中國如何成為引發汽車芯片短缺的原點 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

How China became ground zero for the auto chip shortage (2/2)

Mon, July 18, 2022 at 4:02 PM

By Sarah Wu, Jane Lanhee Lee and Kevin Krolicki

(continue)

URGENTLY SEEKING CHIPS

The tight supply conditions in China contrast with the improved supply outlook for global automakers. Volkswagen, for example, said in late June it expected chip shortages to ease in the second half of the year.

The chairman of Chinese EV maker Nio, William Li, said last month it was hard to predict which chips would be in short supply. Nio regularly updates its "risky chip list" to avoid shortages of any of the more than 1,000 chips needed to run production.

In late May, Chinese EV maker Xpeng Motors pleaded for chips with an online video featuring a Pokemon toy that had also sold out in China. The bobbing duck-like character waves two signs: "urgently seeking" and "chips."

"As the car supply chain gradually recovers, this video captures our supply-chain team's current condition," Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng posted on Weibo, saying his company was struggling to secure "cheap chips" needed to build cars.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO SHENZHEN

The scramble for workarounds has led automakers and suppliers to China's main chip trading hub of Shenzhen and the "gray market", brokered supplies legally sold but not authorized by the original manufacturer, according to two people familiar with the trade at a Chinese EV maker and an auto supplier.

The gray market carries risks because chips are sometimes recycled, improperly labeled, or stored in conditions that leave them damaged.

"Brokers are very dangerous," said Masatsune Yamaji, research director at Gartner, adding that their prices were 10 to 20 times higher. "But in the current situation, many chip buyers need to depend on the brokers because the authorized supply chain cannot support the customers, especially the small customers in automotive or industrial electronics."

Pang said many Shenzhen brokers were newcomers drawn by the spike in prices but unfamiliar with the technology they were buying and selling. "They only know the part number. I ask them: Do you know what this does in the car? They have no idea."

While the volume held by brokers is hard to quantify, analysts say it is far from enough to meet demand.

"It's not like all the chips are somewhere hidden and you just need to bring them to the market," said Ondrej Burkacky, senior partner at McKinsey.

When supply normalizes, there may be an asset bubble in the inventories of unsold chips sitting in Shenzhen, analysts and brokers cautioned.

"We can't hold on for too long, but the automakers can't hold on either," Pang said.

CHINESE SELF-SUFFICIENCY

China, where advanced chip design and manufacturing still lag overseas rivals, is investing to decrease its reliance on foreign chips. But that will not be easy, especially given the stringent requirements for auto-grade chips.

MCUs make up about 30% of the total chip costs in a car, but they are also the hardest category for China to achieve self-sufficiency in, said Li Xudong, senior manager at CATARC, adding that domestic players had only entered the lower end of the market with chips used in air conditioning and seating controls.

"I don't think the problem can be solved in two to three years," CATARC chief engineer Huang Yonghe said in May. "We are relying on other countries, with 95% of the wafers imported."

Chinese EV maker BYD, which has started to design and manufacture IGBT transistor chips, is emerging as a domestic alternative, CATARC's Li said.

"For a long time, China has seen its inability to be totally independent on chip production as a major security weakness," said Victor Shih, professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego.

With time, China could build a strong domestic industry as it did when it identified battery production as a national priority, Shih added.

"It led to a lot of waste, a lot of failures, but then it also led to two or three giants that now dominate the global market."

(Reporting by Sarah Wu, Zhang Yan, Kevin Krolicki, Jane Lanhee Lee, Tim Kelly, Chen Lin; Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; Editing by Pravin Char)

Translation

（繼續）

急需得到芯片

中國供應緊張的狀況與全球汽車製造商的供應前景改善形成鮮明對比。例如，Volkswagen在 6 月底表示，預計芯片短缺將在下半年緩解。

中國電動汽車製造商Nio汽車的董事長 William Li上個月表示，很難預測哪些芯片會供不應求。 Nio 會定期更新其 “風險芯片清單” ，以避免生產所需的 1,000 多個芯片中的任何一個出現短缺。

5 月下旬，中國電動汽車製造商小鵬汽車通過一段在線視頻請求芯片，該視頻展示了一款在中國也已售罄的Pokemon玩具。像鴨子般跳動的角色揮舞著兩個標誌： “急求” 和“芯片”。

小鵬汽車首席执行官何小鵬在微博上發帖稱， “隨著汽車供應鏈逐漸恢復，這段視頻捕捉到了我們供應鏈團隊的現狀”; 他的公司正在努力爭取製造汽車所需的 “廉價芯片”。

條條大路通深圳

據熟悉一家中國電動汽車製造商貿易的兩位知情人士透露，爭奪變通辦法已導致汽車製造商和供應商湧向中國主要的芯片交易中心深圳及 “灰色市場” ，即以合法中介銷售但未經原製造商授權的供應。

灰色市場存在風險，因為芯片有時會曾被用過、會標記不當, 或曾在有損壞性的情况下儲存。

Gartner 研究總監 Masatsune Yamaji 說“經紀人非常危險” ; 並補充說他們的價格高出 10 到 20 倍。 “但在目前的情況下，許多芯片買家需要依賴經紀人，因為授權供應鏈無法支援客戶，尤其是汽車或工業電子領域的小客戶。”

Pang說，許多深圳經紀人是被價格飆升吸引的新人，但不熟悉他們買賣的技術。 “他們只知道零件號。我問他們：你知道這東西在車裡有什麼作用嗎？他們不懂。”

雖然經紀人持有的數量難以量化，但分析師表示，這遠遠不足以滿足需求。

McKinsey高級合夥人 Ondrej Burkacky 表示： “並不是所有的芯片都隱藏在某個地方，你只需要將它們帶到市場就可以。”

分析師和經紀人警告說，當供應正常化時，深圳的未售出芯片庫存可能會出現資產泡沫。

Pang說: “我們不能企硬太久，但汽車製造商也不能堅持太長。”

中國自給自足

先進芯片設計和製造仍落後於海外競爭對手的中國正,在進行投資以減少對外國芯片的依賴。但這並不容易，尤其是考慮到汽車級芯片的嚴格要求。

CATARC 高級經理 Li Xudong 表示，MCU 佔汽車芯片總成本的 30% 左右，但也是中國最難實現自給自足的類别, 並補充說，國內廠商只進入了用於控制空調和座椅的芯片的低端市場。

