Lijin Finance

Newsflash

• The Process Of Proposing And Promoting The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Plan Has Encountered Setbacks And Key Issues

  

  DOI: 10.13568/j.cnki.issn1000-2820.2025.06.007

  1. The proposal and advancement process of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Plan

  (1) Proposal and obstacles to advancement of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway planning project

  China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan launched preliminary planning for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project in 1997 and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in building the railway. In 2006, China included the construction plan of part of the Chinese section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway in the national economic "Eleventh Five-Year Plan". Two years later, the Chinese working group and expert group formulated the "Kashgar-Turgat-Karasu-Andiyan" railway construction plan. During the same period, related railway projects in Uzbekistan were also progressing smoothly. On March 26, 2015, the 129-kilometer-long "Angren-Pap" railway tunnel in Uzbekistan was completed. This section of the railway is an important section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway and a key project in the construction of the "Silk Road Economic Belt".

  In contrast, progress on the Kyrgyzstan section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway has been slow. Subsequently, the then President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, rejected the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, saying that the project was not in Kyrgyzstan’s national interests and suggested changing the direction of the railway to connect the north and south of the country. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has gone through twists and turns since it was proposed, and it was difficult for all parties to reach consensus on a series of key issues.

  First, there is the issue of route direction. From the perspective of project construction cost and operational efficiency, China and Uzbekistan hope to build a route from east to west through southern Kyrgyzstan. The southern route is shorter and less technically difficult. Kyrgyzstan insists on taking the northern route, believing that although this route is longer, it connects the country's northern and southern economic centers and can promote economic development in the north and south. China and Uzbekistan believe that Kyrgyzstan’s proposal is not only costly but also inefficient. In this regard, Bakhtiyor Ergashev, director of the Tashkent think tank "Mano", pointed out that the Kyrgyz authorities proposed the northern railway line plan purely out of "self-interest." "The plan they (the Kyrgyz government) proposed is just longer and more expensive, which is contrary to the idea of ​​rapid and affordable railway construction," Ergashev said in an interview with a Kazakh news website.

  Second, there is the issue of project funding. Kyrgyzstan is a typical mountainous country. The cost of building railways in mountainous areas is high. Coupled with the relatively poor economic situation, railway construction costs and financing have become issues of greater concern to the Kyrgyz people. Kyrgyzstan economic expert Iskender Sharsheev once pointed out that Bishkek faces severe challenges in attracting foreign investment to build the China-Kyrgyzstan railway. This, coupled with financial restrictions in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, has weakened the ability to independently finance the project. Tilek Tekebaev, Minister of Transport and Communications of Kyrgyzstan, said in a speech in 2023 that the huge project of China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway must be seriously considered, and work will be resumed after the financing model is finalized.

  Third, the issue of track gauge. The track gauge widths in China and Kyrgyzstan are different. If the track gauges are not uniform, replacement operations must be performed, which will affect railway operation efficiency. China uses 1435 mm international standard gauge, and Central Asian countries use 1520 mm wide railway tracks. China initially hoped to use the standard gauge used by both China and Europe, while Kyrgyzstan hoped to continue using the Soviet-era broad gauge to connect with railways in Russia and Kazakhstan. In July 2020, Zheng Chiping, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Department of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, pointed out at a video conference on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Construction Project that it was difficult for experts to reach a consensus on the track gauge and route of the railway, and China suggested considering other options. For a long time, China and Kyrgyzstan have been unable to reach a consensus on this issue, which has become one of the important obstacles to the implementation of the project.

  Fourth, the political stability of the relevant countries. Take Kyrgyzstan as an example. The country is an important transit country for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. It has elected six presidents since its independence in 1990. The unstable political situation in Kyrgyzstan caused by the revolutions in 2005, 2010 and 2020 has caused the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway negotiations to stall. The change of government also caused the country's leaders to have inconsistent attitudes towards the railway project at different stages, and some even opposed the construction of the project. The then President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, pointed out that there were some people who opposed the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, and that behind these objections and obstructive actions were hidden political and competitive games. Underlying the dispute over the route is a concern that if the railway runs only through southern Kyrgyzstan, the economic power of Kyrgyzstan’s southern elite will exceed that of the northern political bloc.

