Taiwan’s new fighters struggle to close airpower gap with China – Asia Times

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Taiwan’s merger of upgraded F-16V fighters marks a major step forward, but does little to shut the yawning space with China’s fast developing air pressure.

Last month, many media outlets reported that the US delivered the first of 66 F-16C/D Block 70 fighter planes to Taiwan, marking a major step in a US$ 8 billion arms deal signed in 2019.

The transfer meeting, held at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, South Carolina, shop, was attended by Taiwan’s Deputy Defense Minister Po Horng-Huei and its member to the US Alexander Yui.

The planes, to become stationed at Zhihang Air Base, will provide the recently formed 7th Tactical Fighter Wing, which is tasked with bolstering the region’s air defense amid growing dangers from China.

The Block 70 variant, the F-16V, features AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array ( AESA ) radar, advanced electronic warfare systems, conformal fuel tanks and upgraded avionics.

These enable the carrying of a wide range of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, including the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon. Although the first delivered jet may temporarily lack its intended electronic warfare suite due to production delays, Taiwan plans to integrate the missing systems later.

US officials highlighted the delivery as a demonstration of &nbsp, US commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and the” Six Assurances”, underscoring continued arms sales to Taipei despite China’s opposition. Complete delivery of the 66 jets is expected by the end of 2026.

Taiwan’s new F-16V jets represent a significant improvement over its older F-16A/B fleet, which has also been upgraded to the V-standard. However, recent combat insights raise questions about their effectiveness against China’s modern airpower.

In a Defense Security Asia article last month, Yuriy Ignat, former spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, noted that Ukraine’s upgraded F-16 AM/BM fighters – mid-life improved versions similar to Taiwan’s older models– have struggled against Russia’s Su-35s due to inferior avionics, maneuverability and weapon systems.

While Taiwan’s F-16Vs feature more advanced radar and electronic warfare systems than Ukraine’s F-16s, they could face a similar qualitative disadvantage against China’s Su-35s and its growing fleet of J-20 stealth fighters.

Likewise, Global Security notes that Taiwan’s fleet of Indigenous Defense Fighters ( IDF) is underpowered and short-range, with speculation that US political pressure has prevented Taiwan from developing long-range fighters to avoid provoking China. Although Global Security suggests that Taiwan’s IDFs may have been more advanced than any other combat aircraft China had at the time of their unveiling in the 1980s, China has since unveiled superior fighters.

Further, Steve Balestrieri mentions in a February 2025 article for 1945 that China operates 24 Su-35s, bought from Russia ostensibly as a stopgap platform until China’s J-20 stealth fighters were ready. Additionally, Maya Carlin mentions in an August 2023 article for 1945 that China has already produced 200-250 J-20 stealth fighters, marking a significant surge in production since the type was first unveiled in 2011.

It is also unlikely that Taiwan will ever operate US stealth aircraft, such as the F-35. In a December 2021 Aviation Geek Club article, Zack Lu says that the US has zero expectation that Taiwan will hold out against a Chinese invasion. He notes any US military equipment sold to Taiwan will end up in China’s hands if Taiwan capitulates.

He mentions that all US military items sold to Taiwan are either older or current-generation systems, which are of little value to China when reverse-engineered. He says the F-35 is considered too cutting-edge to be compromised.

In terms of sheer combat aircraft numbers, the US Department of Defense’s 2024 China Military Power Report mentions that China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force ( PLAAF ) and People’s Liberation Army Navy ( PLAN ) Aviation are the largest aviation forces in the Indo-Pacific and third-largest in the world, with 3, 150 total aircraft, of which 2, 400 are combat aircraft, with 1, 900 fighters. Additionally, Admiral John Aquilino mentioned in a March 2024 US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing that China will soon have the world’s largest air force, following its current status as having the world’s largest army and navy.

Despite those disadvantages, Taiwan’s new F-16V jets may offer the self-governing island a much-needed airpower boost. Shu Hsiao-Huang mentions in a Taipei Times article published last month that Taiwan’s new F-16V jets are equipped with the General Electric F110 engine, these jets deliver 13, 154.18 kilograms of thrust, surpassing the older F-16A/B models and enabling greater weapon-mounting capacity.

Shu notes other advanced features, including the APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar, a helmet-mounted cueing system and an electronic warfare suite. He also says the jets boast a larger air intake and a US18E ejection seat.

Further, Taiwan’s new F-16V jets may be compatible with newer US munitions, significantly enhancing their effectiveness in standoff strikes.

Last month, The War Zone reported that the US is integrating the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile ( LRASM) onto F-16V fighters, significantly enhancing their anti-ship capabilities. The report states that the LRASM’s stealth and adaptability surpass those of the older AGM-84 Harpoon, which Taiwan currently has, offering a range of up to 965 kilometers.

However, Kitsch Liao mentions in a Newsweek article published ast month that an air-launched LRASM capability for Taiwan might not survive China’s initial onslaught, rendering it useless to China’s amphibious landing group.

In line with that, Sebastian Roblin points out in a March 2020 article for The National Interest ( TNI ) that for Taiwan’s outnumbered fighters to make any impact, they must get off the ground – a task that may be impossible given the 1, 300 ballistic missiles and hundreds of sea, air, and land-based cruise missiles China can array against the self-governing island.

While Roblin notes that Taiwan has hardened underground air bases, its fighters may be bottled up if the runways are destroyed. Though he says that Taiwan could use highways as makeshift runways, the tempo of such operations would be sporadic at best.

However, the biggest challenge for Taiwan’s airpower may not be the self-governing island’s resource constraints but rather the inefficient US arms sales processes. In a War on the Rocks article from last month, Kevin Ting-Chen Sun and Howard Shen mention that late deliveries of F-16 jets from US defense companies critically undermine Taiwan’s defense capabilities amid escalating regional tensions.