CATARC 總工程師 Huang Yonghe在 5 月說: “我不認為這個問題可以在兩到三年內得到解決”; “我們依賴其他國家，95% 的半導體晶體切片都是進口的。”

CATARC姓李的說，中國電動汽車製造商比亞迪已經開始設計和製造 IGBT 晶體管芯片作成為國內替代品。

加州大學聖地亞哥分校政治學教授 Victor Shih 表示： “長期以來，中國視無法完全獨立芯片生產為主要的安全弱點。”

Shih 補充說，隨著時間的推移，中國可以建立一個強大的國內產業，就像它將電池生產確定為國家優先事項時所做的那樣。

“它導致了很多浪費，很多失敗，但也導致了現在主導全球市場的兩三個巨頭。”

So, despite being the world's largest producer of cars, China relies almost entirely on chips imported from Europe, the United States and Taiwan. Supply strains have been compounded by a zero-COVID lockdown in auto hub Shanghai. As a result, a shortage is more acute than elsewhere according to CATARC. It seems that domestic chipmaking industry in China is unlikely to be in a position to cope with demands within the next two to three years.

中國如何成為引發汽車芯片短缺的原點 （1/2）

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

How China became ground zero for the auto chip shortage (1/2)

Mon, July 18, 2022 at 4:02 PM

By Sarah Wu, Jane Lanhee Lee and Kevin Krolicki

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - From his small office in Singapore, Kelvin Pang is ready to wager a $23 million payday that the worst of the chip shortage is not over for automakers – at least in China.

Pang has bought 62,000 microcontrollers, chips that help control a range of functions from car engines and transmissions to electric vehicle power systems and charging, which cost the original buyer $23.80 each in Germany.

He's now looking to sell them to auto suppliers in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen for $375 apiece. He says he has turned down offers for $100 each, or $6.2 million for the whole bundle, which is small enough to fit in the back seat of a car and is packed for now in a warehouse in Hong Kong.

"The automakers have to eat," Pang told Reuters. "We can afford to wait."

The 58-year-old, who declined to say what he himself had paid for the microcontrollers (MCUs), makes a living trading excess electronics inventory that would otherwise be scrapped, connecting buyers in China with sellers abroad.

The global chip shortage over the past two years - caused by pandemic supply chaos combined with booming demand - has transformed what had been a high-volume, low-margin trade into one with the potential for wealth-spinning deals, he says.

Automotive chip order times remain long around the world, but brokers like Pang and thousands like him are focusing on China, which has become ground zero for a crunch that the rest of the industry is gradually moving beyond.

Globally, new orders are backed up by an average of about a year, according to a Reuters survey of 100 automotive chips produced by the five leading manufacturers.

To counter the supply squeeze, global automakers like General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co have moved to secure better access through a playbook that has included negotiating directly with chipmakers, paying more per part and accepting more inventory.

For China though, the outlook is bleaker, according to interviews with more than 20 people involved in the trade from automakers, suppliers and brokers to experts at China's government-affiliated auto research institute CATARC.

Despite being the world's largest producer of cars, and leader in electric vehicles (EVs), China relies almost entirely on chips imported from Europe, the United States and Taiwan. Supply strains have been compounded by a zero-COVID lockdown in auto hub Shanghai that ended last month.

As a result, the shortage is more acute than elsewhere and threatens to curb the nation's EV momentum, according to CATARC, the China Automotive Technology and Research Center. A fledgling domestic chipmaking industry is unlikely to be in a position to cope with demand within the next two to three years, it says.

Pang, for his part, sees China's shortage continuing through 2023 and deems it dangerous to hold inventory after that. The one risk to that view, he says: a sharper economic slowdown that could depress demand earlier.

FORECASTS 'HARDLY POSSIBLE'

Computer chips, or semiconductors, are used in the thousands in every conventional and electric vehicle. They help control everything from deploying airbags and automating emergency braking to entertainment systems and navigation.

The Reuters survey conducted in June took a sample of chips, produced by Infineon, Texas Instruments, NXP, STMicroelectronics and Renesas, which perform a diverse range of functions in cars.

New orders via distributors are on hold for an average lead time of 49 weeks – deep into 2023, according to the analysis, which provides a snapshot of the global shortage though not a regional breakdown. Lead times range from 6 to 198 weeks.

German chipmaker Infineon told Reuters it is "rigorously investing and expanding manufacturing capacities worldwide" but said shortages may last until 2023 for chips outsourced to foundries.

"Since the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation has deteriorated in recent months, reliable assessments regarding the end of the present shortages are hardly possible right now," Infineon said in a statement.

Taiwan chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp told Reuters it has been able to reallocate some capacity to auto chips due to weaker demand in other segments. "On the whole, it is still challenging for us to meet the aggregate demand from customers," the company said.

TrendForce analyst Galen Tseng told Reuters that if auto suppliers needed 100 PMIC chips - which regulate voltage from the battery to more than 100 applications in an average car - they were currently only getting around 80.

(to be continued)

Translation

台北/上海/新加坡（路透社）- 在他位於新加坡的小辦公室裡，Kelvin Pang 準備押注收取 2,300 萬美元的日子，打賭汽車製造商的芯片短缺最嚴重的時期還沒有結束 - 至少在中國會是這樣。

Pang 已經購買了 62,000 個微控制器，這些芯片有助於控制從汽車發動機和變速器到電動汽車動力系統和充電的一系列功能，在德國，原買家每件的成本為 23.80 美元。

他現在希望以每件 375 美元的價格將它們賣給中國科技中心深圳的汽車供應商。他說，他拒絕了每件 100 美元或整套 620 萬美元的報價，這整套細小到可以放在汽車後座，目前在香港的一個倉庫裡打包。

Pang告訴路透社: “汽車製造商必須吃飯”; “我們等得起。”

這位拒絕透露他自己以什麽支付微控制器 (MCU) 的費用的58 歲的人仕，是以交易多餘的電子產品庫存為生，否則這些電子產品將被報廢，他將中國的買家與國外的賣家聯繫起來。

他說，過去兩年全球芯片短缺 - 由流行病供應混亂和需求旺盛造成 - 已經將原本大批量、低利潤的交易變成了一種可能帶來財富的交易。

全球汽車芯片的訂單仍然要很長時間去滿足，但像Pang這樣的經紀人和成千上萬像他一樣的經紀人正專注於中國，中國已經成為緊縮活動的起點而其他公司則已漸經歷過了。

根據路透社對五家頭號生產100 種汽車芯片的製造商的調查，在全球範圍內，新訂單平均支持大約一年。

為了應對供應緊張，通用汽車公司、福特汽車公司和日產汽車公司等全球汽車製造商已採取行動，通過直接與芯片製造商談判、為每個零件支付更多費用和接受更多庫存等方式來確保更好的入貨供應。