  (2) The final implementation and solution of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Project

  The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has accelerated with the upgrade of China-Kyrgyzstan relations. In June 2018, China and Kyrgyzstan established a comprehensive strategic partnership. Both parties stated that they would make every effort to promote the work related to the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project and strive to start construction as soon as possible. On July 15, 2020, China, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine held a video conference to discuss railway construction plans. On June 2, 2022, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan held a tripartite working-level video conference on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway to exchange in-depth views on promoting cooperation in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project. In September 2022, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Construction Project (Kyrgyzstan Section)" during the SCO Summit in Samarkand and agreed to launch a feasibility study in 2023. In 2023, China and Kyrgyzstan will establish a comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era and work together to build a China-Kyrgyzstan community with a shared future featuring good neighborliness, friendship and shared prosperity. Against this background, the progress of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project has been accelerated. In May 2023, during the China-Central Asia Summit, the government departments of the three countries signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Reaching Consensus on the Tripartite Joint Review of the Feasibility Study of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Construction Project (Kyrgyzstan Section)". After the efforts of all parties, China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement on issues such as route selection, track gauge, investment and operation model, and signed the "Agreement on Jointly Promoting China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Project Cooperation" in June 2024. On April 29, 2025, the construction of three key control projects on the Kyrgyzstan section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, the Fergana Mountains, Naryn No. 1, and Koshbot Tunnels, started, marking that the main line of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway project has entered the substantive construction stage. At present, the three countries have signed all necessary documents involving the railway, and the three parties have reached consensus on key issues of railway construction. The project has officially started construction in July 2025, with a planned construction period of 6 years.

  First, regarding funding issues. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway will be operated by a three-party joint venture. Each party plans to invest in the construction of the railway with designated shares, 51% of which belongs to the Chinese company, and the remaining 24.5% belongs to related companies in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan respectively. In June 2024, Azamat Sakiev, director of the Kyrgyzstan Railway Bureau, revealed that Kyrgyzstan had negotiated loan issues with the Export-Import Bank of China and the People's Bank of China, including undetermined loan terms and interest rates. Regarding the total investment and the proportion of capital contributions from each country, according to the "China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Design, Construction, Financing, Operation and Maintenance Investment Agreement" signed between China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Co., Ltd. and the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Transport on December 20, 2024, on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway (Kyrgyzstan Section) ) of the US$4.7 billion investment, China will provide half of the capital loan (US$2.35 billion), and the remaining half of the funds will be raised by the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company in proportion to their respective shares (US$1.2 billion for China, US$573 million for Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan each).

  Second, regarding the route direction. China and Kyrgyzstan have reached a consensus on the Torugart-Arpa-Kosh-Dobo-Makmal-Jalal-Abad route. The railway will pass through Kashgar (Central)-Torgart (Kyrgyzstan)-Makmal (Kyrgyzstan)-Jalalabad (Kyrgyzstan)-Andijan (Ukraine). The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway starts from Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, and heads northwest through the Turgat Pass. After exiting the country, it goes northwest through Alpa, crosses the Mordotau Mountains and crosses the Alabuqa River to the Makhmal Shifting Station, then crosses the Fergana Mountains to the west, uses the existing railway passage north of Jalalabad, and extends southward around the city of Jalalabad to the end of the border with the Jalalabad South Station. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway has a total length of 616 kilometers, of which the Chinese section from Kashgar to Turgat is 213 kilometers, accounting for 34.6% of the entire line; the Kyrgyz section from Turgat-Makmar-Jalalabad-Suzak, has a total length of 341 kilometers, accounting for 55.3% of the entire line; the Uzbek section from Suzak to Andijan, has a total length of 62 kilometers, accounting for 10.1% of the entire line.

