the "Spanish flu" 100 years ago too

Recently NHK News On-line reported the following:

100年前の「スペインかぜ」でもマスク着用など呼びかけ

2020年6月15日 6時04分

新型コロナウイルスの感染が続くなか、防衛研究所がおよそ100年前に流行したスペインかぜについての旧日本軍が保存していた資料を調べたところ、いまと同様にマスクの着用を呼びかける文書などが見つかり、公開されることになりました。

今から100年余り前、世界的に流行した「スペインかぜ」は、日本国内でも1918年の秋から1921年の春までに流行が3回あり、およそ39万人が死亡したと当時の内務省が記録しています。

新型コロナウイルス対策に役立てられないか、防衛研究所が旧日本軍が保存していた資料を調べたところ、初代の軽巡洋艦「矢矧（やはぎ）」の日誌で記録が見つかりました。矢矧が、シンガポールを出港した直後に艦内でまん延し、乗員の1割以上にあたる48人が死亡したことや、次の寄港地で艦内の消毒を徹底したことなどが記されています。

また、内務省衛生局が国民に感染予防を呼びかけた別の資料では、映画館など人が集まるところに立ち入らないことや、電車ではマスクを着用すること、それに人前でせきをする際は、ハンカチで口を覆うことなど、いまと同様の対応を求めていました。

資料を調べた防衛研究所の菅野直樹史料室長は「病気を広めないという意味で、100年前の常識と今の常識がそんなに変わっていないと感じた」と話しています。

こうした資料は、16日から東京・市ヶ谷にある防衛研究所で閲覧を予約した人を対象に公開されます。

Translation

While the new coronavirus infection continued, the Institute of Defense examined the data kept by the former Japanese army about the Spanish flu that was epidemic about 100 years ago, and documents such as calling for the wearing of masks similar to the current situation were found, and the doucment be made available to the public.

About 100 years ago, the world-famous "Spanish flu" had three outbreaks in Japan from the fall of 1918 to the spring of 1921, killing about 390,000 people, the Ministry of Home Affairs at that time had made a record on that.

In order to see if masks could be used as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus, the Defense Research Institute examined the materials stored by the former Japanese Army, a record was found in the diary of the first-generation light cruiser "Yahagi". Immediately after leaving the port of Singapore, in Yahagi the new coronavirus spread throughout the ship, killing 48 people, more than 10% of the crew, and a thorough disinfection of the ship was done at the next port of call.

Also, according to another document of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Japan which called on the public to prevent infections, it asked for staying out of areas with people gathering such as movie theaters etc.,  to wear masks on trains, and to use a handkerchief to cover the mouth when coughing in front of people, all were the same response as those now being asked for.

Naoki Sugano, director of the Defense Research Institute who investigated the materials said, “I felt that the common sense of 100 years ago and the common sense of today are not that different in the sense that not to spread the disease”.

These materials would be open to the public from the 16th for those who had booked for viewing at the Defense Research Institute in Ichigaya of Tokyo.

              So, Japan was using common sense to deal with the “Spanish flu” one hundred years ago.

中國的財富產品市場遭受3.5萬億美元損失

Yahoo Finance on 19 June 2020 reported the following:

China’s $3.5 Trillion Wealth Product Market Suffers Losses

Bloomberg Bloomberg News,Bloomberg 8 hours ago

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 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese investors and savers just experienced something that’s never happened before: losses on some of their 25 trillion yuan ($3.5 trillion) state bank issued high-yield wealth management products.

 Those came as the worst Chinese bond rout in a decade colluded with a push by regulators to transform the nation’s wealth market. They are doing away with products that offer guaranteed returns to tamp down on a key source of leverage and risk at the nation’s lenders.

 As traders cut bets on the potential for more stimulus from the central bank, government bond yields soared this month, driving the net asset value on more than 280 low-risk, bond-linked WMPs, or about 3% of the market, below the initial 1 yuan value, according to Chinawealth.com, an official site tracking the industry.