不過，根據由20 多名由汽車製造商、供應商和經紀人到中國政府下屬汽車研究機構 CATARC 的專家採訪，中國的前景更加黯淡。

儘管中國是世界上最大的汽車生產國和電動汽車 (EV) 的領導者，但中國幾乎完全依賴從歐洲、美國和台灣進口的芯片。在上個月結束的上海汽車中心的零新冠疫情封鎖, 加劇了供應的壓力。

據中國汽車技術研究中心 CATARC 稱，因此，短缺比其他地方更為嚴重，並有可能抑制國家的電動汽車發展勢頭。它表示，一個新興的國內芯片製造行業不太可能在未來兩到三年內可應對需求。

就Pang先生而言，他認為中國的短缺將持續到 2023 年，並認為在那之後持有庫存是危險的。他說，這種觀點的一個風險是：更凌厲的經濟放緩可能會更早地減缓需求。

預測 “幾乎不可能”

每輛傳統汽車和電動汽車都使用了數千種電腦芯片或半導體。它們幫助控制從部署安全氣囊和自動緊急制動到娛樂系統和導航的一切。

路透社在 6 月進行的調查以 Infineon、德州儀器、NXP、STMicroelectronics和 Renesas生產的芯片為樣本，這些芯片在汽車中具有多種功能。

根據分析，來自分銷商的新訂單平均延遲 49 週 - 直到 2023 年，它提供了全球短缺的快照，但沒有區域細分。交貨時間從 6 周到 198 週不等。

德國芯片製造商 Infineon 告訴路透社，它正在“在全球範圍內大力投資和擴大製造能力”，但表示外包給代工廠的芯片短缺可能會持續到 2023 年。

Infineon 在一份聲明中表示： “由於近幾個月地緣政治和宏觀經濟形勢惡化，目前幾乎不可能對目前短缺的結束做出可靠的評估。”

台灣芯片製造商聯合微電子公司告訴路透社，由於其他領域的需求疲軟，它已經能夠將部分產能重新分配給汽車芯片。該公司表示： “總體而言，去滿足客戶的總體需求對我們來說仍然具有挑戰性。”

TrendForce 分析師 Galen Tseng 告訴路透社，如果汽車供應商需要 100 個 PMIC 芯片 - 這些芯片能將電池電壓調節到普通汽車中的 100 多個應用程序 - 他們目前只能得到大約 80 個。

（未完待續）

中國外交官湧入非洲以應對西方魅力攻勢 (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Chinese diplomats flock to Africa in response to Western charm offensive (2/2)

SCMP Sun, July 17, 2022 at 2:30 AM

(continue)

But even countries of less importance to China - such as Malawi, Burkina Faso, Togo and Burundi - are included from time to time, Shinn said.

"Occasionally, senior officials pay a visit because of a special event such as an independence celebration or a serious problem that requires high-level attention," he said.

Zajontz, also a lecturer in international relations at the University of Freiburg in Germany, said Yang is China's top foreign-policy maker after President Xi Jinping so his visits are "of particular diplomatic importance".

He added: "His recent trip to Harare is a courtesy visit to one of China's most loyal allies in the region."

He said that under Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was trained in China during the liberation struggle, Chinese investment has flourished, not least in infrastructure and the mining sector.

Chinese companies have recently acquired more lithium mines in Zimbabwe and now run Africa's largest steel plant south of the capital, Harare.

"One could say Zimbabwe is becoming the new Zambia for Beijing, as Harare has opened the country's doors widely for Chinese investors," Zajontz said.

He said the fact that Mozambique will assume a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in January played a role in Maputo being on Yang's itinerary. He said Chinese economic interests in Mozambique are diverse, spanning the energy, mining and agricultural sectors, and the Mozambican government used the visit to ask Yang for help in rehabilitating the country's 2,000km (1,200-mile) north-south EN1 highway.

Zhou said Yang's visits to Africa were more political and he visited on behalf of top Chinese leaders.

"As the highest-ranking official in charge of diplomacy, Yang pays visits to African countries nearly each year," he said. "This shows the importance China pays to Africa and the developing countries."

Among the geopolitical reasons for visits to Africa by Chinese officials are increased Western engagement with the continent.

For instance, the European Union-African Union Summit held in February shows the EU is increasing engagement with Africa and investment in the continent. High-ranking officials from the US departments of state and commerce paid visits to Africa in the past months, and the second US-Africa leaders' summit will be held later this year. Japan will hold the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Tunisia next month.

"It means the major countries are giving more importance to Africa, and this will lead to closer interactions," Zhou said. "I think this could benefit African countries if new commitments, investments and financing increase."

Zajontz said the growing frequency of visits by high-level Chinese officials across the continent must be seen in the light of a recent Western charm offensive in Africa, including pledges to provide alternative infrastructure and development projects to those offered under China's Belt and Road Initiative.

"It is evident that Chinese and Western leaders are engaged in an increasingly competitive contest for political influence in African capitals, while a scramble for strategic minerals and markets in Africa is under way," he said.

Translation

Shinn說: “但即使是對中國不太重要的國家 - 如馬拉維、布基納法索、多哥和布隆迪 - 也不時包括在內” 。

他說： “偶爾，高級官員會因為獨立慶祝活動等特殊事件, 或需要高層關注的嚴重問題而進行訪問。”

同樣是德國弗萊堡大學國際關係講師的 Zajontz 表示，楊潔篪是繼習近平主席之後中國最大的外交政策制定者，因此他的訪問 “具有特殊的外交意義” 。

他補充說： “他最近對哈拉雷的訪問,是對中國在該地區最忠誠的盟友之一的禮節性訪問。”

他說，津巴布韋在總統 Emmerson Mnangagwa 的領導下，中國投資蓬勃發展，尤其是在基礎設施和採礦業。Emmerson Mnangagwa在解放鬥爭期間在中國接受培訓。