Sun and Shen note that Taiwan’s new F-16Vs faced delays due to pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, pushing the timeline to mid-2024. Compounding this issue, they point out that the F-16A/B upgrade program, which includes essential components such as electronic warfare pods and AGM-154C glide bombs, has been postponed from 2023 to 2026.

They stress that these delays hinder Taiwan’s air defense modernization, leaving its forces reliant on outdated systems and eroding public confidence in defense spending. They emphasize that systematic inefficiencies in US arms sales execution exacerbate Taiwan’s vulnerability.

In the end, Taiwan’s F-16Vs may sharpen its defenses but without timely deliveries and an answer to China’s overwhelming missile and airpower advantage, they risk becoming just another symbol of Taipei’s shrinking military options.

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IN FOCUS: Silver, debut, ice and snow – can these ‘economies’ boost China’s domestic consumption?

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DEBUT ECONOMY: NEW PRODUCTS, STORE LAUNCHES

New services, goods launches, the beginning of lineup stores- Foreign shoppers ‘ appetite for new things and trends powers what policymakers call the album business design. &nbsp,

” Its success can be tracked through the number of premier business openings, solution launches, business exhibitions and location innovations like the fall of Hangzhou’s ‘ Six Little Dragons'”, said Prof Wang, referring to a coalition of technical start-ups, including Deepseek whose AI robot roiled Silicon Valley companies earlier this year, that transformed the historic city into a creative innovation hub. &nbsp,

In December, a fresh business square opened to many suffer in Guangzhou as part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ( GBA )- featuring more than 80 stores- premier, concept- spanning across luxury retail, excellent dining, and experienced offerings. &nbsp,

The Canton Tower Plaza achieved an occupancy rate of over 95 per cent by the end of last year, Project Manager Jiang Nan told local media earlier in March. &nbsp,

The plaza also drew 310, 000 visitors on opening day and over 800, 000 in the first three days, generating more than 12 million yuan in sales. Daily foot traffic typically ranges from 40, 000 to 60, 000 visitors, rising to 80, 000 to 100, 000 during holidays, and peaking at nearly 280, 000 on occasions like New Year’s Eve.

” In the consumer sector, it is actually supply that determines demand”, Wang said. &nbsp,” The debut economy ( model ) requires further enhancement of the supply-side innovation ecosystem, particularly in terms of financial support, venture capital, and patient capital” .&nbsp,

Shenzhen Tonghe Indoor Ecological Technology, an environmental and social-focused startup, is preparing to open its first physical office space in Shenzhen within the next two years. &nbsp, combining research and experiential functions to refine its smart ecosystem.

General manager Li Hechen says the company sees the debut economy model as a key catalyst driving China’s evolving retail landscape. ” It meets diverse consumer demands, unlocks new spending potential and ( has become ) a new driver of consumption growth”, Li told CNA. &nbsp,

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Chinese firm probed

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Concerns over metallic plates used in building

Mountain of debris: Private organisations help out by deploying cranes to clear rubble in the search and rescue effort at a collapsed building site in Chatuchak district of Bangkok on Tuesday. Nutthawat Wichieanbut
Mountain of dust: Private companies help out by deploying cranes to clear dust in the search and rescue efforts at a collapsed creating page in Chatuchak city of Bangkok on Tuesday. Nutthawat Wichieanbut

The government is stepping up its probe into other construction projects linked to the Chinese contractor of the State Audit Office’s ( SAO ) under-construction building that collapsed in Bangkok during last Friday’s earthquake.

Speaking after Tuesday’s government meeting, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she instructed different companies to evaluate all building tasks awarded to China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group.

The SAO contracted a collaboration of Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway No. 10 to build the 2.1-billion-baht tower.

” All concerned authorities were instructed to probe deeper to find out how many other tasks the company is undertaking”, the prime minister said.

She said the fell tower has cost lives and severely affected Thailand’s picture.

Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong has ordered the Department of Special Investigation ( DSI) to investigate, she added.

” All houses in Bangkok must satisfy legal requirements. Safety must be the major priority”, Ms Paetongtarn said.

She said a sensor would be launched into claims that metal plates used in the construction of the building were poor.

Apart from the SAO tower, various projects undertaken by China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group include the development of a tower of the Office of the National Water Resource and some parts of the Bangkok-Nong Khai high-speed rail project.

Deputy Commerce Minister Napintorn Srisunpang said an initial spacecraft has found that owners of China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group are linked with 13 various companies.

He said a spacecraft board set up by the Commerce Ministry will function with the Royal Thai Police’s Economic Crime Suppression Division and the Revenue Department to check whether the party was involved in any collaboration or used Thai contenders.

The government will forward the results to the DSI, Mr Napintorn said, adding an original test has found that 51 % of the team’s shares are held by Thais and 49 % by Chinese immigrants.

Bloomberg reported that the contractors of the under-construction office tower which collapsed in Bangkok used substandard steel bars made by a factory that had been shuttered by authorities.

Samples of two different sizes of steel bars collected from the site of the SAO building failed tests by the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand for their mass, chemical composition and ability to withstand stress before breaking.

The metal was made by a company whose factory had been shut for other violations since December, Thitipas Choddaechachainun, the head of a working group at the Ministry of Industry, said without identifying the business.

Images of the steel bars shared by the ministry and local media displayed the brand “Sky”, made by Xin Ke Yuan Steel Co, which had a factory in Rayong province. Authorities closed the factory in December due to an accident involving a gas tank leak and seized more than 2, 400 tonnes of steel.

The 30-storey building was the only building to crumble in the Thai capital in the wake of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar. The collapse killed at least a dozen workers and trapped dozens more.

Xin Ke Yuan Steel is the second Chinese company to draw Thai scrutiny. The skyscraper was being built by ITD-CREC, a joint venture between SET-listed Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway No. 10 Thailand Co. Authorities will collect more steel samples and collaborate with the probe.