 That left many retail investors with accounts flashing red for the first time, and some flocked online to demand explanations and to be made whole. On one consumer-protection website, hundreds of angry investors blasted their banks for the unexpected losses and opaque marketing. Previously, in the guaranteed return era, the banks would have absorbed any losses.

 Tena Yu, who’s been enjoying returns of more than 4% a year on her 1 million yuan in savings over the past five years, was taken aback when she saw losses on several her accounts. “I’ve never seen my WMP investments fall below the initial capital I put in,” said Yu, a manager at a commercial real estate firm in Shanghai. Among her investments, the worst performer is a China Merchants Bank Co. product, which has lost 3% so far.

 Yu’s consternation comes after a multi-year campaign by regulators to instill more discipline in its wealth market as economic growth slows and the nation opens its financial market to foreign competition. Banks have been forced to ditch a fixed-return model and move toward offering savings products that matches up more with the international mutual fund industry, where investors bear the risk of fluctuating markets and can track the net-asset value of their funds on a daily basis.

 While the potential losses in most cases is less than 1%, they could undermine depositors’ confidence in the already fragile banking system. It may also curb inflows into wealth products -- the biggest source of financing for risky borrower that has been targeted by regulators in recent years for its poor disclosure, maturity mismatch and a worsening moral hazard.

 “As WMPs shift to NAV-based models, the likelihood of investors seeing more frequent and bigger losses is increasing,” said Jin Qi, president of the Bank of Communication Co.’s wealth management unit. “But this is a necessary part of China’s market transformation and investors must learn to take their fair share of risks.”

 WMPs that have their NAVs disclosed reached 12.5 trillion yuan in first quarter, more than half of the total, according to Chengdu-based research firm PY Standard. That compared with 15% before the rules kicked in. Regulators will require 100% compliance on new issuance when a grace period expires at the end of this year.

 They are most popular with retail investors, who hold nearly 90% of outstanding WMPs. While policy makers have been trying to crack down since 2017, demand has held steady as investors sought out their relative safety amid shaky stock markets and a slowing economy. Sinking interest rates have also created arbitrage for some companies, which are issuing debt at lower rates and using the proceeds to snap up WMPs.

 Conditioning Chinese investors to face losses could help better pave the way for the likes of Blackrock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., who are now moving in to capture a slice of some $30 trillion in Chinese wealth assets. Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said on Thursday the regulator will allow establishment of more foreign-controlled wealth managers and encourage local players to invest more in equities.

The recent dislocation in the market has so far had limited impact, with the pace of WMP issuance holding steady. During the first ten days of June, Bocom’s wealth management unit sold about 10 billion yuan in new products, putting it on pace to reach the 30 billion to 40 billion yuan of products sold in the previous months, according to Jin.

 China Merchants Bank, one of the largest WMP issuers, also said its new issuance has not been impacted by the recent price decline in some NAV products. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. and China Guangfa Bank Co. all declined to comment.

 For Yu, in a world clouded in uncertainty and volatile stocks markets, the best defense now is to stay put.

 “I plan to hold my investment,” she said. “There’s just no better option right now.”

Translation

（彭博社）-中國投資者和儲戶剛剛經歷了從未有過的事情：國有銀行發行的25萬億元人民幣（合3.5萬億美元）的高收益財富管理產品(WMP)中有一部分受到損失。

這些事件是十年來最糟糕的中國國債狂潮同時遇到監管機構也試圖推動國家財富市場轉型。監管機構正在淘汰提供可保證回報的產品，以壓制主要槓桿來源和國貸方的風險。

 由於交易員減少了對央行可能採取的更多刺激措施的押注，本月政府債券收益率飆升。根據追踪該行業的官方網站Chinawealth.com稱，這樣把約佔淨資產值市場的3％的280多種低風險，及與債券掛鉤財富管理產品 (WMP) 的淨資產值推回其最初的1元人民幣價值的低位。

