Liu Donghao, the founder of Guizhou Big Data Protection Engineering Security Research Center, died on March 5, the company confirmed through their WeChat account on Saturday.
Liu also served as the secretary-general of the board and the CEO of Big Data Protection Engineering Security Research Center (Guizhou) Co.
The center was established in November 2017, and was a collaborative project initiated by the Guiyang city government and Alibaba Group, focusing on advanced research and development in data security, aiming to pioneer new governance models and industrial practices.
Since 2017, Guizhou has been actively exploring and practicing data security measures. The establishment of the center was a significant step in this endeavor.
Against the backdrop, the center was tasked with conducting Data Security Capability Maturity Model (DSMM) pilot compliance assessments and fostering the data security industry, in line with Guizhou Province's adoption of the national standard cooperation model for DSMM, CRI Online reported in May of 2023.
The center led by Liu, has developed a comprehensive system called DSMM for assessing data security capabilities across industries, which can identify weaknesses and offer strategic solutions through consultation, certification, and training. By focusing on prevention and addressing existing issues, it aims to enhance overall industry security and risk management.
In 2021, the center introduced a pioneering data security governance framework and industry development system based on DSMM principles, national standards, regulations, and assessment methods. This initiative, centered the DSMM national standard, shapes data security governance practices in Guizhou.
Liu stated that the "Guizhou practice" has now been widely implemented across China, setting a model for cities and provinces such as Sichuan, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Chongqing, spanning industries of telecommunications, taxation, government affairs, and manufacturing. This initiative effectively exports the DSMM national standard, driving the industrialization and scaling of national data security standards.
Guizhou has become one of the regions with the largest number of ultra-large data centers in the world, and the growth rate of digital economy has ranked first in China for several years in a row.
The province's growth rate of digital economy has ranked first among Chinese provinces for seven consecutive years, with its added value accounting for about 37 percent of last year's GDP, according to Guizhou Daily.
The provincial government vowed to focus on AI to develop new quality productive forces, aiming to build an internationally competitive computing base in 2024, Jing Yaping, director of the Guizhou Big Data Development Administration said during this year`s National People's Congress, according to chinanews.com.cn.
Fostering artificial intelligence (AI) literacy is a long-term endeavor that involves cultivating students’ interest and ability from a young age. A deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) suggested on Monday the country integrate AI literacy education into the nine-year compulsory education curriculum, introduce a general AI course, and incorporate relevant content into primary and secondary school activities.
AI stands as a new driver of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Accelerating the development of a new generation of AI is a strategic issue that will determine whether China can seize the opportunities presented by AI innovation, said Lei Jun, CEO of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and a deputy to the NPC.
Looking at the long-term trends, there is a growing demand across industries for talent skilled in basic AI. However, based on the current practical technological level of generative AI in China, there is a clear shortfall of the talent, Lei said.
The shortage of AI talent with a diverse skill set is even more acute. Strengthening talent cultivation in the field of AI will be a key factor in the continued upgrading of China’s industries, he added.
“Therefore, I am for promoting AI literacy education included in the compulsory education system,” he said.
During primary and secondary schooling, students are at a critical period of cognitive development. They are most active and sensitive in their thinking and are most receptive to new things, Lei said.
From fundamental principles to practical applications, it is crucial to comprehensively ignite the interest of primary and secondary school students, cultivate their cognitive and applied abilities in AI, he noted.
It is also recommended to strongly promote the establishment of AI-related majors in Chinese universities, Lei said.
Currently, 498 universities in China offer undergraduate programs in AI, and 209 universities have registered or applied for undergraduate programs in “Intelligent Science and Technology.” However, the numbers represent a relatively low proportion in the backdrop of more than 3,000 universities in China, Lei said.
He also suggested that large technology companies and educational institutions could help cultivate talent specializing in the practical application of AI.