  Third, regarding track gauge and operation methods. Regarding the track gauge, the final result of the negotiation is that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway adopts the "standard gauge + broad gauge" segmented model and establishes a standard-gauge and broad-gauge replacement station in Makmar in Kyrgyzstan. Standard-gauge section: Kashgar-Turgat-Makmar, with a length of 381 kilometers, including 213 kilometers of the section in my country and 167.54 kilometers of the section in Kyrgyzstan, using 1435 mm gauge. Broad gauge section: Makmar-Suzak-Andijan, with a length of 235 kilometers, including 173 kilometers of the Kyrgyzstan section (138.77 kilometers of new construction and 34 kilometers of upgrades) and 62 kilometers of the Uzbekistan section, using 1520 mm gauge. Regarding project operation, the project company was jointly established by the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company. The Kyrgyzstan section of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is jointly invested and established by the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Railway International Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the Kyrgyzstan State Railway Company, and the Uzbekistan Railway Co., Ltd. It is implemented in accordance with the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

  2. Possible challenges faced by the construction and operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway under geopolitical changes

  In the context of the official implementation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, factors such as the unstable regional security situation and the continued smear campaign by forces within and outside the region may also affect the smooth advancement and operation of the project.

  (1) Unstable regional situations may induce conflicts and threaten project safety

  Regarding the situation in Central Asia, American geopolitical scientist Brzezinski once pointed out: "For many years, most of them have been under the influence of the Persian Empire, the Turkish Empire, and the Russian Empire. However, this experience did not cultivate a sense of common regional interests among them. On the contrary, their different ethnic compositions make them vulnerable to internal and external conflicts. The accumulation of such conflicts often attracts the invasion of more powerful neighboring countries." The stability of the political situation in Central Asia is of great significance to ensuring the smooth progress of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the geopolitical landscape in Central Asia has been characterized by multidimensional turmoil. Border disputes, ethnic conflicts, non-violent regime change movements, and the deterioration of the surrounding security environment have superimposed on each other, posing a continuous impact on regional stability. Specifically manifested in three dimensions:

  First, the vulnerability of sovereign states’ governance capabilities is highlighted. As the hub of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, Kyrgyzstan’s domestic political ecology has long been subject to the power game caused by numerous political parties. In particular, the confrontation between the north-south forces with Bishkek and Osh as the core has triggered many unconventional regime changes, making railway construction a bargaining chip in the game of domestic political forces many times.

  Second, cross-border governance problems continue to ferment. The boundary dispute in the Fergana Basin at the junction of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is the most typical. This area is a must-pass for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, and its planned terminal point, Andiyan Station, is embedded deep in the hinterland of the basin. In April 2021, an armed conflict broke out between Gita and Gita in the disputed area of ​​​​the basin. In September 2022, the conflict escalated again and extended about 110 kilometers along the disputed border. This shows that conflicts caused by territorial sovereignty disputes may affect cross-border infrastructure projects.

  Third, the ecological security dilemma intensifies the game. As a valuable strategic resource for regional countries, water resources competition is often a source of regional tensions, especially between Uzbekistan and its upstream neighbors. Scholar Pan Zhiping pointed out that the water resources issue in Central Asia is not only an intra-regional conflict, but also one of the potential obstacles to the economic construction of countries along the “Belt and Road”. This unstable situation could trigger a chain reaction that could then escalate into broader internal conflicts among Central Asian states.

  (2) The smear campaign by forces inside and outside the region interferes with local people’s understanding of Chinese projects.

  The United States has continuously intervened in Central Asian affairs in recent years, and its fundamental goal is to curb the regional influence of China and Russia. Western countries, led by the United States, support non-governmental organizations to penetrate into Central Asia and cultivate "independent media" in the region to constantly hype anti-China issues. For example, in January 2025, when the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was progressing smoothly, the German media Bucharest News Agency (BneIntelliNews) hyped that Kyrgyzstan was becoming a province of China. Regarding the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, on the one hand, Western countries are hyping the construction of the railway, which will increase debt pressure on regional countries. Donald Lu, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the U.S. State Department, smeared China's projects in Central Asia as having problems of exploitation, corruption and opacity, saying that Chinese loans are exacerbating the debt risks of regional countries. Diplomacy scholars, Voice of America and other websites accused the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway of lacking transparency, which may cause smuggling risks and lead to a debt trap. There are also objections saying that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan plan is not only unfavorable to Kyrgyzstan, but will also incur huge expenses that are difficult to make up for. In this regard, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Zhaparov had to clarify, saying: "The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway cost 4.7 billion US dollars and is a commercial project. It will not have an impact on the scale of Kyrgyzstan's foreign debt."