A US military scanning kit detects images of bodies trapped in the collapsed building. Fire & Rescue Thailand

A US military scanning kit detects images of bodies trapped in the collapsed building. Fire &amp, Rescue Thailand

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ChatGPT’s Studio Ghibli-style images raise new copyright problems – Asia Times

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Social media lately have been flooded with pictures that looked like they belonged in a Studio Ghibli picture. Selfies, family pictures and even jokes have been re-imagined with the sweet pastel color characteristic of the Chinese graphics firm founded by Hayao Miyazaki.

This followed OpenAI’s latest upgrade to ChatGPT. The release substantially improved ChatGPT’s picture technology capabilities, allowing users to create compelling Ghibli-style images in mere moments. It has been considerably common – so much so, in truth, that the program crashed credited to consumer demand.

Generative artificial intelligence ( AI ) systems such as ChatGPT are best understood as” style engines”. And what we are seeing today is these techniques offering consumers more efficiency and power than ever before.

But this is also raising wholly new inquiries about copyright and artistic equity.

How the fresh ChatGPT makes graphics

Relational AI programs work by producing outcomes in response to consumer causes, including prompts to produce images.

Earlier generations of AI picture generators used propagation models. These versions gradually refine strange, noisy information into a clear image. But the latest upgrade to ChatGPT uses what’s known as an “autoregressive algorithm”.

This algorithm treats pictures more like speech, breaking them down into” currencies”. Just as ChatGPT predicts the most good words in a word, it can now identify different visual elements in an image differently.

This verification enables the engine to better independent specific features of an image – and their relationship with words in a fast. As a result, ChatGPT is more effectively generate images from specific consumer prompts than previous generations of picture generators. It can remove or modify certain features while preserving the rest of the picture, and it improves the long-fraught method of generating accurate text in images.

A particularly strong benefits of generating images inside a huge language model is the ability to pick on all the information already encoded in the program. This means clients don’t need to explain every aspect of an picture in painstaking detail. They can simply refer to themes like as Studio Ghibli and the AI understands the research.

The new Studio Ghibli craze began with OpenAI itself, before spreading among Silicon Valley software designers and then even governments and officials – including seemingly improbable functions such as the White House creating a Ghiblified picture of a crying lady being deported and the American government promoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tale of a” New India”.

Understanding AI as ‘ style engines’

Generative AI systems don’t store information in any traditional sense. Instead they encode text, facts, or image fragments as patterns – or” styles” – within their neural networks.

Trained on vast amounts of data, AI models learn to recognize patterns at multiple levels. Lower network layers might capture basic features such as word relationships or visual textures. Higher layers encode more complex concepts or visual elements.

This means everything – objects, properties, writing genres, professional voices – gets transformed into styles. When AI learns about Miyazaki’s work, it’s not storing actual Studio Ghibli frames ( though image generators may sometimes produce close imitations of input images ). Instead, it’s encoding” Ghibli-ness” as a mathematical pattern – a style that can be applied to new images.

The same happens with bananas, cats or corporate emails. The AI learns “banana-ness”,” cat-ness” or” corporate email-ness” – patterns that define what makes something recognizably a banana, a cat or a professional communication.

The encoding and transfer of styles has for a long time been an express goal in visual AI. Now we have an image generator that achieves this with unprecedented scale and control.

This approach unlocks remarkable creative possibilities across both text and images. If everything is a style, then these styles can be freely combined and transferred. That’s why we refer to these systems as” style engines”. Try creating an armchair in the style of a cat, or in elvish style.

YouTube video

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The copyright controversy

While the ability to work with styles is what makes generative AI so powerful, it’s also at the heart of growing controversy. For many artists, there’s something deeply unsettling about seeing their distinctive artistic approaches reduced to just another” style” that anyone can apply with a simple text prompt.

Hayao Miyazaki. Photo: Wikipedia

Hayao Miyazaki has not publicly commented on the recent trend of people using ChatGPT to generate images in his world-famous animation style. But he has been critical of AI previously.

All of this also raises entirely new questions about copyright and creative ownership.

Traditionally, copyright law doesn’t protect styles – only specific expressions. You can’t copyright a music genre such as “ska” or an art movement such as “impressionism”.

This limitation exists for good reason. If someone could monopolize an entire style, it would stifle creative expression for everyone else.

But there’s a difference between general styles and highly distinctive ones that become almost synonymous with someone’s identity. When an AI can generate work “in the style of Greg Rutkowski” – a Polish artist whose name was reportedly used in over more than 93, 000 prompts in AI image generator Stable Diffusion – it potentially threatens both his livelihood and artistic legacy.

Some creators have already taken legal action.

In a case filed in late 2022, three artists formed a class to sue multiple AI companies, arguing that the firms ‘ image generators were trained on the artists ‘ original works without permission and now allow users to generate derivative works mimicking their distinctive styles.

As technology evolves faster than the law, work is under way on new legislation to try and balance technological innovation with protecting artists ‘ creative identities.

Whatever the outcome, these debates highlight the transformative nature of AI style engines – and the need to consider both their untapped creative potential and more nuanced protections of distinctive artistic styles.

Kai Riemer, ia Professor of Information technology and organisation at the University of Sydney and Sandra Peter is director of Sydney Executive Plus at the University of Sydney.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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S.5b nickel fraud trial: Ex-director says he invested Sm, believing scheme was legitimate

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” I TRUSTED NG AS A PERSON”&nbsp,

On Tuesday, Mr Lau took the stand for the first time, with the trial asking him about how he came to know Ng and how he finally joined the company.

The jury heard that Mr Lau and Ng were past secondary school peers who lost call until late 2015, when they met up through a mutual friend.

Following Ng’s tips, Mr Lau said he after invested S$ 50, 000 in offshore cutting business Seadrill somewhere in 2016, which did “very well”, going up by five to six days.