中國公司最近在津巴布韋收購了更多的鋰礦，現在在首都哈拉雷以南經營著非洲最大的鋼鐵廠。

Zajontz 說: “人們可以說津巴布韋正在成為北京的新贊比亞，因為哈拉雷已經為中國投資者大開了該國的門戶” 。

他說，莫桑比克將在 1 月份擔任聯合國安理會非常任理事國席位，這使Maputo可出現在楊潔篪的受訪行程中發揮了作用。他說，中國在莫桑比克的經濟利益是多元化的，涵蓋能源、採礦和農業部門，莫桑比克政府利用這次訪問向楊尋求幫助，以修復該國 2,000 公里（1,200 英里）的南北 EN1 高速公路。

Zhou說，楊潔篪對非洲的訪問更具政治性，他是代表中國最高領導人訪問的。

他說: “作為最高級別的外交官員，楊潔篪幾乎每年都會訪問非洲國家” ; “這表明中國對非洲和發展中國家的重視。”

中國官員訪問非洲的地緣政治原因之一是西方與非洲大陸的接觸增加。

例如，2 月舉行的歐盟-非洲聯盟峰會表明，歐盟正在增加與非洲的接觸和對非洲大陸的投資。過去幾個月，美國國務院和商務部的高級官員訪問了非洲，第二次美非領導人峰會將於今年晚些時候舉行。日本將於下個月在突尼斯舉行第八屆東京非洲發展國際會議。

Zhou說:“這意味著大國更加重視非洲，這將導致更密切的互動” ;“我認為，如果新的承諾、投資和融資增加，這可能會使非洲國家受益。”

Zajontz 說，在西方最近在非洲發起的魅力攻勢背景因素下，看到中國高級官員訪問非洲大陸的頻率越來越高，其中包括承諾提供替代基礎設施和發展項目，以取代中國之前 “一帶一路”倡議下提供的項目。

他說: “很明顯，中國和西方領導人在非洲首都的政治影響力競爭日益激烈，而爭奪非洲戰略礦產和市場也在進行中” 。

So, it is clear that Chinese and Western leaders are engaging in an increasingly competitive contest for political influence in African countries, one thing interesting is that Russia, after its isolation by EU and G7 countries due to its aggression in Ukraine, is also trying to enhance its relations with countries in Africa.

中國外交官湧入非洲以應對西方魅力攻勢 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Chinese diplomats flock to Africa in response to Western charm offensive (1/2)

SCMP Sun, July 17, 2022 at 2:30 AM

The past month has been a busy time for Chinese diplomacy in Africa, with senior officials making dozens of trips to the continent to resolve disputes, strengthen relations and respond to a recent Western charm offensive.

In a meeting with Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye on Wednesday, the Chinese government's special representative on African affairs, Xu Jinghu, promised China would continue to strengthen bilateral relations with the East African nation in priority sectors such as agriculture, health and infrastructure.

Ndayishimiye said China had "stood by our side for years, especially in times of hardship", and Xu said Beijing would always support Burundi's economic and social development.

China has sent agricultural scientists to Burundi to help improve food production and has awarded scholarships to Burundian students.

On her eight-nation tour, Xu will also visit Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Namibia, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles.

She is visiting the continent a few days after senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi visited Zimbabwe and Mozambique. And last month, Wu Peng, director general of the foreign ministry's African affairs department, visited South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo.

Also in June, China's special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, was in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for the first Horn of Africa peace conference - which was sponsored by China.

Observers said the high-level trips aim to solve hotspot issues, especially ongoing conflicts in the Great Lakes, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions, and also to respond to the West's challenge to the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa.

Zhou Yuyuan, a senior research fellow with the Centre for West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said the specific role of a special representative on African affairs is political mediation.

"I think one of its important missions is to explore China's contribution to solving the hotspot issues in Africa," he said. "The relations among the countries in the Great Lakes region are not in a good situation, with the relationship between the DRC and Rwanda especially tense."

Rwanda and Congo have accused each other of firing rockets across their shared border. The Congolese authorities also alleged that Rwanda deployed soldiers in disguise on their territory.

"So, choosing the Great Lakes Region makes sense," Zhou said. "Maybe the most important reason [is that] Xu is French-speaking - this means official visits to French-speaking countries will mostly rely on her."

Tim Zajontz, a research fellow at the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, said Xu's stop in Kinshasa can be seen as a sign of goodwill to iron out protracted disputes between Chinese mining firms and the Congolese government.

He said most telling is the frequency with which high-level Chinese officials have visited Africa's island nations in the Indian Ocean over the past few years.

"Mauritius, the Seychelles and even Madagascar play a minor role for China economically," Zajontz said. "However, they are of central geostrategic importance for China's efforts to consolidate its presence across the Indian Ocean as part of the Maritime Silk Road."

While senior Chinese officials visit some African countries more frequently than others, "China pays attention to ensuring that all countries, except eSwatini that recognizes Taipei, are included on the schedule," David Shinn, a professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, said.

As a result, countries that have more important ties with China such as South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Senegal, Congo and Namibia receive more high-level visitors. Some of these countries, such as Congo and Zambia, are mineral-rich. Congo sells most of its copper and cobalt to China, while copper-rich Zambia has attracted Chinese capital into mining and infrastructure.

The debt crisis in Zambia topped the agenda during Wu's recent visit to the country. He told a briefing in Lusaka that he was in Zambia to help coordinate China's response to its debt situation, which saw the country default on some dollar-denominated Eurobonds.

(to be continued)

Translation

過去一個月是中國在非洲外交的繁忙時期，高級官員數十次出訪非洲大陸，以解決爭端、加強關係並應對最近西方的魅力攻勢。

中國政府非洲事務特別代表Xu Jinghu周三在會見布隆迪總統 Evariste Ndayishimiye 時承諾，中國將繼續加強與東非國家在農業、衛生和基礎設施等優先領域的雙邊關係。

Ndayishimiye說，中國“多年來一直站在我們身邊，特別是在困難時期”，Xu Jinghu說北京將總是會支持布隆迪的經濟和社會發展。

中國向布隆迪派遣農業科學家幫助改善糧食生產，並為布隆迪學生提供獎學金。

在她的八國之行中，Xu還將訪問盧旺達、剛果民主共和國、剛果-布拉柴維爾、納米比亞、馬達加斯加、毛里求斯和塞舌爾。

她在中國高級外交官楊潔篪訪問津巴布韋和莫桑比克幾天后訪問非洲大陸。上個月，外交部非洲司司長Wu Peng訪問了南非、馬拉維、贊比亞、坦桑尼亞、塞內加爾、布基納法索和多哥。