  On the other hand, forces inside and outside the region claim that the railway project will cause environmental damage. Kyrgyzstan’s opposition has claimed that China has gained access to Kyrgyzstan’s silver, aluminum, copper and coal resources through investment in construction projects. A report by the Caspian Policy Center, an American think tank, stated that construction projects in Kyrgyzstan’s complex geographical environment require major environmental modifications, which may have a negative impact on the local climate and ecosystem. Economist Kubat Rakhimov, adviser to the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, said that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project is particularly difficult and requires the construction of tunnels in mountainous areas. Whichever route is taken, there will be a significant impact on the environment. Vladimir Grebnev, an expert on environmental protection and climate change in Bishkek, advocated for the project. Under the hype of internal and external forces, more and more public opinion believes that China's attempt to put some countries into a debt trap may have high environmental costs, triggering regional people's discussion on whether Chinese investment will generate debt problems, and even opposition to the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.

  (3) Anti-China group activities may impact the construction of related projects

  Western countries continue to hype the debt problems and social and environmental impacts of Chinese investment. Under the influence, some Central Asian people have a negative attitude towards China and Chinese investment. Survey data from the Central Asia Barometer between 2017 and 2021 shows that Kazakhstan respondents have a more negative view of China, and the number of Kyrgyzstan respondents who hold a "very negative" view of China has increased in each subsequent survey. Eliminate my country's negative image in Central Asian societies. The survey results show that the Central Asian people's welcome towards China is on a downward trend. Under the influence of multiple factors, anti-China groups in Central Asia frequently plan activities against Chinese investment, including protest marches, launching social media campaigns, and damaging and boycotting Chinese goods and services. For example, hundreds of Kyrgyzstanis once gathered near At-Bashy in Naryn Region to protest China's plan to build a logistics center there. The $275 million logistics center project was ultimately canceled. At the same time, individual ultra-nationalist groups continue to grow due to rising anti-China sentiment. The Kyrgyz right-wing nationalist male group "Kyrk Choro" carries out anti-Chinese activities on the grounds of "helping the government detect illegal immigrants" and accuses the Kyrgyz government of being "corrupt" and "pro-China". The former leader of the movement, Zamirbek Kochorbaev, wrote an article saying that the "Forty Knights" demanded the suspension of Kyrgyz visas to foreigners and said that "Chinese people should be deported." Members of his organization even held protests outside the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek. Not only that, the organization has also raided many Chinese companies. The Chinese-owned oil refinery located in Kalabarta, about 60 kilometers outside Bishkek, was disrupted by the organization. The fluctuations in Central Asian people's sentiments against China caused by the anti-China activities of extremist groups will affect China's regional investment to a certain extent.

  (4) Competition from other similar projects

  The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway also faces competition from other transportation projects. In recent years, Russia and India have actively participated in the construction of Central Asia's transportation network, aiming to strengthen their presence in Central Asia through projects such as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Given Russia's support for India in balancing China's influence in Central Asia, this project will compete with China and may affect the effectiveness of projects such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. Although the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway and the North-South Corridor focus on east-west transportation and north-south logistics respectively, the North-South Corridor may still attract energy and mineral transportation from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and other Central Asian countries to enter South Asia or Europe, diverting goods that originally passed through the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway. At the same time, as the geopolitical game in Central Asia intensifies, Russia may accelerate the promotion of the Russia-India corridor to maintain its influence in Central Asia. India is also trying to establish alternative economic corridors to China in Central Asia and West Asia to weaken the radiation power of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. In addition to Russia, the EU also aims to strengthen transportation links with Central Asian countries through the "Middle Corridor". In January 2024, the EU pledged to invest 10 billion euros to improve the infrastructure of the Central Corridor, which appears to be the first step in regional connectivity. In April 2025, the first EU-Central Asia Summit was held in Uzbekistan. During the summit, the EU announced a "Global Gateway" investment plan to invest an additional 12 billion euros in Central Asia, of which 3 billion euros were used for transportation. Compared with the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, the "middle corridor" is further north, while the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway strengthens the southern line and fills the gap in the railway network in southern Central Asia. The two form a "north-south parallel" pattern in the Central Asian section. In addition, the United States also has a relatively strong interest in the "Middle Corridor" in terms of funds, standards and geographical influence in the future, and can compete with the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway. In addition, Kazakhstan is also worried that the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway will gradually become Kazakhstan’s competitor in China-Europe freight. Currently, rail transportation to and from China and Europe must be transited through Kazakhstan. In the future, with the completion of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, Kyrgyzstan will have a direct railway to China, and Uzbekistan will have the option to go to China via the Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan railway. In the future, Kazakhstan is unlikely to give up its position as a regional transportation hub and will continue to develop its railway infrastructure to maintain its dominant position in regional transportation.