In recent years, many enterprises have emerged as key drivers in the development of AI technology. These companies possess vast data and computing resources, as well as application scenarios. However, there is a severe shortage of high-level AI training capabilities in the talent market.
AI is one of the hot topics discussed by NPC deputies at this year’s two sessions which offers the world a window to observe the country’s development this year.
Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the second session of the 14th NPC, said at a press conference on Monday that legislation related to technological innovation will be advanced, with a particular emphasis on delving into crucial cutting-edge fields like AI and biotechnology.
China’s AI industry is experiencing rapid growth, with the core industry reaching a scale of 500 billion yuan ($69.46 billion). The number of AI enterprises has exceeded 4,300, and innovative achievements continue to emerge, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The latest revision of the Law on Guarding State Secrets has unsurprisingly triggered a new round of Western media hype about concerns over China's investment environment, but such slander is just a distortion of the actual situation. China's efforts to improve its laws and regulations to safeguard national security will not be in conflict with its push to promote further opening-up, and an updated legal system could even play a more active role in providing a safer environment for foreign investment.
Chinese lawmakers on Tuesday voted to adopt a revised Law on Guarding State Secrets. A report by the Voice of America Chinese edition on Thursday said that the revision of China's Law on Guarding State Secrets will exacerbate a chilling effect, posing major operational challenges for foreign businesses in China, while The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday that the revision has encompassed sensitive information that did not previously fall under its scope, which in turn "potentially adds to foreign businesses' concerns over the risks of operating in the country," and "adds a potentially broad new category of restricted information."
According to the National Administration of State Secrets Protection, the aim of the revision this time is to further strengthen the protection of state secrets so as to maximize the rational use of information sources and to better protect China's core interests and national security.
But this does not mean that the law will interfere with normal business activities, nor does it mean that it will discriminate against or put new restrictions on foreign investment. As long as foreign businesses in China are operating normally according to law, there is no need for them to worry about triggering such restrictions.
Any foreign business operating in China needs to abide by Chinese laws and regulations, including the Law on Guarding State Secrets. This is not an excessive request, but a basic principle that applies to any country. Only those with ulterior motives will be concerned about the potential impact, and they are the ones the revision is meant to deter from harming the interests of the country and its people.
The emergence of new technologies and applications such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence is accelerating a new technological revolution, creating high demand for laws to support China's independent innovation and development of relevant technologies. This is why the newly revised law has significantly increased technology-related content, adding several provisions that demonstrate a focus on protecting confidential technology innovation and technology security.
Against the background of some Western countries abusing national security excuses to impose unilateral sanctions on Chinese technology companies and suppress China's technological development, it is entirely justified for China to take appropriate measures to ensure its interests in scientific and technological development.
There is no contradiction between this reasonable demand and China's attitude of encouraging foreign investment. Anyone who has basic knowledge of China's opening-up policy would not believe Western media outlets' slander that claims Chinese policies are complicating its investment environment with additional legal risks.
When meeting with a US Chamber of Commerce delegation in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang made it clear that China will open its door even wider to the outside world, continue to foster a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, and provide more support and convenience for US companies and those from other countries to invest and do business in China.
China has been committed to expanding its opening-up to attract foreign investment in recent years, with its huge market and enormous potential luring an increasing number of foreign businesses to invest.
During this process, China has also worked on improving relevant laws and regulations, with an eye to ensuring a safer and steady market environment. This is because an up-to-date legal system is part of the efforts to open its market further. These measures aimed at ensuring the fair operation of the investment environment are conducive to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies and providing a stable law-based business environment.
It's hoped that more foreign businesses will recognize and share the development opportunities of the Chinese market, rather than falling for groundless slander.
In recent years, the China Construction Bank has implemented the decisions and plans of the central government, continuously increasing the supply of financial services in the field of agriculture, rural areas and farmers, contributing to the rural revitalization with its financial strength.
In order to better address the contradiction between the supply and demand of rural finance, CCB has taken the lead in the industry to set up a rural revitalization finance department, viewing rural revitalization as a new core field.