今年6月，中國非洲之角問題特使 Xue Bing 在埃塞俄比亞首都亞的斯亞貝巴出席由中國主辦的首屆非洲之角和平會議。

觀察人士表示，此次高層出訪旨在解決熱點問題，特別是大湖區、非洲之角和薩赫勒地區持續存在的衝突，也是為了回應西方對非洲 “一帶一路” 倡議的挑戰。

上海國際問題研究院西亞非洲研究中心高級研究員Zhou Yuyuan表示，非洲事務特別代表的特定角色是政治斡旋。

他說： “我認為它的重要使命之一是探索中國如能夠何幫助解決非洲熱點問題”; “大湖地區國家之間的關係並不好，剛果與盧旺達的關係尤其緊張。”

盧旺達和剛果相互指責對方在其共同邊界上發射火箭。剛果當局還聲稱，盧旺達在其領土上部署了偽裝掩飾的士兵。

Zhou說: “所以，選擇大湖區是有道理的”; “也許最重要的原因[是]Xu會說法語 - 這意味著對法語國家的官式訪問將主要依靠她。”

南非斯泰倫博斯大學國際與比較政治中心研究員 Tim Zajontz 表示，Xu在金沙薩的停留可以看作是解決中國礦業公司與剛果政府之間曠日持久的爭端的善意標誌。

他說，最能說明問題的是過去幾年中國高級官員訪問印度洋非洲島國的次數。

Zajontz說: “毛里求斯、塞舌爾甚至馬達加斯加在經濟上對中國的影響很小”; “然而，它們對於中國去鞏固其在印度洋作為海上絲綢之路一部分的存在的努力,具有核心地緣戰略意義。”

中國高級官員在訪問非洲國家時，一些國家比其他國家更頻繁。 喬治華盛頓大學埃利奧特國際事務學院教授 David Shinn 在華盛頓說: “中國重視確保所有國家都被列入訪問日程安排, 除了承認台北的斯瓦蒂尼” 。

因此，南非、贊比亞、坦桑尼亞、塞內加爾、剛果和納米比亞等對華關係較重要的國家接待了更多高級別的遊客。其中一些國家，如剛果和讚比亞，有豐富礦產。剛果將其大部分銅和鈷出售給中國，而富含銅的讚比亞則吸引了中國資本進入採礦和基礎設施建設。

贊比亞債務危機成為WU近期訪贊期間的首要議題。 他在盧薩卡的一次簡報會上說，他在讚比亞幫助協調中國對其債務狀況的反應，該國在一些以美元計價的歐洲債券上違約。

(未完待續)

“最壞的變種”在這裡

Recently CNN on-line reported the following

The 'worst variant' is here

By Eliza Mackintosh, CNN

Updated 1:24 AM ET, Thu July 14, 2022

(CNN)Nearly two-and-a-half years since the coronavirus pandemic began, the most infectious and transmissible variant yet has arrived.

Repeated Covid-19 waves have left millions of people dead, with only vaccines helping to blunt the toll. Now the virus is spreading again — evolving, escaping immunity and driving an uptick in cases and hospitalizations. The latest version of its shape-shifting, BA.5, is a clear sign that the pandemic is far from over.

The newest offshoot of Omicron, along with a closely related variant, BA.4, are fueling a global surge in cases — 30% over the past fortnight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In Europe, the Omicron subvariants are powering a spike in cases of about 25%, though Dr. Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program, has said that number may actually be higher, given the "almost collapse in testing." BA.5 is on the march in China, ratcheting anxieties that major cities there may soon re-enforce strict lockdown measures that were only recently lifted. And the same variant has become the dominant strain in the United States, where it accounted for 65% of new infections last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"We have been watching this virus evolve rapidly. We've been planning and preparing for this moment. And the message that I want to get across to the American people is this: BA.5 is something we're closely monitoring, and most importantly, we know how to manage it," said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House's Covid-19 response coordinator, in a news briefing on Tuesday.

On the same day, WHO's Emergency Committee said Covid-19 remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern — its highest level of alert, first declared on January 20, 2020 — amid rising cases, ongoing viral mutation and increasing pressure on already overstretched health systems. In a statement, the committee, which is made up of independent experts, highlighted challenges to the ongoing global Covid-19 response, including a drop-off in testing and spotty genome sequencing, raising the question of just how accurately any nation might reasonably be able to monitor BA.5.

Official data dramatically undercount the true number of infections in the US, epidemiologists say, leaving the nation with a critical blind spot as the most transmissible coronavirus variant yet takes hold. Some experts think there could be as many as 1 million new infections every day in the broader US population — 10 times higher than the official count.

As for how to manage the new wave, Jha urged Americans aged 50 and older to get second booster shots. Adults who are up to date with vaccinations are less likely to be hospitalized than those who are unvaccinated. But only about one in four adults in the US over 50 have gotten their recommended second boosters, data collected by the CDC show.

US health officials are urgently working on a plan to allow second Covid-19 boosters for all adults, a senior White House official confirmed to CNN on Monday, amid fears that younger adults' immunity may be waning as Covid-19 cases rise with the dominance of BA.5.

What makes BA.5 different? Eric Topol, a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, has called BA.5 "the worst version of the virus we've seen." He explained in a recent newsletter: "It takes immune escape, already extensive, to the next level, and, as a function of that, enhanced transmissibility," well beyond earlier versions of Omicron.

In other words, BA.5 can easily evade immunity from previous infections and vaccines, increasing the risk of reinfection. Though the variant does not appear to lead to more severe illness, in an interview with CNN on Monday, Topol said that given the extent of BA.5's immune evasion, he expects to see an escalation in hospitalizations, as we've seen in Europe and elsewhere that the variant has taken root. "One good thing is it doesn't appear to be accompanied by the ICU admissions and the deaths as previous variants, but this is definitely concerning," he added.

Public health experts in the US may take some solace from the trajectory of the variant in Europe. WHO's Ryan said last week that while many European countries are experiencing a jump in hospitalizations, "what we're not seeing is an increase in intensive care unit admissions, so the vaccines are very much still working and it is those gaps in immunity that are causing the problem."

But still, steep reductions in Covid-19 surveillance worldwide are hindering epidemiologists' efforts as they race to trace the virus' evolution.

"Sub-variants of Omicron, like BA.4 and BA.5, continue to drive waves of cases, hospitalization and death around the world," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing on Tuesday. "Surveillance has reduced significantly -- including testing and sequencing -- making it increasingly difficult to assess the impact of variants on transmission, disease characteristics, and the effectiveness of counter-measures."