 這使許多散戶投資者的帳戶第一次閃出負數，一些人湧向互聯網，要求解釋並獲得還原數目。在一個保護消費者的網站上，數百名憤怒的投資者抨擊銀行引起意外損失和不透明營銷。以前，在保證回報時代，銀行將承擔任何損失。

在過去五年中，宇泰納 (Tena Yu) 的100萬元人民幣儲蓄每年都給她帶來超過4％的回報, 當她看到自己的多個帳戶都出現了虧損, 感到震驚。她是上海一家商業房地產公司的經理, 她說 “我從未見過我的WMP投資低於我投入的初始資金” 。在她的投資中，表現最差的是招商銀行（China Merchants Bank Co.）的產品，該產品迄今為止已下跌3％。

 隨著經濟增長放緩，監管機構進行了為期數年的推廣運動向財富市場注入更多管理紀律，以及國家將對外國競爭對手開放其金融市場, 這都令宇泰納感到震驚。銀行被迫放提供棄固定收益的模式，轉向提供與國際共同基金(international mutual fund)行業更吻合的儲蓄產品，在該儲蓄產品中，投資者承擔著波動市場的風險，並且可以每天追踪其基金的資產淨值。

 儘管在大多數情況下潛在損失不到1％，但它們可能破壞儲蓄戶對已經脆弱的銀行體系的信心。它還可能窒礙流入財富產品的資金。財富產品是高風險借款人的最大融資來源，但因近年來由於披露不妥善，兌現期限不配合，以及道德風險日益惡化而成為監管機構的目標。

 交通銀行財富管理部門總裁金琦表示：“隨著理財產品轉向基於資產淨值的模式(NAV-based models)，投資者看到更頻密和更大損失的可能性正在增加。” “但這是中國市場轉型的必要組成部分，投資者必須學會他們需要分擔風險。”

 根據在成都的研究公司PY Standard的數據，在第一季度理財產品中有披露其淨資產值的達到12.5萬億元，佔總數的一半以上。相比之下，實施該規則之前只有15％。當寬限期在今年年底到期時，監管機構將要求100％遵守新發行規定。

 它們受到散戶投資者的歡迎，散戶投資者持有近90％的優秀WMP。自2017年以來，決策者一直在努力去鎮壓它，但由於股市動盪和經濟放緩，投資者需尋求相對的安全，固需求一直保持穩定。利率下調也為一些公司制造了套利機會，這些公司正在以較低的利率發債，並利用收益來搶購理財產品。

 去令中國投資者適應面對虧損是有助黑石集團 (Blackrock Inc.)和先鋒集團(Vanguard Group Inc.)等公司的進軍更好地舖平道路，後者正在進軍中國，以獲取約30萬億美元的中國財富資產的一部分。中國銀行業和保險監督管理委員會主席郭樹清週四表示，監管機構將允許設立更多外資控制的財富管理公司，並鼓勵本地公司投資更多在股票。

 迄今為止，最近的市場失衡的影響是有限，因WMP發行速度保持穩定。據郭樹清說，在6月的前十天裡，交通銀行的財富管理部門售出了約100億元人民幣的新產品，使其回到前幾個月內售出300億至400億元人民幣的產品的售出步伐。

 最大的WMP發行商之一的招商銀行也表示，其新發行並未受到近期某些資產淨值價格(NAV)下跌的影響。中國工商銀行股份有限公司，上海浦東發展銀行股份有限公司和中國廣發銀行股份有限公司均拒絕置評。

 對於宇泰納來說，在一個充滿不確定性和動蕩的股票市場世界中，目前最好的防禦方法是保持現狀。

 她說：“我計劃繼續持有我的投資。” “目前沒有更好的選擇。”

              So, it seems that China is prepared to open up its financial market. Probably the financial institutions in the US would be interested in entering into the money market brave new world in China. The present uncertain WMP market situation inside China is in line with a news report made by Yahoo Finance on 18 January 2020 entitled “U.S. Firms Could Win Lucrative Job of Cleaning Up China's Bad Debt”. It was covered in my blog on 10^th February 2020 and translated into Chinese.