Focusing on the main position of rural workers, the bank has launched innovations in rural financial infrastructure, product structure, service mode, credit management process, risk control and other modules to realize the goal of universal benefits and activate rural resources to help farmers increase their income, so that finance can become an important force in the development of the agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
As of the end of December 2023, the balance of CCB's agriculture-related loans amounted to 3.82 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 800 billion yuan from the beginning of 2023, at a growth rate of 27 percent.
Process facilitation "When I expanded my farmhouse, I spent more than 100,000 yuan. At that time, I got a loan from CCB with just a simple process on my mobile," said Sheng Hongqun, a villager of Hongda village of Ankang city, Northwest Shaanxi Province, who was very satisfied with the financial services provided by CCB.
"In addition to favorable interest rates, the bank provides convenient financial services. A lot of business can be solved at the touch of a finger. If it can't be address by cellphone, the business manager can provide door-to-door services," he noted.
The service offered by the CCB is one of the innovative products to break through the difficulties and blockages of financial services to the rural areas, and it is a key product of the CCB to serve farmers and promote rural revitalization.
The Cailiang community of Ankang has set up a financial service point with products from the CCB. In addition to basic financial services such as deposit and withdrawal, money transfer and remittance, the service point can also provide social security and medical insurance, agricultural subsidies, payment of living expenses and other livelihood services.
Improving financial literacy In addition to weaving a network of financial services through its products, CCB is also committed to changing the financial concepts and awareness of farmers, proactively approaching farmers to enhance their financial literacy.
The CCB branch in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, together with local authorities, has explored a new way of financial service for rural revitalization - the "financial deputy village head" model.
That is to say, the local government appoints college students or village officials as "financial deputy village head" to interpret government policies to farmers and disseminate financial knowledge, in a bid to better help authorities with the governance of the financial and credit environment in villages, provide feedback on the financial needs of farmers and herdsmen, and construct a bridge for grass-roots finance.
The "financial deputy village head" is an innovative model that synchronizes the expansion of financial business with the development of rural talent. Through the organic interaction between capital, talent and industries, it provides multiple elemental support for the enhancement of sustainable capacity of the rural areas, and it is an effective and easy-to-replicate innovative model.
So far, the model has gone out to North China's Hebei Province and East China's Shandong Province.
China has ramped up financial support for rural revitalization. According to financial service guidelines for rural revitalization released by the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, by 2035, the country will promote the establishment of a modern rural financial system that is multi-level, wide-coverage, sustainable, appropriately competitive, orderly and innovative, and with controlled risks.
China unveiled its "No.1 central document" for 2024 on February 3, outlining the priorities for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization this year. As the first policy statement released by China's central authorities each year, the document is seen as an indicator for current and future policy priorities.
On China's new journey in the new era, the focus should be on promoting rural revitalization across the board while carrying forward work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers, the document noted.
A people-centered development philosophy should be upheld to deliver tangible benefits to the people and to make substantial progress, according to the document.
Chinese observers on Sunday said that calls by a US manufacturing advocacy group - Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) - for the US to block imports of Chinese vehicles and parts from Mexico are intended to have a chilling effect, which will prevent US consumers from benefiting from affordable and high-quality products and are contrary to its principles of the market economy.
The call came as Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD plans to establish a factory in Mexico targeting the US market, Reuters reported.
If the US does impose such a ban, it would raise concerns of targeting Chinese businesses, which is contrary to the principle of the market economy and the non-intervention principle that the US champions, Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who closely follows China-US trade issues, told the Global Times on Sunday
Gao said that such protectionist measures would not address the underlying issues of competitiveness in the US auto industry, which stem from innovation, markets and shortages of talent.
The AAM report argues that the US should not allow vehicles and parts made in Mexico by companies based in China benefit from a North American free trade agreement. Vehicles and parts produced in Mexico can qualify for preferential treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement as well as qualifying for a $7,500 EV tax credit.
Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, highlighted the attractiveness of Mexico for investment and cooperation with China, particularly in the EV sector, thanks to its significant position in the global market, as well as its manufacturing base and openness to foreign investment.
Zhou underscored the potential for the strong development of Mexico's EV industry, represented by existing investment inflows from Chinese companies.
In response to the AAM report, the Chinese Embassy in Washington defended the nation's automotive exports as a reflection of the Chinese manufacturing industry's high-quality development and strong innovation. The embassy argued that the leapfrog development of China's auto industry has provided cost-effective products with high quality to the world, according to the Reuters report.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, BYD outpaced Tesla to become the world's largest EV seller. Facing challenges posed by China's fast-growing EV industry, the Biden administration issued rules in December to cut subsidies for EVs, batteries and parts that contain sourcing materials from China, aiming to wean the US EV supply chain away from China.
In contrast to the challenges faced in the US, Chinese EVs are making new breakthroughs in the European market. The first batch of BYD ATTO 3 vehicles was delivered to Hungarian customers, witnessed by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, according to BYD's official WeChat account on Saturday.
With increased market competition brought by Chinese EVs, better products and prices could be developed for European consumers. The entry of Chinese EVs is also expected to have a positive effect on the entire supply chain, bringing new technologies and fostering innovation, aiding Europe's transition to EVs, Zhou told the Global Times on Sunday
If the US government intervenes to block Chinese EVs from entering the market, it would deprive consumers of the benefits brought by technological advances and hinder the Biden administration's efforts to combat climate change, Zhou argued.
BYD has established three stores in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and plans to continue expanding its sales and service network, expecting to double its stores in the country this year.
China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed the European Commission's so-called economic security plan, which is reportedly aimed at China, saying that the move will only exacerbate global concerns over the EU's rising protectionism and unilateralism and further undermine Chinese and global businesses' confidence in the EU market.
China's main business group in the EU said the EU's plan could have profound implications for a wide range of areas, including investment, trade and technological cooperation. Such a move also shows that the EU is becoming increasingly aggressive and hostile in its "de-risking" strategy aimed at China, and that China needs to prepare a feasible plan to respond, experts noted.
The European Commission released the so-called European Economic Security Package on Wednesday, which calls for tighter scrutiny of foreign investment and more coordinated controls on exports and technological outflows. While the plans did not name any country, the EU had China in mind, Reuters reported, noting that the EU highlights "de-risking," the bloc's strategy of cutting economic reliance on China.
Commenting on the EU plans at a regular press briefing in Beijing, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said that in recent years the international community has had many concerns regarding EU's protectionism and unilateralism in the economic and trade fields, noting the new move will exacerbate such concerns.
"Hopefully the EU will abide by the basic norms of the market economy such as free trade, fair competition, and open cooperation, abide by the rules of the WTO, and avoid the introduction of anti-globalization and pan-security policies and measures," Wang said, stressing that such a move would not only affect the EU's international image but also confidence of companies from China and other countries in the EU's business environment.
The EU's plans, which, according to Reuters, could take three years to enter force, have already sparked widespread concerns. China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU), which represents more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises in the EU, said that it closely monitors the ongoing development of the EU's economic security strategy and expresses concerns about the impact of the new plans on Chinese companies' investment, trade, and innovation collaboration within Europe.
"Of particular note, the package suggests enforceable rules to tighten FDI screening and introduces measures that might impact the EU's outbound investment, exports, and research collaborations, potentially influencing the confidence of Chinese businesses investing and operating in Europe," the group said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
The group said that its survey of Chinese firms showed that 52 percent were concerned about the negative impact of the EU's FDI screening mechanism, and 47 percent expressed concern about the possible effects of the "European Economic Security Strategy."
EU's woes
Fang Dongkui, secretary-general of the CCCEU, said that the package will still have to go through deliberation within the EU, but it has highlighted the EU's "inward-looking" trend amid sluggish economic recovery and growth in the Eurozone and the EU.