"New waves of the virus demonstrate again that the Covid-19 [pandemic] is nowhere near over," he added.

Translation

（美國有線電視新聞網）自冠狀病毒大流行開始近兩年半以來，迄今為止最具傳染性和傳播性的變種已經到來。

反複的 Covid-19 浪潮已導致數百萬人死亡，只有疫苗有助於減少死亡人數。現在，病毒再次傳播 - 進化、逃避免疫力並推動病例和住院人數增加。其變形的最新版本 BA.5 清楚地表明病毒大流行還遠未結束。

根據世界衛生組織 (WHO) 的數據，Omicron 的最新分支及密切相關的變體 BA.4 正在推動全球病例激增 - 在過去兩週內增加了 30%。

在歐洲，Omicron 分支變體導致病例激增約 25%，儘管世衛組織突發衛生事件規劃執行主任 Dr. Michael Ryan 表示，由於“檢測幾乎崩潰”，這個數字實際上可能更高。 BA.5 正在中國傳播，這加劇了人們對中國主要城市可能很快會重新實施最近才解除的嚴格封鎖措施的擔憂。根據美國疾病控制與預防中心 (CDC) 的數據，同樣的變種已成為美國的主要毒株，上週它佔新感染病例的 65%。

白宮 Covid-19 應對協調員Dr. Ashish Jha 在周二的新聞發布會上說: “我們一直在觀察這種病毒的迅速發展。我們一直在為這一刻做計劃和準備。我想向美國人民傳達的信息是：BA.5 是我們正在密切監測的東西，而且最重要的是，我們知道如何對應它” 。

同一天，世衛組織突發事件委員會表示，在Covid-19病例不斷增加中的的情況下, 它仍然是國際關注的突發公共衛生事件 - 這是世衛的最高警戒級別並是於 2020 年 1 月 20 日首次宣布 、病毒不斷變異以及對已經不堪重負的衛生系統的壓力越來越大。 由獨立專家組成的委員會在一份聲明中強調了當前全球 Covid-19 應對措施面臨的挑戰，包括檢測下降和基因組測序參差，這引發了一個問題，即各國能夠監控BA.5的準確度有多大。

流行病學家說，美國官方數據大大低估了它的真實感染人數，使該國成為迄今為止傳播性最強的冠狀病毒變種的關鍵盲點。一些專家認為，在更廣泛的美國人口中，每天可能有多達 100 萬新感染病例 - 比官方統計數字高出 10 倍。

至於如何管理新的浪潮，Jha 敦促 50 歲及以上的美國人進行第二次加強注射。與未接種疫苗的人相比，接種了最新疫苗的成年人住院的可能性更小。但 CDC 收集的數據顯示，在美國 50 歲以上的成年人中，只有大約四分之一的人獲得了被他們推薦的第二次加強注射。

一位白宮高級官員周一向 CNN 證實，美國衛生官員正在緊急制定一項計劃，為所有成年人提供第二次 Covid-19 加強注射，因為擔心隨年輕人的免疫力可能會減弱中, Covid-19 病例以BA.5顯著增加。

是什麼令 BA.5 與眾不同？ Scripps Research 的心臟病學家和分子醫學教授 Eric Topol 稱 BA.5 是 “我們見過的最糟糕的病毒樣版”。他在最近的通訊中解釋說：“它將已經廣泛的免疫逃逸提升到一個新的水平，因此作為一個功能，增強了傳播性”, 遠遠超出了早期版本的 Omicron。

也就是說，BA.5很容易逃避以前感染和疫苗產生的免疫力，增加再感染的風險。儘管該變體似乎不會導致更嚴重的疾病，但 Topol 在周一接受 CNN 採訪時表示，鑑於 BA.5 免疫逃避的程度，他預計住院人數會增加，正如我們在歐洲及其他地方看到那樣, 在那裡該變體已經紮根。他補充說: “一件好事是它似乎沒有像以前的變種那樣相連到進入ICU和死亡，但這絕對是令人擔憂的”。

美國的公共衛生專家可能會從歐洲變種的軌跡中得到一些安慰。世衛組織的 Ryan上週表示，雖然許多歐洲國家的住院人數激增，但“我們沒有看到重症監護病房入院人數的增加，因此疫苗仍在發揮作用，正在造成問題的是免疫方面的漏洞。”

但是，全球範圍內監測 Covid-19的急劇減少,阻礙了流行病學家在急切追踪病毒演變過程中的努力。

世衛組織總幹事 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus 在周二的媒體簡報中說: “Omicron 的分支變體，如 BA.4 和 BA.5，繼續在世界範圍內推動病例、住院和死亡的浪潮” 。 “監測已經大大減少 - 包括檢測和序測 - 使得對評估傳播變異、疾病特徵,和對策有效性的影響變得越來越困難。”

他補充說： “新一波病毒再次表明，Covid-19 [大流行] 還遠未結束。”

So, nearly two-and-a-half years since the coronavirus pandemic begins, the most infectious and transmissible variant so far has arrived. It is the newest offshoot of Omicron, BA.5 that are fueling a global surge in cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). New waves of the virus demonstrate that the Covid-19 is not yet over.

中國小米在越南生產第一批智能手機

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China's Xiaomi produces first smartphones in Vietnam

Wed, July 6, 2022 at 9:05 PM

HANOI (Reuters) - China's Xiaomi Corp has produced its first batch of smartphones in Vietnam, the company said on Thursday, as it seeks to expand its foothold in Southeast Asia.

The devices were produced at a factory in the province of Thai Nguyen, north of the capital Hanoi, the company said in an emailed statement. The plant is operated by Xiaomi's partner, DBG Technology.

Vietnam has in recent years become a regional manufacturing hub for global electronics makers. The export value of smartphones from the country, mostly produced by Samsung Electronics, rose 12.4% last year to $57.5 billion.

Xiaomi said the first batch of its smartphones made in Vietnam had been sent to a local distributor, adding it would soon export smartphones to other Southeast Asian markets, including Malaysia and Thailand.

The company did not provide further details on its production capacity in Vietnam.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Ed Davies)

Translation

河內（路透社）- 中國小米公司週四表示，該公司已在越南生產第一批智能手機，以尋求擴大在東南亞的立足點。

該公司在一份電子郵件聲明中表示，這些設備是在首都河內以北的太原市的一家工廠生產的。該工廠由小米的合作夥伴 DBG Technology 運營。

近年來，越南已成為全球電子製造商的區域製造中心。該國智能手機的出口價值（主要由三星電子生產）去年增長 12.4% 至 575 億美元。

小米表示，第一批在越南製造的智能手機已發往當地經銷商，並稱很快將向其他東南亞市場出口智能手機，包括馬來西亞和泰國。

該公司沒有提供有關其在越南生產能力的更多細節。

So, China's Xiaomi Corp has produced its first batch of smartphones in Vietnam. I am wondering what are the benefits for moving the production lines to Vietnam from China, for cheaper costs? Or, to avoid the label of “Made in China”?