Criticism of the British HSBC from all sides - it supports the introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law

Recently CNN Business reported the following:

英ＨＳＢＣに各方面から批判、香港国家安全法の導入支持で

2020.06.11 Thu posted at 19:30 JST

香港（ＣＮＮ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ） 英金融大手ＨＳＢＣが中国政府による香港への国家安全法導入に支持を表明したことに対し、各方面から批判が集中している。欧米の当局者や投資家に加え、中国紙からも「依然態度が曖昧」との批判を受けた。

ポンペオ米国務長官は９日、ＨＳＢＣが同法を支持したことを批判。企業が「叩頭（こうとう：膝をつき、額を地面に付けるおじぎ。卑屈な態度を取ることも意味する）」したところで、中国政府内で尊敬を得る結果にはならないと指摘した。国家安全法をめぐっては、１９９７年の中国返還時に約束された香港の自治を後退させることへの懸念が出ている。

ＨＳＢＣは先週、中国のソーシャルメディアに、アジア太平洋部門の王冬勝（ピーター・ウォン）最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）が同法を支持する文書に署名する写真を投稿した。これに対し英議会でも、下院外交委員会のトム・トゥゲンハート委員長らからＨＳＢＣの判断を疑問視する声が出ている。

ＨＳＢＣの株主、アビバ・インベスターズのデービッド・カミング株式最高投資責任者（ＣＩＯ）も１０日の声明で、ＨＳＢＣや同じ英系銀行のスタンダードチャータードが同法の実際の運用方法を知らないまま支持を決めたことに「不安を感じる」と述べた。

一方、中国国営の環球時報は９日、王氏の写真を公開した後もＨＳＢＣが「香港の国家安全法に対して依然曖昧な態度」を抱いていると批判。さらにＨＳＢＣが中国通信機器大手、華為技術（ファーウェイ）の孟晩舟（モンワンチョウ）最高財務責任者（ＣＦＯ）に対する米国の訴追を助けたとする国内の批判にも言及した。

ＨＳＢＣは１５０年以上前、アジアと欧州の間の貿易金融を扱う目的で、香港上海銀行として創設された。現在でもこの地域で大規模な事業展開を行っている。

Translation

Hong Kong (CNN Business) - Criticism from all sides had been converging on the British financial giant HSBC for the fact that it had announced support for the introduction of national security law by the Chinese government into Hong Kong. In addition to Western officials and investors, Chinese newspapers also criticized HSBC as " is still having an ambiguous attitude."

On the 9th US Secretary of State Pompeo accused HSBC of supporting the law. He pointed out that when a company " Kouto (Kouto: A bow with knees and the forehead on the ground). It also meant taking a subservient manner)”, it would not result in gaining respects within the Chinese government. About the National Security Law, there was concern that the autonomy of Hong Kong as promised when it was returned to China in 1997 would be eroded.

Inside China, HSBC last week posted on social media a photo that its Chief executive officer (CEO) of Asia-Pacific, Peter Wong, signed a document that supported the law. In response to that, in the British Parliament, voices from the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat and others questioned HSBC's decision.

A shareholder of HSBC, David Cumming as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Aviva Investors  also in a statement yesterday said that he had  "uncomfortable feeling" about the decision by HSBC and the other British system bank, the Standard Chartered to show support for the same law without knowing how it actually would work.

On the other hand, after releasing a photo of Mr. Wong, China's state-owned Global Times on the 9th accused HSBC of still having an ambiguous attitude toward the national security law in Hong Kong. It also mentioned about the criticism in China that HSBC had helped the US prosecution against Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei which was a major communication equipment manufacturer in China

HSBC was founded more than 150 years ago as the Hong Kong-Shanghai Bank to handle trading finance between Asia and Europe. Even now, large-scale business developments were in progress in this region.