"The aim of these policies is to 'de-risk,' but 'de-risking' will result in increased costs, including business and compliance costs, and these costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers, with the EU public footing the bill," Fang told the Global Times on Thursday.
While the exact impact of the EU economic security package remains to be seen, the move will bring another round of test for China-EU ties, which have already been under increased pressure due to the EU's increasingly aggressive and hostile tone, experts noted.
"Although the EU publicly claims to be focusing on preventing or reducing risks, its policies have become tougher and more aggressive, especially against China," Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Cui said that China-EU relations were hoped to improve this year, but if the EU artificially set up barriers, it will be more difficult to improve China-EU cooperation in economy, trade and other fields.
China-EU ties have faced pressure after the EU launched the so-called anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, which has been criticized by Chinese officials as protectionism. Still, Chinese officials have stated that China is ready to provide an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory environment for EU and other international businesses.
Experts said that while China has been actively promoting win-win cooperation with the EU, Brussels has become increasingly protectionist and aggressive due to its own economic woes, as well as political and geopolitical factors.
"When some EU institutions and politicians are hyping 'security issues,' they also have their own political motives - that is to cater to populist politics within the bloc or to echo the US' rival strategy against China," Cui said, noting that the EU's "de-risking" or so-called "anti-coercion" strategies against China lack factual basis and are entirely based on speculation and imagination.
Going forward, China-EU relations need a rebalancing, in that stability should be maintained in the overall relationship, but China must also come up with practical responses to EU's aggression in some areas and specific issues, according to experts.
Sci-fi novels and films like Gattaca no longer have a monopoly on genetically engineered humans. Real research scripts about editing the human genome are now appearing in scientific and medical journals. But the reviews are mixed.
In Gattaca, nearly everyone was genetically altered, their DNA adjusted to prevent disease, enhance intelligence and make them look good. Today, only people treated with gene therapy have genetically engineered DNA. But powerful new gene editing tools could expand the scope of DNA alteration, forever changing humans’ genetic destiny.
Not everyone thinks scientists should wield that power. Kindling the debate is a report by scientists from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, who have edited a gene in fertilized human eggs, called zygotes. The team used new gene editing technology known as the CRISPR/Cas9 system. That technology can precisely snip out a disease-causing mutation and replace it with healthy DNA. CRISPR/Cas9 has edited DNA in stem cells and cancer cells in humans. Researchers have also deployed the molecules to engineer other animals, including mice and monkeys (SN Online: 3/31/14; SN: 3/8/14, p. 7). But it had never before been used to alter human embryos. The team’s results, reported April 18 in Protein & Cell, sparked a flurry of headlines because their experiment modified human germline tissue (SN Online: 4/23/15). While most people think it is all right to fix faulty genes in mature body, or somatic, cells, tinkering with the germ line — eggs, sperm or tissues that produce those reproductive cells — crosses an ethical line for many. Germline changes can be passed on to future generations, and critics worry that allowing genetic engineering to correct diseases in germline tissues could pave the way for creating designer babies or other abuses that will persist forever.
“How do you draw a clear, meaningful line between therapy and enhancement?” ponders Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, Calif. About 40 countries ban or restrict such inherited DNA modifications.
Rumors about human germline editing experiments prompted scientists to gather in January in Napa, Calif. Discussions there led two groups to publish recommendations. One group, reporting March 26 in Nature, called for scientists to “agree not to modify the DNA of human reproductive cells,” including the nonviable zygotes used in the Chinese study. A second group, writing in Science April 3, called for a moratorium on the clinical use of human germline engineering, but stopped short of saying the technology shouldn’t be used in research. Those researchers say that while CRISPR technology is still too primitive for safe use in patients, further research is needed to improve it. But those publishing in Nature disagreed.