“中國特色”的區塊鏈在北京的祝福下悄然起飛，同時避開加密貨幣

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Blockchain with 'Chinese characteristics' quietly takes off with Beijing's blessing while shunning cryptocurrency

South China Morning Post

Sat, July 2, 2022 at 2:30 AM

The growth of China's blockchain market has accelerated in 2022, with the total number of services registered with the country's internet regulator reaching 1,821, according to a review of government documents and interviews with industry insiders.

The pace of certification for new blockchain services sped up at the end of last year, with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) releasing new lists of recent ventures every two to four months, up from six to eight months from March 2019 through 2021.

The agency has released 197 lists in three years, with blockchain projects encompassing legal, financial, agricultural and intellectual property protection services.

The accelerated release schedule illustrates Beijing's determination to develop blockchain applications that align with the country's economic and technological goals, while maintaining tight control over the more decentralized applications for which the technology is known.

The country has banned the trading of cryptocurrencies, blockchain's original use case with bitcoin, which also effectively prohibits the trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on public blockchains like Ethereum.

However, an increasing number of Chinese companies are looking for new applications for blockchain, potentially opening up a huge market for services run on the technology, which is a type of immutable distributed ledger maintained by different computer nodes on a network. Market research firm IDC estimates that China's blockchain market could be worth over US$3.2 billion by 2025, with an annual compound growth rate of 47 per cent from 2020 to 2025.

"It is not hard to be registered [with the government], and it is a way to stay close to regulators," said Jiang Lifeng, the vice-president of Hangzhou-based blockchain service provider DataQin, which has three legal and financial services registered with the CAC.

Since starting in 2016, DataQin has made law one of the key areas for its consortium blockchain called Baoquan Chain, which Jiang said can turn "data into evidence and make evidence transmissible" by digitising secured notary services. Consortium blockchains limit who can participate in the network, allowing them to operate in mainland China's tight regulatory environment.

DataQin's focus on law paid off in 2018, when the Hangzhou Internet Court allowed evidence collected using Baoquan, marking the first case in China to use blockchain-based evidence.

The promising sector has even received the blessing of China's Supreme People's Court, which said in May that it aims to "build a blockchain alliance between the court and all trades of the society by 2025".

Many of China's biggest tech firms and some of their subsidiaries also have blockchain services registered with the CAC. Tencent Holdings, JD.com, Xiaomi, NetEase and Baidu all appear on the lists. Alibaba Group Holding, owner of South China Morning Post, and its fintech affiliate Ant Group, owner of Alipay, are also there.

The majority of registered services are for legal and financial applications and Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), which allows customers to apply pre-existing blockchain technologies like smart contracts to their own businesses.

"It makes sense for China's blockchain development and the investment road map in new technology for companies to come up with general BaaS platforms as opposed to vertical blockchain applications," said Catherine Hong, a senior market analyst who monitors the BaaS market at research firm IDC.

Market revenue has maintained growth of about 90 per cent over the past two years, she added.

By trying to dissociate the technology from its most well-known use cases overseas, Beijing has fuelled a race to develop blockchain with "Chinese characteristics".

"Most of China's blockchain applications will be in the form of BaaS, as the country has already ruled out other mainstream ways tied to blockchain," said Bo Zhengyuan, a partner with research firm Plenum.

While cryptocurrencies are banned, banks have been exploring other financial use cases for blockchain. China Zheshang Bank, for example, has five services registered with the CAC, according to a list from 2019. These include services for personal financial transfers, receivables and supply chain management.

Some of the registered services have ventured into unexpected fields. One company named Blockchain Technology Shenzhen Research Institute developed a service to record family trees, catering to a growing demand among Chinese families to trace their roots.

Chongqing, a city in southwestern China, has a blockchain system to protect the branding of Fuling pickled vegetables, a local speciality, and at least five services across China are related to the Communist Party's management and propaganda. One of the applications is for "sending greetings to the Party at its 100th year anniversary".

A plurality of the registered services come from Beijing and southern Guangdong province, home to Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The regions have 477 and 352 registered blockchain services, respectively. Plenum's Bo said this reflects the demographics of China's tech capitals.

"The market is entering a new phase, from building underlying technologies to standardising applications and tools," IDC's Hong said. "With the rise of metaverse and Web3, both traditional and innovative scenarios have great potential."

Web3 is the term used to refer to a decentralized World Wide Web based around blockchain technologies. Projects related to the metaverse, conceived as a next-generation version of the internet where people interact in shared 3D virtual worlds, also often involves selling virtual goods in the form of NFTs.

Beijing has been bullish about blockchain as a means of digitising the country's traditional industries and helping them innovate. In a guideline released in June 2021, the CAC and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology called for "fastening the development of blockchain technological applications and industrial development", as well as the merging of blockchain and other buzzy technologies including the industrial internet, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

However, DataQin's Jiang said that the blockchain sector still expects more practical support such as industry-specific policies and subsidies. There is "loud thunder but small raindrops" for now, he said, using a Chinese proverb that describes vocal support but little action.

At the same time, the requirement that blockchain-related projects be registered with the CAC has allowed the authority to gradually increase its supervision of related applications.

Tencent-owned WeChat recently said that accounts that display digital collectibles - the term used in mainland China to refer to NFTs on domestic blockchains - need to have contracts with blockchain companies certified by the CAC. Likewise, Alipay also only services certified digital collectible businesses.