              About the introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law, mainland China has been trying hard to show that there is a popular support in Hong Kong for the Law. One local left-wing organization has conducted a signature campaign and claims that almost 3 million Hongkong people have signed up to support it. Separately, probably under pressure, 5 out of the 8 Hong Kong universities have also declared their support. HSBC is a household name in Hong Kong and was registered in Hong Kong before 1997 (moved its registration to UK after 1997). HSBC is a global financial institution and in recent years it moves its business more and more towards the Asia markets in China and Hong Kong, and also new markets in South-east Asia. It is understandable that China wants to force foreign banks to make a political stance on the new security law. All bankers know that to maintain a good business relation with the local authority is important for their banks in every respect.

Alibaba in China increases 5,000 employees in its Cloud department

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

中国アリババ、クラウド部門で５０００人増員

2020.06.10 Wed posted at 18:04 JST

ロンドン（ＣＮＮ Ｂｕｓｉｎｅｓｓ） 中国のネット通販大手アリババは、年末までにクラウドコンピューティング部門で５０００人の人員を増強すると明らかにした。新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大を受けて、ストリーミングやビデオ通話、データストレージに対する需要が拡大していることを受けた措置。

アリババによれば、人員を増強する分野はネットワークやデータベース、サービス、人工知能など。調査会社ガートナーによれば、アリババはクラウド関連事業でアジア地域で首位、世界全体で見ても３位に位置するという。

アリババは４月、より多くのデータセンター構築に向けて向こう３年間で２０００億元を支出すると明らかにしていた。アリババの２０２０年度のクラウド部門の売上高は前年度比６２％増加していた。

新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大によって失業率が上昇している。しかし、一部企業は経済的な打撃のなかでも雇用を増やしている。消費者の行動の変化によって、さまざまな業界が人材の確保を迫られている。

食料品店や小売業界は雇用を増やしている。防衛部門や製薬会社にも空席がある。ＩＴ業界でも雇用を増やす会社がある。

新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大によって、仕事や学業を自宅で行うことが増えており、クラウドサービスに対する需要は世界中で増加している。

Translation

London (CNN Business) Alibaba, a Chinese online mail order company, announced that it would increase its workforce by 5,000 in the Cloud computing sector by the end of the year. It was a measure in response to growing demand for streaming, video calls, and data storage due to the spread of the new coronavirus.

According to Alibaba, the areas that would have increasing personnel were networks, databases, services and artificial intelligence. According to a research firm Gartner, Alibaba was the Cloud leader in Asia and third in the world.

Alibaba announced in April that it would spend 200 billion yuan over the next three years to build more data centers. Alibaba's FY2020 Cloud sales went up by 62% year-on-year.

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus the unemployment rate was rising. However, some companies were increasing employment amid economic downturn. Due to changes in consumer behavior, various industries were being forced to secure human resources.

Grocery stores and retailers were increasing employment. There were vacant positions in the defense sector and pharmaceutical companies. There were companies in the IT industry that increased employment.

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, people doing office work and schooling at home were increasing, and the demand for Cloud services was increasing worldwide.

              So, IT service is expanding globally despite the spread of the new virus. Alibaba from China is expanding its business and challenging the leadership of the American IT companies.

來自中國的百萬英里電池可以為您的電動汽車供電

Yahoo Finance on 9 June 2020 reported the following:

A Million-Mile Battery From China Could Power Your Electric Car

Bloomberg Bloomberg News,Bloomberg Mon, Jun 8 5:00 AM GMT+8

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(Bloomberg) -- The Chinese behemoth that makes electric-car batteries for Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles -- an industry landmark and a potential boon for automakers trying to sway drivers to their EV models.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is ready to produce a battery that lasts 16 years and 2 million kilometers (1.24 million miles), Chairman Zeng Yuqun said in an interview at company headquarters in Ningde, southeastern China. Warranties on batteries currently used in electric cars cover about 150,000 miles or eight years, according to BloombergNEF.

Extending that lifespan is viewed as a key advance because the pack could be reused in a second vehicle. That would lower the expense of owning an electric vehicle, a positive for an industry that’s seeking to recover sales momentum lost to the coronavirus outbreak and the slumping oil prices that made gas guzzlers more competitive.