  51 minutes ago

• A Man Called In Sick Multiple Times, And The Company Fired Him Because He Took More Than 16,000 Steps On WeChat, Causing Disputes

  The man took sick leave many times due to back pain and foot pain, but the company discovered that he had taken more than 16,000 steps on WeChat on the day he had foot pain. The company suspected that he was taking sick leave and fired him for absenteeism. The two parties went to court.

  Xiao Chen is a spring coiler at a company in Jiangsu. On February 22, 2019 (Friday), he accidentally sprained his waist while working. After work that day, he immediately went to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment.

  On the morning of February 25 (Monday), he applied to the company's human resources manager for leave to recuperate, informing him of his injury at work last Friday. He also took photos of the sick leave certificates issued by the two hospitals and sent them to the company, which was immediately approved by the human resources department.

  From March 4th to 5th, Xiao Chen worked normally for two consecutive days. On March 6, Xiao Chen's waist discomfort recurred, and the medical diagnosis was "lumbar sprain." The doctor recommended continuing to rest, and he immediately submitted another sick leave application to the Human Resources Department.

  On March 18, Xiao Chen returned to work. At noon, he complained of foot pain and asked for sick leave from the production manager. Later, he went to the hospital for treatment. He took a photo of the diagnosis certificate stating that he was diagnosed with "right foot pain" and recommended a week's rest and sent it to the production manager.

  On March 25, Xiao Chen went to the hospital again for medical treatment. The doctor diagnosed him with a "calcaneal bone spur" based on the results of the X-ray and recommended three days of rest. After that, Xiao Chen applied for sick leave for many days in a row due to persistent pain in his feet.

  On April 3, the company sent a dismissal notice to Xiao Chen, which listed "deliberately using sick leave as an excuse to defraud vacation and absenteeism" as one of the reasons for dismissal.

  Xiao Chen, who was suddenly dismissed, decided to apply for labor arbitration.

  After the trial, the arbitration committee made a ruling that the company had illegally terminated the labor contract and needed to pay Xiao Chen 118,779 yuan in compensation. The company was dissatisfied with the ruling and filed a lawsuit in court.

  The company claimed that Xiao Chen made false claims about his condition from February 22 to April 3, 2019 (except March 4 and 5), and when submitting the sick leave form, he did not provide the company with the original medical records.

  In order to prove that Xiao Chen’s condition was false, the company provided the court with the surveillance video of the factory gate on March 18, 2019 and Xiao Chen’s WeChat movement records on that day. The video shows: Xiao Chen ran into the factory at 7:52 that day and left the factory on foot at 11:09; WeChat exercise records show that Xiao Chen’s total number of steps at 18:55 that day was 16,949. Based on this, the company maintains that Xiao Chen’s right foot is normal and there is no fact of illness.

  Xiao Chen retorted that it was untenable for the company to conclude that his condition was false simply based on WeChat Sports’ step records and monitoring footage of him running and walking.

  The court of first instance held that: The Labor Contract Law gives the employer the right to terminate the labor contract if "the employee seriously violates the employer's rules and regulations", but the employer should bear the burden of proof.

  Judging from the outpatient medical records provided by Xiao Chen and the diagnostic certificates that have been submitted to the company, it is true that Xiao Chen went to the hospital for low back pain, right foot pain, etc. and took a rest. Moreover, the relevant diagnosis was not only Xiao Chen’s main complaint. The hospital also performed lumbar spine scans, X-rays (bone spurs) and other examinations on Xiao Chen.