In February 2016, he learnt about metal buying from Ng, who shared that the material may be procured from a vendor and that Ng was doing crowdsourcing to do the deal. &nbsp,

Encouraged by the efficiency of his past purchases, Mr Lau decided to invest S$ 100, 000 in the metal system with his parents. &nbsp,

” I trusted Ng as a man, trusted his funding skills. He seemed quite effective at the time”, he said. &nbsp,

When the lease matured three months later, in May 2016, Mr Lau said he withdrew the funds. &nbsp,

Hoping to learn more about how the firm operated, he joined the company somewhere in 2016, taking up a part in selling.

The jury heard that Mr Lau’s major role was to raise money for the organization.

As of February 2021– when the Commercial Affairs Department ( CAD ) commenced its investigations into Envy Global Trading – Mr Lau was managing about 30 investors, with at least half being his family members. &nbsp,

During Tuesday’s examination-in-chief, the trial presented crucial information relating to the reported buy of nickel. This included “distributorship contracts” between Ng’s firms and Poseidon Nickel Limited, as well as comments claiming to show dealings between Envy Asset Management and BNP Paribas. &nbsp,

Sometime in the second quarter of 2018, Mr Lau began questioning Ng about the program as he had received vital questions from prospective buyers, which he could not reply.

He also voiced worries he had about the bank with Ng, saying there were “quite a dozen red banners”.

This included questions about the names on partnerships, which appeared to be printed more than nicely signed. &nbsp,

” My investors are my immediate family, my friends, my close ones, so I’m always doing my utmost best to protect their interest and monies …so when these questions with regard to ( the company’s ) came up and I couldn’t answer them … it made me feel concerned to a very large extent because I had been raising a lot of funds for the company”, he said. &nbsp,

Nevertheless, Mr Lau said he often felt reassured by Ng’s explanations, and at times also felt like he was overstepping by asking these questions. &nbsp,

Ng was arrested in February 2021 and charged with cheating, legal breach of trust, fraud, false investing and money laundering.

On Tuesday, Mr Lau testified that Ng organised an “all-hands-on-deck” appointment immediately after being released on bail. This was attended by the top management of all the bank’s companies.

When Mr Lau asked Ng if the finances were in Singapore, Ng reportedly told him that about US$ 300 million was parked in an onshore Citibank UK consideration under the name of Envy Asset Management Trading. Individually, another US$ 60 million was said to be with a Hong Kong firm called PPG Asia. &nbsp,

Afterwards, at a meeting with owners, Ng replied “very safely” that there was more than enough to pay off the second round of results to shareholders, said Mr Lau. &nbsp,

” THE WORLD CAME CRASHING DOWN”

Towards the end of the examination-in-chief, which spanned nearly five hours, Mr Lau grew emotional as he described the financial toll the case has taken on him. &nbsp,

He told the court that liquidators have commenced legal proceedings against the company’s ex-employees- including Mr Lau- seeking the return of commission they had earned. &nbsp,

” If liquidators are successful, I will be bankrupt”, he said, adding that they are demanding he repay over S$ 17 million based on their accounting methodology. &nbsp,

Mr Lau also said the case has affected his career:” Investors … don’t trust me. I lost their trust” .&nbsp,

” I find it very hard to believe in documents these days, ( it’s ) so easy to use Photoshop to forge documents” .&nbsp,

” Revisiting all this- all the lies and fraudulent documents- is traumatic”, he said, as tears welled up in his eyes. &nbsp,

He shared that his father had invested about S$ 15 million to S$ 16 million, while his mother had put in a significant portion of her life savings- approximately S$ 500, 000- in the scheme.

” Two months after the investigation, ( my mother ) felt a lump in her chest. During that period, Mr Ng got arrested for forgery. That was when we realised everything was a fraud”, he said. &nbsp,

” It was like the world came crashing down on me and my family”.

Mr Lau said his mother was later diagnosed with stage four cancer. &nbsp,

Sitting in the dock, Ng appeared emotionless as he flipped through a stack of documents.

” Every year ( between 2016 and 2021 ), Envy has always held annual meetings with investors. My family would always be there, thanking ( Ng ) for the profit he generated … I just find it very hard to believe”, he said. &nbsp,

The trial continues on Wednesday, with the defence expected to cross-examine Lau. &nbsp,

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How China plans to bounce back from more Trump tariffs – Asia Times

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China’s president Xi Jinping just held a meeting with 40 leaders of foreign firms, including BMW and AstraZeneca.

In contrast to Donald Trump’s language, Xi told the top-level managers that globalisation was never going away. Xi is attempting to boost international investment in China, which has dropped in the last few decades, and establish new connections that will compensate Trump’s levies on some Chinese products.

In the March 28 meet, Xi “vowed to boost business entry” and assured business leaders that “lines of conversation” between them and the Chinese government are available.

Xi is hoping to build on an anti-Trump jump and encourage firms to again Beijing as some evidence emerged that China’s economy was doing a much better than expected in first 2025.

Industrial production went up by 5.9 % in January and February. Credit growth, which measures the amount of loans banks give out, also appears to be picking up, suggesting that businesses might be growing in China.

Retail sales, which are a major economic marker indicating consumer spending, has risen by up to 4 % in January and February this year, compared to last year.

Beijing is also willing to create further stimulus packages to sustain China’s economic growth, which might lift consumer confidence further.

But this is hampered by a real estate crisis that began in 2021. What followed was an already high local government debt that was exacerbated by the property crisis, and high youth unemployment that has existed since 2023.

The big question then is what are the factors that could lead to a more buoyant outlook in China’s economic fortunes?

Policy resolve

According to a Bloomberg report, China has traditionally relied on cheap loans and subsidies to boost economic sectors in infrastructure, manufacturing, and the property market. However, those times are over.