“If someone places an order, we are ready to produce,” said Zeng, 52, without disclosing if contracts for the long-distance product have been signed. It would cost about 10% more than the batteries now inside EVs, said Zeng, whose company is the world’s largest maker of the batteries.

Concerns about batteries losing strength and having to be replaced after a few years is one factor holding back consumer adoption of EVs. Tesla last year flagged it expected to bring into production a battery capable of a million miles of operation, and General Motors Co. last month said it is nearing the milestone. That distance is equivalent to circling the planet 50 times.

Anticipating a rapid return to growth for the EV industry, CATL is plowing research-and-development dollars into advances in battery technology. While the coronavirus outbreak will drag down sales throughout this year, EV demand will pick up in early 2021, said Zeng, who founded CATL a decade ago.

Car buyers holding back during the pandemic is creating pent-up demand that will be unleashed starting next year, led by premium models, he said. CATL’s customers include BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp.

Zeng’s comments strengthen views that electric vehicles are set to weather the economic slowdown caused by the outbreak better than gas guzzlers. Battery-powered cars will swell to 8.1% of all sales next year in China, which accounts for the largest share of global EV sales, and to 5% in Europe, BNEF predicts.

“The pandemic may have a lasting effect throughout 2020, but won’t be a major factor next year,” Zeng said. “We have great confidence for the long run.”

CATL struck a two-year contract in February to supply batteries to Tesla, a major boon for the Chinese company as the U.S. electric-car leader has thus far mainly worked with Japan’s Panasonic Corp. and South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. The deal followed months of negotiations, with Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk traveling to Shanghai to meet with Zeng.

The CATL batteries are set to go into Model 3 sedans produced at Tesla’s massive new factory near Shanghai, which started deliveries around the beginning of this year. Batteries are the costliest part of an EV, meaning suppliers of those components have a chance to reap a lion’s share of the industry’s profits.

Zeng said he often shares insights with Musk, with the two exchanging text messages about developments in technology and business. CATL is strengthening its relationship with Tesla, with matters such as cobalt-free batteries on their agenda, Zeng said.

“We’re getting along well and he’s a fun guy,” Zeng said of Musk. “He’s talking about cost all day long, and I’m making sure we have the solutions.”

Zeng said Musk also requested his help in obtaining ventilators for coronavirus patients. The U.S. billionaire delivered more than 1,000 of the breathing machines from China to officials in Los Angeles in March.

Shares of CATL have advanced about six-fold in Shenzhen since its initial public offering in 2018, giving the company a market value of about $47 billion. Tesla, by far the most valuable EV maker, has a market capitalization of about $160 billion.

A “trigger point” for electric cars will occur once they overtake gasoline-powered vehicles around 2030-2035, Zeng said. That view is more ambitious than that of researchers such as BNEF, which expects the shift to take place a few years later.

CATL, which is adding a production facility in Germany, is set to make more than 70% of batteries required by BMW, an early customer, Zeng said. CATL also works with Volkswagen’s Audi unit and is cooperating with Porsche, he said.

Zeng didn’t rule out building a plant in the U.S., though he said the company has no specific plans for now.

“Our team has made achievements in competing with our global rivals in overseas markets,” Zeng said.

Translation

來自中國的百萬英里電池可以為您的電動汽車供電

 (彭博）-為特斯拉公司 (Tesla Inc.) 和大眾汽車公司 (Volkswagen AG) 製造電動汽車電池的龐大中國公司開發了可行駛超過一百萬英里的動力電池組 - 這是行業的里程碑，也是汽車製造商試圖將駕駛者引領向駕駛電動汽車模式的潛在福音。

宁德时代新能源科技股份有限公司(CATL)董事長曾玉群在位於中國東南部寧德的公司總部接受採訪時說，他們準備生產可持續16年，200萬公里（124萬英里）的電池。據彭博新能源金融 (BloombergNEF)(BNEF) ，目前電動汽車電池的保修期約為150,000英里或8年。