  There are many factors that affect the number of steps taken by WeChat. It cannot be inferred that Xiao Chen’s right foot is normal just because he took many steps on WeChat on March 18, 2019. Nor can we conclude that Xiao Chen’s condition is false because he was running or walking in the video on that day. The company's conclusion that Xiao Chen was absent from work was obviously insufficient.

  In summary, the court of first instance ruled that the company's termination of the labor contract with Xiao Chen lacked corresponding factual basis and was an illegal termination, and a compensation of 118,779 yuan should be paid.

  The company was dissatisfied and appealed. The second-instance court held that the first-instance judgment established the facts clearly and applied the law correctly and should be upheld. Therefore, the appeal was dismissed and the original judgment was upheld.

  Source: Suzhou Intermediate People's Court, Dahe Daily

  2 hours ago

• Mooney’s First MV For His Third Album, Balalaika, Is Online, And The First Single Is Super Exciting

  

  Mooney’s first MV of his third album “Balalaika” is officially released today

  Whale Xianghai's artist Mooney's third personal original album "Money III: Noble", the first MV and the first four single sound sources "Open-minded Afternoon Tea", "Amazing", "Balalaika" and "21 Grams Museum" were officially launched today. The album "Money III: Noble" was produced and planned by the agency Whale Xianghai. In this album, Mooney transforms into a troubadour and spends the entire album singing a modern fable - a story about how we identify ourselves in society's hall of mirrors and ultimately lose ourselves.

  

  The first MV "Balalaika" uses a black and white visual style to construct the ultimate metaphorical proposition: when violence is packaged as "respectability" and fame and fortune are taken for granted, will you still question the rules and resist fate? The song uses a dramatic melody, combined with the arrangement of balalaika, accordion, strings and other orchestrations, to unfold a dark narrative about the reversal of power and identity.

  

  The first four singles released online, "Open-minded Afternoon Tea", "Amazing", "Balalaika" and "21 Grams Museum", combine a variety of music styles, showing a very cinematic and layered sound space. Mooney devoted an entire chapter to writing a modern fable, deconstructing the symbols of "nobility", and opening up a series of questions in the musical narrative: Who defines the happiness and success we pursue? The so-called decency, is it self-realization or self-denial? This narrative arc from "break-in" to "immersion" makes the entire album like an ups and downs of audio and video movies, making the listener increasingly look forward to the unlocking of the musical content in the subsequent chapters.

  

  Use the "drama chasing" method to play with new ideas for album promotion

  Breaking the conventional rhythm of music promotion, the Whale Xianghai planning and promotion team integrated the narrative logic of "drama chasing" into the entire album promotion cycle, innovatively creating a "drama chasing" album promotion model. The officially released "Drama Calendar" materials use symbols such as locks, envelopes, and films to refer to the music information corresponding to the release nodes. Fans have changed from "passively listening to songs" to "actively following updates". The launch of new materials is like unlocking new plots, and the "updates" experience is full of ritual and anticipation.

  

  As the first batch of fragmented posters released as preheating materials, the design was based on the logo elements of the drama poster platform, and the song's narrative clues were embedded with secret prop symbols - envelopes sealed with paint, yellowed and worn letter paper, a throne covered with black cloth... Fans opened their minds to analyze the element codes in the posters, and took the initiative to dig out the narrative clues behind the songs from the details of the props.

  This immersive interactive model upgrades the album promotion from one-way "information transmission" by the promotion team to "collective co-creation" with two-way participation of music creators and fans. Fans also establish a deeper emotional connection in their identity recognition as "co-creators".

  

  Whale Xianghai: Bole as a musician

  Since its establishment in 2018, Whale Xianghai, a subsidiary of Tencent Music Entertainment Group, has made a strong entry into the music industry with precise copyright operations as its starting point. With a keen insight into market trends and the ultimate polishing of high-quality content, the company has successfully created phenomenal hit works such as "White Moonlight and Cinnabar Mole", "Don't Miss", and "Clouds and Sea". The entire network's collection has exceeded the 100 million mark. It has not only established a firm foothold in the digital music field, but also established an industry reputation for both quality and influence.