“Are there ever any therapeutic uses that would demand … modification of the human germ line? We don’t think there are any,” says Edward Lanphier, president of Sangamo BioSciences in Richmond, Calif. “Modifying the germ line is crossing the line that most countries on our planet have said is never appropriate to cross.”
If germline editing is never going to be allowed, there is no reason to conduct research using human embryos or reproductive cells, he says. Sangamo BioSciences is developing gene editing tools for use in somatic cells, an approach that germline editing might render unneeded. Lanphier denies that financial interests play a role in his objection to germline editing.
Other researchers, including Harvard University geneticist George Church, think germline editing may well be the only solution for some people with rare, inherited diseases. “What people want is safety and efficacy,” says Church. “If you ban experiments aimed at improving safety and efficacy, we’ll never get there.”
The zygote experiments certainly demonstrate that CRISPR technology is not ready for daily use yet. The researchers attempted to edit the beta globin, or HBB, gene. Mutations in that gene cause the inherited blood disorder beta-thalassemia. CRISPR/Cas9 molecules were engineered to seek out HBB and cut it where a piece of single-stranded DNA could heal the breach, creating a copy of the gene without mutations. That strategy succeeded in only four of the 86 embryos that the researchers attempted to edit. Those edited embryos contained a mix of cells, some with the gene edited and some without.
In an additional seven embryos, the HBB gene cut was repaired using the nearby HBD gene instead of the single-stranded DNA. The researchers also found that the molecular scissors snipped other genes that the researchers never intended to touch.
“Taken together, our work highlights the pressing need to further improve the fidelity and specificity of the CRISPR/Cas9 platform, a prerequisite for any clinical applications,” the researchers wrote.
The Chinese researchers crossed no ethical lines, Church contends. “They tried to dot i’s and cross t’s on the ethical questions.” The zygotes could not develop into a person, for instance: They had three sets of chromosomes, having been fertilized by two sperm in lab dishes.
Viable or not, germline cells should be off limits, says Darnovsky. She opposes all types of human germline modification, including a procedure approved in the United Kingdom in February for preventing mitochondrial diseases. The U.K. prohibits all other germline editing.
Mitochondria, the power plants that churn out energy in a cell, each carry a circle of DNA containing genes necessary for the organelle’s function. Mothers pass mitochondria on to their offspring through the egg. About one in 5,000 babies worldwide are born with mitochondrial DNA mutations that cause disease, particularly in energy-greedy organs such as the muscles, heart and brain.
Such diseases could be circumvented with a germline editing method known as mitochondrial replacement therapy (SN: 11/17/12, p. 5). In a procedure pioneered by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, researchers first pluck the nucleus, where the bulk of genetic instructions for making a person are stored, out of the egg of a woman who carries mutant mitochondria. That nucleus is then inserted into a donor egg containing healthy mitochondria. The transfer would produce a person with three parents; most of their genes inherited from the mother and father, with mitochondrial DNA from the anonymous donor. The first babies produced through that technology could be born in the U.K. next year.
Yet another new gene-editing technique could eliminate the need to use donor eggs by specifically destroying only disease-carrying mitochondria, researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., reported April 23 in Cell (SN Online: 4/23/15).
Such unproven technologies shouldn’t be attempted when alternatives already exist, Darnovsky says, such as screening embryos created through in vitro fertilization and discarding those likely to develop the disease.
But banning genome-altering technology could leave people with genetic diseases, and society in general, in the lurch, says molecular biologist Matthew Porteus of Stanford University.
“There is no benefit in my mind of having a child born with a devastating genetic disease,” he says.
Alternatives to germline editing come with their own ethical quandaries, he says. Gene testing of embryos may require creating a dozen or more embryos before finding one that doesn’t carry the disease. The rest of the embryos would be destroyed. Many people find that prospect ethically questionable.
But that doesn’t argue for sliding into Gattaca territory, where genetic modification becomes mandatory. “If we get there,” says Porteus, “we’ve really screwed up.”