延長使用壽命被視為關鍵進展，因為該電力裝置可以在另一輛車中重複使用。這將降低擁有電動汽車的費用，這對尋求恢復因冠狀病毒爆發和油價暴跌而失去的銷售勢頭的行業來說是有利的，亦抵消油價暴跌而增加耗油大戶的競爭力。

52歲的曾玉群說： “如果有人下訂單，我們就會準備好進行生產。” 他並未透露是否已簽署遠期產品合同。 曾說，這將比目前電動汽車中的電池貴10％左右。他的公司是全球最大的電池製造商。

阻礙消費者採用電動汽車的因素之一是擔憂電池強度下降以及幾年後必須更換電池。特斯拉去年曾表示，預計將生產能夠運行一百萬英里的電池，而通用汽車公司上個月表示，它已接近新里程碑。他們的距離等於繞轉地球50个圈。

因CATL期望電動汽車行業迅速恢復增長，故此將研發資金投入到電池技術的改進。十年前創立CATL的曾說，雖然冠狀病毒的爆發將拖累今年的銷量，但電動汽車的需求將在2021年初回升。

他說，病毒大流行期間購車活動停滯, 壓抑購車者的需求，這種需求將在明年開始釋放，將由高檔車型帶動。 CATL的客戶包括寶馬公司和豐田汽車公司。

曾的評論強化了一種觀點，即電動汽車將比高油耗的汽車更好地抵禦疫情造成的經濟放緩。彭博新能源金融 (BNEF)預測，明年在中國電動車將佔汽車銷量的8.1％，將是在全球電動汽車銷量中佔比例最大，而在歐洲，這一比例將達到5％。

曾玉群說：“病毒大流行可能會在2020年產生持續的影響，但明年不會成為主要因素。” “從長遠來看，我們充滿信心。”

CATL在2月簽署了一項為期兩年的合同，向特斯拉 (Tesla) 供應電池，對這家中國公司來說是一大福音，因為這美國電動汽車領導者迄今主要與日本的Panasonic Corp.和韓國的LG Chem Ltd.合作。該交易是經過數月的談判，而特斯拉首席執行官埃隆·馬斯克（Elon Musk）曾經前往上海與曾玉群會面。

CATL電池將用於特斯拉在上海附近的大型新工廠生產的Model 3轎車之上，該工廠於今年年初開始交付。電池是電動汽車中最昂貴的部分，這意味著這些組件的供應商有機會獲得整個行業的最大份額利潤。

曾玉群說，他經常與馬斯克分享見解，並通過兩次短信交流有關技術和商業發展。 曾又說，CATL正在加強與特斯拉的關係，將無鈷電池等事項列入其議程。

曾玉群談到馬斯克時說:“我們相處得很好，他是一個有趣的人”, “他整天都在談論成本，我正在確保我們有解決方案。”

曾玉群說，馬斯克還要求他幫助購買冠狀病毒患者用的呼吸機。這位美國億萬富翁今年3月從中國向洛杉磯的官員運送了1000多台呼吸機。

自2018年首次公開募股以來，CATL在深圳的股價上漲了約六倍，使該公司的市值變為約470億美元。特斯拉是迄今為止市值最高的電動汽車製造商，市值約為1600億美元。

曾玉群說，一旦在2030-2035年左右當電動汽車超過汽油動力汽車的時候，就會出現“觸發點”。這種觀點比BNEF等研究人員的野心更大，後者估計這種改變會在更遲幾年後才發生。

曾玉群說，CATL正在德國增加一個生產設施，該公司將生產寶馬70％以上的電池，寶馬是他們的早期客戶。他又說，CATL還與大眾的奧迪部門合作，並與保時捷合作。

曾玉群並不排除在美國建廠的可能性，儘管他說該公司目前沒有具體計劃。

曾玉群說：“在與我們在海外市場的全球競爭對手競爭中,我們的團隊取得了成就。”

       So, Tesla is buying batteries from CATL. They are in cooperation to open up the development of batteries for EV. It is very likely that in the immediate future China will be the leader in making car batteries.