The problem is China has produced more goods to sell than people are willing to buy. In the past, Beijing relied on the West to purchase its products, but with rising protectionism and looming tariffs stemming from a Donald Trump-led US, US consumption of Chinese goods is likely to fall.

And if another key market in the form of the EU were to take a cue from Trump’s economic playbook and impose more tariffs on China, then Chinese hope for sales in the west for economic growth may not materialise.

Beijing’s surest way of boosting sales is through domestic consumption. This isn’t easy as China’s domestic spending remains relatively low at 40 % of the country’s GDP, which is about 20 % lower than the global average. And if Beijing wants cautious consumers to spend amid a relatively weak economic outlook, it needs to do more to raise consumer confidence.

Although China did introduce a stimulus package in September 2024, it has resolved to do more. In an early March 2025 speech in the Chinese parliament, Chinese Premier Li Qiang promised a” special action plan” to vigorously raise domestic consumption for 2025.

Several weeks later Li reiterated in the China Development Forum that Beijing would roll out more stimulus packages when the need arose.

These assurances are likely to have helped improve market sentiment, and the fact that China’s GDP growth target was also set at an ambitious level of around 5 %, might signal Beijing’s confidence and resolve that the economy will improve.

China’s AI revolution

In the past, China was considered a copycat nation known for manufacturing shanzai, or fake and pirated products. This difficulty in innovating and reliance on the designs of others largely lay with an education system steeped in rote learning, and a top-down culture with a conformist approach.

This is why experts thought China would struggle when the US decided to introduce restrictions on Chinese access to semiconductor and AI technologies. However, despite these restrictions, China has managed to develop a highly capable AI model of its own in the form of DeepSeek, which was unveiled early this year, and immediately boosted China’s image as an innovator.

Unlike other AI models, DeepSeek was apparently made at a&nbsp, fraction&nbsp, of the cost of other traditional AI models such as ChatGPT and may have a&nbsp, more efficient&nbsp, coding scheme that allows for quicker problem-solving. This has prompted Donald Trump to coin DeepSeek’s development as a wake-up call for the US tech industry.

Many AI startups in China are now revamping their business models to compete with DeepSeek, following the widespread adoption of the latter’s technology. The AI revolution in China could potentially reduce costs and thereby boost efficiency in the financial sector.

Following Trump’s return to the Oval Office, investors across the globe have been trying to reduce their reliance on the US by looking for investment opportunities elsewhere. This isn’t entirely surprising given Trump’s knack for the unpredictable, and how new US tariffs have been applied to a host of US allies such as Mexico, Canada and the European Union.

While Trump is striking an increasingly protectionist tone, China is taking the opposite approach. Trump’s penchant for tariffs and disregard for the economic interest of US allies may mean Beijing might not need to do too much to attract more nations and businesses to consider turning towards Chinese markets.

Chee Meng Tan is assistant professor of business economics, University of Nottingham

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ puts Asia in its line of fire – Asia Times

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As Donald Trump shocks stock markets from New York to Singapore with widening risks of new levies, officials in Washington might want to examine what really happened in Seoul.

Over the weekend, South Korea, China and Japan met for their first high-level financial speech in five times. The style: beefing up local business as Trump’s White House supersizes its tariffs program.

The countries ‘ industry officials pledged to” carefully cooperate for a complete and high-level” process to create a three-way free trade agreement centered on “regional and international trade”.

In other words, Trump’s dumping of fresh grenades at the international trading program– and the resulting chaos in markets– has officials in Seoul and Tokyo but spooked that they’re talking. Truly talking, despite historic enmities.

People in Tokyo, however, are turning to Beijing as they realize the US, when Japan’s most trusted partner, is no longer the alliance it thought. Seoul, also, which has had a very up-and-down partnership with China during the Xi Jinping time.

This trilateral work probably wouldn’t be happening if Trump stuck with Plan A: a “grand deal” trade deal with China that creates a ginormous Group of Two market and gives Trump the financial legacy he so eagerly craves.

The plunge in global shares ahead of Trump’s” Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs announcement on April 2 is garnering attention of the kind that the Trump 1.0 presidency would not have liked. Something Trump really does care about is the stock market.

So far, Trump 2.0 has displayed a greater pain threshold with regard to falling equities. Hence his recent comments about there being a “period of transition” for his tariff regime to make America’s economy great again.

As Trump said last month:” There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that”. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argues the world’s biggest economy needs a “detox” to wean it off dependence on public spending.

Last month, Bessent said Washington’s reciprocal levies will target the “dirty 15” that maintain substantial and chronic trade barriers with the US. Though Bessent didn’t specify which 15, suffice to say China is among them.

Commerce Department data show that as of the end of 2024, the US has the highest goods deficits with China, the European Union, Mexico, Vietnam, Ireland, Germany, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Canada, India, Thailand, Italy, Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia, France, Austria and Sweden.

But the fallout for Asian markets more broadly will come into sharper relief on Trump’s” Liberation Day”. Given the mixed signals from Trump, and how often he’s changed his mind about who’s in the collateral damage zone and why, Asia can’t be sure if Trump will wake up on April 3 and say “never mind” or instead add even more tariffs.

It’s the not knowing that has Asia on a cliff’s edge. This extends to what strategy the Trump team might be employing this week, as opposed to next or the one after.

Trump’s mixed-signal tariffs on China are a case in point. Team Trump seemed to think the mere threat of taxes on Chinese goods, touted as high as 60 % on the 2024 campaign trail, would shock Xi’s Communist Party into submission.

And that Beijing would draw up an extensive list of preemptive concessions to make” Tariff Man” Trump happy. Instead, Xi’s team made it clear they were looking forward to seeing Trump’s concession list. Having called Trump’s bluff, the White House quickly pivoted to tariffs — now at 20 %.