Translation

根據對政府文件的審查和對業內人士的採訪，2022年中國區塊鏈市場增長加速，在中國互聯網監管機構註冊的服務總數達到1,821項。

去年年底，新區塊鏈服務的認證步伐加快，中國國家互聯網信息辦公室（CAC），從 2019 年 3 月到 2021 年的六到八個月發布一次新的企業名單, 增加到每兩到四個月發布一次。

該機構在三年內發布了 197 個項目，區塊鏈項目涵蓋法律、金融、農業和知識產權保護服務。

加速發佈時間表表明北京決心開發符合國家經濟和技術目標的區塊鏈應用程序，同時保持對該技術已知的更分散的應用程序的嚴格控制。

該國已禁止加密貨幣交易，這是區塊鏈與比特幣的原始用例，這也有效地禁止了在 Ethereum 等公共區塊鏈上進行非同質化代幣（NFT）的交易。

然而，越來越多的中國公司正在尋找區塊鏈的新應用，這可能為基於該技術運行的服務打開一個巨大的市場，這是一種由網絡上由不同電腦節點持援的不可變分佈式賬薄。市場研究公司 IDC 估計，到 2025 年，中國的區塊鏈市場價值可能超過 32 億美元，從 2020 年到 2025 年，年復合增長率將達到 47%。

杭州區塊鏈服務提供商數秦科技(DataQin) 的副總裁Jiang Lifeng 表示：“（在政府）註冊並不難，這是一種與監管機構保持密切聯繫的方式。” 數秦科技擁有三個法律和金融服務在 CAC的註冊。

自 2016 年開始，數秦科技 已將法律作為其名為“保全网”的聯盟區塊鏈作為關鍵領域之一，Jiang表示，保全网 可以通過電子化安全公證服務將“數據轉化為證據並使證據可傳輸”。聯盟區塊鏈限制了誰可以參與網絡，允許他們在中國大陸嚴格的監管環境中運營。

2018 年，數秦科技對法律的關注得到了回報，當時杭州互聯網法院允許使用保全网 接收證據，這標誌著中國首個使用基於區塊鏈的證據的案件。

這有前途的行業甚至得到了中國最高人民法院的祝福。最高人民法院在 5 月表示，其目標是“到 2025 年在法院與社會各行各業之間建立區塊鏈聯盟”。

許多中國最大的科技公司及其部分子公司也擁有在 CAC 註冊的區塊鏈服務。騰訊控股、京東、小米、網易和百度均上榜。南華早報的擁有者阿里巴巴集團控股,及其擁有支付寶的金融科技子公司螞蟻集團也在那裡。

大多數註冊服務用於法律和金融應用程序以及區塊鏈即服務（BaaS），它允許客戶將智能合約等預先存有的區塊鏈技術應用於他們自己的業務。

研究公司 IDC 監測 BaaS 市場的高級市場分析師 Catherine Hong 表示： “對於中國的區塊鏈發展和新技術的投資路線圖，公司提出通用 BaaS 平台而不是垂直區塊鏈應用程序是有意義的。”

她補充說，過去兩年市場收入保持了約 90% 的增長。

通過試圖將這項技術與其最知名的海外用例區分開來，北京推動了一場開發具有“中國特色”的區塊鏈的競賽。

研究公司 Plenum 的合夥人Bo Zhengyuan 說: “中國的大部分區塊鏈應用將採用 BaaS 的形式，因為中國已經排除了與區塊鏈相關的其他主流方式” 。

雖然加密貨幣被禁止，但銀行一直在探索區塊鏈的其他金融用例。例如，根據 2019 年的一份清單，中國浙商銀行在 CAC 註冊了五項服務。這些服務包括個人財務轉賬、應收賬款和供應鏈管理服務。

一些註冊服務已經涉足了意想不到的領域。一家名為區塊链技术深圳研究院開發了一項記錄家譜的服務，以滿足中國家庭日益增長的尋根需求。

中國西南城市重慶用區塊鏈系統來保護涪陵榨菜這一地方特產的品牌，全國這系統至少有五項服務與共產黨的管理和宣傳有關。其中一項申請是“向建黨100週年敬禮”。

多個註冊服務來自北京和南部的廣東省深圳和廣州。這些地區分別有 477 和 352 個註冊的區塊鏈服務。Plenum的 Bo 說這反映了中國科技之都的人口結構。

IDC 的 Hong 說: “市場正在進入一個新階段，從構建底層技術到標準化應用程序和工具”; “隨著元宇宙(metaverse)和Web3的興起，傳統的和創新的事件发展, 都有很大的潛力。”

Web3 是指基於區塊鏈技術的去中心化的全球广域网的術語。而被認為是與下一代互聯網 -元宇宙- 相關的項目，即人們在 3D 虛擬世界中進行互動，亦多數涉及以非同質化代幣 (NFT) 形式銷售虛擬商品。

北京一直看好區塊鏈，將其作為中國傳統產業電子化和幫助創新的一種手段。在 2021 年 6 月發布的指導意見中，CAC 和工業和信息化部呼籲 “加快區塊鏈技術應用和產業發展” ，以及合并區塊鏈與其他热门技术, 包括工業互聯網、大數據、雲計算和人工智能。

不過，DataQin的蔣表示，區塊鏈領域仍期待更多的實際支持，例如針對行業的政策和補貼。他說現在是“雷聲大雨點小”，用了一句中國諺語來形容只聲到支持聲音但很少見行動。

同時，區塊鏈相關項目在網信辦備案的要求，使得監管部門逐步加大了對相關應用的監管力度。

騰訊旗下的微信最近表示，顯示电子收藏品的賬戶 - 在中國大陸用來指國內區塊鏈上的 NFT - 需要與 CAC 認證的區塊鏈公司去簽訂合同。同樣，支付寶也只能經营已經過認證的电子收藏品業務。

       So, the growth of China's blockchain market has accelerated in 2022.However, the blockchain sector still expects more practical support such as industry-specific policies and subsidies. At the same time, the requirement that blockchain-related projects need be registered with the CAC has allowed the authority to gradually increase its supervision of related applications.

Notes:

1. NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. “Non-fungible” means that it is completely unique. “Token” means that it can be transferred on a blockchain. Essentially, NFTs are assets that carry a unique digital identity and can be traded between users on a public blockchain like Tezos. Common examples of NFTs include artwork, trading cards, comic books, sports collectibles, games and more. Although NFTs tend to be associated with artwork, they actually represent much more. (https://tezos.com/non-fungible-token/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwtne75Dx-AIVCQutBh3tjwctEAAYASAAEgLolfD_BwE)

2. Blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) is the third-party creation and management of cloud-based networks for companies in the business of building blockchain applications. These third-party services are a relatively new development in the growing field of blockchain technology. (https://www.investopedia.com/)

3. The Metaverse refers to a virtual reality-based parallel internet world where users can interact with each other and with digital objects in a 3D space.

4. Web3 is the third generation of the internet, and it is built on the philosophy that the internet should be a decentralized network of computers rather than a centralized one. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/markminevich)