Yet Team Xi has stood firm. No clear concessions, no efforts to compliment Trump or signal China might cave. This lack of fealty is putting China in harm’s way as Trump’s revenge machine turns its way.

The bigger question is whether China bears the brunt of Trump’s bruised ego. Rather than bowing to Trump’s provocations, leaders from Canada to Mexico to Denmark have pushed back. Greenland is clapping back at Trump World’s designs on the island. Officials in Panama are rolling their eyes.

Enter Vladimir Putin for the coup de grâce. A few weeks ago, Trump was certain he’d scored the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire that eluded Joe Biden. Now, Putin is proving right the geopolitical wags who warned that he’s playing Trump. Not to mention depriving Trump of the Nobel Peace Prize he craves.

Trump is now “pissed off” that Putin is dashing ceasefire hopes and is threatening 50 % tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil. But mostly, Trump is miffed Putin exposed his art-of-the-deal schtick to be more myth than reality.

As so many world leaders brush Trump off, might the bullseye on China become even bigger in the weeks ahead? The impulse could be to go even harder at showing China who’s the boss.

That would put Asia writ large in harm’s way. Since the 1980s, Trump, then a New York real estate mogul, has blamed the region for stealing US jobs and prosperity in the most sinister terms. Back then, Japan was at the center of Trumpian ire.

At&nbsp, the&nbsp, time, Trump the businessman was a regular on daytime talk shows complaining about how Japan had” systematically&nbsp, sucked&nbsp, the&nbsp, blood&nbsp, out of America –&nbsp, sucked&nbsp, the&nbsp, blood&nbsp, out! They have gotten away with murder. They have ended up winning&nbsp, the&nbsp, war”.

Today, China inhabits the bogeyman role. It’s more complicated, though, given Trump’s oft-articulated affection for Xi. On January 23, for example, Trump said,” I like President Xi very much. I’ve always liked him”. Trump added that he’s “always had a great relationship” with China’s strongest leader since Mao Zedong.

Yet Trump and Xi seem on a collision course as the former realizes the latter isn’t the junior partner he envisioned. This raises the odds Trump might supersize the revenge tour that Asia has been dreading all year, including levies of 60 % or more on Made in China goods.

Wall Street, too. Along with increased tariffs, investors are trying to factor in the global fallout from Trump’s spending cuts and the risk of a US recession. At the same time, there are concerns about a bubble in artificial intelligence stocks, seen in recent big declines in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 benchmark.

One concern is that hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into data center infrastructure are outpacing the need for such facilities. That’s pulling the rug out from under shares in chipmaker&nbsp, Nvidia Corp&nbsp, and companies from Broadcom Inc to Microsoft Corp to Amazon.com&nbsp, to Alphabet Inc&nbsp, to Meta Platforms.

But the real fallout could be on the outlook for Asia’s$ 41 trillion economy, and how it reverberates back on America. Trump’s tariffs threaten to deal a generational blow to the region’s development.

” Asia-Pacific economies are bracing for details of wide-ranging US tariffs”, says Helen Besier, an economist at Moody’s Analytics. ” The Trump administration has investigated the country’s trade relationships and appears bent on hiking tariffs to neutralize any duties, policies or practices that it believes create an uneven playing field. Beyond the direct impact on targeted countries, the toll will multiply. Much of this region’s trade is about components that come together as finished products destined for the US”.

Though China is standing its ground versus Trump, 2025 is proving to be an increasingly challenging year.

This week brought news of a slight improvement in manufacturing activity, as evidenced by China’s official purchasing managers ‘ index. The Manufacturing PMI quickened to&nbsp, 50.5 in March, its best performance in 12 months.

Even so, notes Carlos&nbsp, Casanova, senior Asia economist at Union Bancaire Privee,” support measures remain essential to sustain recovery in the first half of 2025″.

This may include the People’s Bank of China easing monetary policy again. That’s particularly possible as deflation pressures continue to bedevil officials in Beijing.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics, says the PMI data suggest “infrastructure spending is ramping up again and that exports have so far remained resilient in the face of US tariffs”. Yet, he adds, China’s economy likely grew noticeably slower in the first three months of 2025 than the last three of 2024.

Xi and Premier Li Qiang have pledged to step up fiscal policy moves to achieve this year’s growth target of&nbsp, “around 5 %”. Thus far, the priorities have been on giant trade-in programs for consumer goods to boost household spending and increased debt issuance to support the beleaguered housing sector.

For 2025, Beijing upped its budget deficit to around 4 % of gross domestic product ( GDP ), up from 3 % last year. It’s a rare increase as Team Xi works to counter Trump’s tariffs.

” The budget does allow for fiscal support to be stepped up further over the coming months”, Evans-Pritchard says, though US tariffs” will start to weigh on exports before long”.

Higher US tariffs on Chinese exports are also expected to hit domestic manufacturers in the coming months.

” The manufacturing sector faces downside risk in the second quarter as the external demand weakens, driven by the tariffs and the economic slowdown in the US”, says economist Zhiwei Zhang, president of Pinpoint Asset Management. ” The big question is how much export growth will decline, and how quickly the fiscal spending will pick up to offset weaker exports”.

Fighting these downside risks is pivotal to Xi making good on his pledge to create more than 12 million new urban jobs in 2025. Trump’s trade war, though, is generating unprecedented headwinds everywhere, including the globe’s biggest stock bourses.

The fallout could see Asia’s consumers and investors pulling back in ways that crimp US growth, too. And three of Asia’s four biggest economies striking a grand bargain trade deal with Trump Nation nowhere in sight.

Follow William Pesek on X at&nbsp, @WilliamPesek

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The ‘Dirty 15’ economies that could be hardest hit by Trump’s reciprocal tariffs

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TRUMP’S Record WITH TARIFFS&nbsp,

Trump has hyped up his looming statement on bilateral taxes as Liberation Day&nbsp, because his laws aim to price the US economy from dependency on foreign products.

” We’re going to cost locations for doing business in our land and taking our work, taking our money, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years”, Trump said last week when he announced 25 per cent car taxes.

” They’ve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And, frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe”.

Trump’s displeasure with trade ties between the US and the global economy can be traced back to the 1980s. &nbsp,

In an interview with CNN’s Larry King in 1987, when he discussed getting into politics, Trump said:” A lot of people are tired of watching other countries ripping off the US”.

He added:” Behind our backs, they laugh at us because of our own stupidity”.

While the main target of his ire at the time was Japan, China entered his crosshairs by the 1990s and early 2000s, and Beijing remains one of his top tariff targets, along with Canada, Mexico and the EU.

In his successful 2016 election campaign, Trump stepped up the rhetoric, saying:” We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country”.

In 2018, he declared in a social media post that he was a” Tariff Man”.

During his second term, Trump also started citing a historical precedent going back more than a century- President William McKinley.

McKinley’s passion for both territorial expansion and economic protectionism during his time in office from 1897 to 1901 could have been the model for Trump’s” Make America Great Again” policies.

” President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent- he was a natural businessman”, Trump said in his inauguration speech in January.

America’s tariffs are generally lower than those of its trading partners. After World War II, the US pushed for other countries to lower trade barriers and tariffs, seeing free trade as a way to promote peace, prosperity and American exports around the world.

And it mostly practised what it preached, generally keeping its own tariffs low and giving American consumers access to inexpensive foreign goods.

Trump has broken with that free trade consensus, saying unfair foreign competition has hurt American manufacturers and devastated factory towns in the American heartland.

Most economists say nothing good would come out of scrambling the tariff code.

They say the tariffs would get passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for autos, groceries, housing and other goods. Corporate profits could be lower and growth more sluggish.

Trump maintains that more companies would open factories to avoid the taxes, although that process could take three years or more.

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Rash AI deregulation puts financial markets at high risk – Asia Times

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As Canada moves toward stronger AI regulation with the proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act ( AIDA ), its southern neighbor appears to be taking the opposite approach.

AIDA, piece of Bill C-27, aims to establish a regulatory framework to strengthen AI transparency, accountability and monitoring in Canada, although some researchers have argued it doesn’t go far enough.

Nevertheless, United States President Donald Trump is pushing for AI restructuring. In January, Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating any perceived regulatory impediments to” American AI development”. The executive order replaced past president Joe Biden’s due executive order on AI.

Importantly, the US was also one of two countries — along with the UK — that didn’t signal a worldwide declaration in February to ensure AI is “open, inclusive, open, honest, safe, protected and trustworthy”.

Eliminating Artificial protection leaves economic institutions vulnerable. This risk can improve confusion and, in a worst-case situation, increase the risk of widespread decline.

The power of AI in economic areas

AI’s ability in financial areas is obvious. It can increase administrative efficiency, perform real-time risk assessments, generate higher earnings and forecast forecast financial change.

My research has found that AI-driven machine learning models hardly only beat standard techniques in identifying financial statement scams, but also in detecting abnormalities quickly and effectively. In other words, AI does find evidence of economic mismanagement before they spiral into a crisis.

In another investigation, my co-researcher and I found that AI models like artificial neural networks and classification and regression trees may identify economic distress with amazing accuracy.

Artificial neural networks are brain-inspired algorithms. Similar to how our brain sends messages through neurons to perform actions, these neural networks process information through layers of interconnected “artificial neurons”, learning patterns from data to make predictions.

Similarly, classification and regression trees are decision-making models that divide data into branches based on important features to identify outcomes.

Our artificial neural networks models predicted financial distress among Toronto Stock Exchange-listed companies with a staggering 98 % accuracy. This suggests AI’s immense potential in providing early warning signals that could help avert financial downturns before they start.

However, while AI can simplify manual processes and lower financial risks, it can also introduce vulnerabilities that, if left unchecked, could pose significant threats to economic stability.

The risks of deregulation

Trump’s push for deregulation could result in Wall Street and other major financial institutions gaining significant power over AI-driven decision-making tools with little to no oversight.

When profit-driven AI models operate without the appropriate ethical boundaries, the consequences could be severe. Unchecked algorithms, especially in credit evaluation and trading, could worsen economic inequality and generate systematic financial risks that traditional regulatory frameworks cannot detect.

Algorithms trained on biased or incomplete data may reinforce discriminatory lending practices. In lending, for instance, biased AI algorithms can deny loans to marginalized groups, widening wealth and inequality gaps.

In addition, AI-powered trading bots, which are capable of executing rapid transactions, could trigger flash crashes in seconds, disrupting financial markets before regulators have time to respond.

The flash crash of 2010 is a prime example where high-frequency trading algorithms aggressively reacted to market signals causing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop by 998.5 points in a matter of minutes.

Furthermore, unregulated AI-driven risk models might overlook economic warning signals, resulting in substantial errors in monetary control and fiscal policy.

Striking a balance between innovation and safety depends on the ability for regulators and policymakers to reduce AI hazards. While considering the financial crisis of 2008, many risk models — earlier forms of AI — were wrong to anticipate a national housing market crash, which led regulators and financial institutions astray and exacerbated the crisis.

Blueprint for financial stability

My research underscores the importance of integrating machine learning methods within strong regulatory systems to improve financial oversight, fraud detection and prevention.

Durable and reasonable regulatory frameworks are required to turn AI from a potential disruptor into a stabilizing force. By implementing policies that prioritize transparency and accountability, policymakers can maximize the advantages of AI while lowering the risks associated with it.

A federally regulated AI oversight body in the US could serve as an arbitrator, just like Canada’s Digital Charter Implementation Act of 2022 proposes the establishment of an AI and Data Commissioner.

Operating with checks and balances inherent to democratic structures would ensure fairness in financial algorithms and stop biased lending policies and concealed market manipulation.

Financial institutions would be required to open the “black box” of AI-driven alternatives by mandating transparency through explainable AI standards — guidelines that are aimed at making AI systems ‘ outputs more understandable and transparent to humans.

Machine learning’s predictive capabilities could help regulators identify financial crises in real time using early warning signs — similar to the model developed by my co-researcher and me in our study.

However, this vision doesn’t end at national borders. Globally, the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board could establish AI ethical standards to curb cross-border financial misconduct.

Crisis prevention or catalyst?

Will AI still be the key to foresee and stop the next economic crisis, or will the lack of regulatory oversight cause a financial disaster? As financial institutions continue to adopt AI-driven models, the absence of strong regulatory guardrails raises pressing concerns.

Without proper safeguards in place, AI is not just a tool for economic prediction — it could become an unpredictable force capable of accelerating the next financial crisis.

The stakes are high. Policymakers must act swiftly to regulate the increasing impact of AI before deregulation opens the path for an economic disaster.

Without decisive action, the rapid adoption of AI in finance could outpace regulatory efforts, leaving economies vulnerable to unforeseen risks and potentially setting the stage for another global financial crisis.

Sana Ramzan is assistant professor in Business, University Canada West

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Trump is redefining, not abandoning, American soft power – Asia Times

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For years, the United States projected global influence through what foreign policy experts call” soft power” – the ability to form world politics through social appeal, political engagement and intellectual interest rather than military power.

Under President Donald Trump’s administration, this traditional approach to international relationships is undergoing a basic change.

Critics decry the move as withdrawal of American administration. They’re missing the point. What we’re witnessing isn’t a foolish destroying of American influence but more a necessary recalibration for a universe where the old rules no longer use.

The standard soft energy model lacked clear indicators in today’s competitive world landscape. While previous administrations invested heavily in abstract notions of kindness and long-term control, Trump recognized that in a world where China and Russia wield economic liquidity to grow their spheres of influence, America needed a approach prioritizing substantial returns over intellectual appeal.

This approach has manifested in several high-profile decisions: withdrawing from agreements like the Paris Climate Accord and the Iran nuclear deal, questioning the value proposition of NATO ( in today’s form ), and reconsidering America’s role in international organizations.

These movements signaled that US agreements may be subject to practical national passions rather than abstract principles of international security.

Take, for example, Trump’s critique of the World Health Organization ( WHO ), the United Nations ‘ global public health agency. While his amounts weren’t perfect ( according to various fact-checking publications ), his fundamental analysis was correct.

Based on WHO estimates, American combined assessed and voluntary contributions to the WHO’s 2024-2025 resources is US$ 706 million, compared to$ 184 million for China.

Whatever the measures, it is hard for British citizens to understand how the country’s second largest economy with a considerably larger community pays only 26 % of what the US contributes to the WHO.

Trump’s critics have characterized these decisions as America retreating from global leadership. In reality, they represent a strategic pivot toward a more transactional form of influence.

Trump recognizes that foreign aid can be restructured to serve a more immediate geopolitical purpose, aligning with his broader” America First” doctrine. Aid and alliances are now treated as business arrangements with expectations of immediate returns – a sharp departure from past administrations that justified foreign assistance primarily as instruments for building goodwill and sowing benign influence.

Having deconstructed the old model, the challenge now is how to complete the redefinition of American soft power for this new era. Four key areas demand particular attention:

First, America must transition from viewing foreign aid as charity to embracing strategic economic engagement. China’s Belt and Road Initiative demonstrates how infrastructure projects can build influence while ensuring recipient nations see tangible benefits from alignment with a major power.

America should develop its own model of partnership that yields mutual advantages. It is not clear the US International Development Finance Corporation ( DFC) is the vehicle to do this, thus Trump’s desire to create an American sovereign wealth fund.

Second, the US faces global threats on three key fronts: military, economic and technological. The Trump team has been extremely clear on the first two threats. The technological front can sometimes fall under the radar but is vital to success on all other fronts.

It is imperative that US technological leadership becomes a cornerstone of America’s global influence strategy. As digital connectivity reshapes international relations, US dominance in technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity offers powerful leverage to shape global norms and standards in ways that reflect democratic values.

Third, America needs resilient, flexible alliances rather than outdated treaty frameworks. The limitations of institutions like the UN and NATO have become increasingly apparent with the UN hamstrung by the Security Council and NATO struggling to balance the interests of all members ranging from Turkey to France.

The EU itself continually has a love-hate relationship with different members from Italy to Hungary. Interest-based coalitions that reflect contemporary geopolitical realities will prove more effective than rigid multilateral structures designed for a bygone era.

Finally, America must compete more effectively in the global information space. Nations are now shaping their own images through state-controlled media and digital diplomacy. The US must rethink how it communicates its values and interests to global audiences.

Abandoning platforms like Voice of America without replacement strategies surrenders the battlefield of ideas at a critical moment when America’s enemies will spend richly to ensure their narratives gain global traction.

While podcasts and new streams of communications dominate in the West, a large swathe of the world’s population still turns on the television, listens to the radio and picks up a newspaper for world news. To abandon those information spaces would be counterintuitive to American diplomacy.

Critics say Trump’s tenure is irreparably damaging traditional US soft power, the reality is it is exposing the need to modernize America’s approach to global influence.

Whether through economic incentives, technological leadership or reimagined alliances, America’s ability to attract and influence must evolve alongside an evolving geopolitical landscape.

The challenge for the Trump team and beyond is to reconstruct American soft power with a clearer strategy—one that recognizes both the limitations of past approaches and the opportunities of a new era.

Kurt Davis Jr is a Millennium Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He advises private, public and state-owned companies and their boards as well as creditors across the globe on a range of transactions.

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