  In recent years, on the basis of consolidating its copyright business advantages, Whale Xianghai has expanded deeply into the artist management sector and has strong development momentum. The company has always adhered to an original music-oriented brokerage model, adhered to the core mission of "being a musician's bole", abandoned short-term traffic orientation, and built a high-quality platform for musicians to achieve a win-win situation of artistic value and market value through in-depth planning and resource docking. Mooney is a representative case under this system. As one of Mooney's management companies, from "Money II: Theater" to "Money III: Nobility", Whale Xianghai led the entire album planning, production and production, shaping his personal label of "all-round singer-songwriter" and realizing the value of the artist from high-quality works to personal brands. Galaxy Express Band, also a contracted artist of Whale Xianghai, has also gained significant room for growth in this operating model and continues to release original vitality.

  Nowadays, Whale Xianghai has built a diversified matrix of high-quality artists, including many musicians with different styles, such as Hu Mengzhou, CORSAK, Lil Jet, Chen Xuening, Uu Liu Mengyu, and Xia Siyuan Huswan. Whale Xianghai has always adhered to the mission of "being a Bole for musicians", empowered the original music ecosystem with professional power, accompanied the growth of musicians, continued to output high-quality content with both musicality and market influence to the industry, and wrote a new chapter in the music industry.

  4 hours ago

• Under The Favorable Policies Of A-shares, Quantitative Private Equity Has Been Pushed To The Forefront, And Regulatory Measures Have Been Re-examined.

  

  Reporting from Shanghai by reporter Hu Jinhua of our newspaper (chinatimes.net.cn)

  A-shares have recently received frequent favorable policies, but under the market conditions where the index is suppressed as soon as it rises, domestic quantitative private equity institutions that have become an important trading force have been pushed to the forefront. Whether they are bad elements who "help the stock market rise and kill the fall" in the stock market, or are "good students" who increase the activity of stock market transactions, the market cannot agree. However, in the eyes of regulators, it is necessary to re-examine domestic programmed transactions.

  On the evening of September 1, the China Securities Regulatory Commission guided the three major stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen to issue the "Notice on Matters Concerning the Reporting of Programmed Stock Trading" and the "Notice on Matters Concerning Strengthening the Management of Programmed Trading". In these two notices, the three major exchanges clearly stated that they will implement real-time monitoring of the securities trading behavior of program trading investors, and focus on monitoring four types of matters: First, abnormal trading behaviors that may affect securities trading prices, securities trading volume, or exchange system security as stipulated in business rules; The second is a transaction with a maximum filing rate of more than 300 orders per second, or a maximum number of orders in a single day of more than 20,000. Third, the trading prices or trading volumes of multiple securities are obviously abnormal, during which a large number of programmed transactions are involved. Fourth, other matters that the exchange considers need to be monitored.

  After the above two notices were issued, many well-known quantitative private equity institutions in the market spoke out, pointing out that their proportion of ultra-high-frequency trading was small and controllable, and the notices would have little impact on the company's trading level.

  "In the past week, quantitative investment and private equity quantitative institutions have suddenly become the focus of market attention. The reason is that the A-share market has adjusted sharply after jumping from the high opening on Monday, coupled with the recent purchase of a luxury house by a private equity boss. After the fermentation of the Internet media, many investors believe that the stock market decline is 'cutting leeks' by quantitative institutions. The introduction of the above notice is the first time that my country has formally established a programmed transaction reporting system and corresponding regulatory arrangements in the stock market, clearly stipulating that stock exchanges include possible impacts. Strengthen monitoring and control of key matters such as abnormal trading behavior that affects securities trading prices, securities trading volume, or exchange system security. The purpose is to incorporate programming into the legal supervision system, crack down on illegal transactions using programmed trading, and maintain a healthy market environment. At the same time, the latest requirements will also promote the development of standardized trading and help the quantitative investment industry move forward steadily." Xu Jiaying, general manager of Shanghai Qianfulai Asset Management Company, said in an interview with China Times.

  However, some people in the industry are worried that once high-frequency programmatic trading withdraws from the market, the activity of A-shares may be even lower.

  Quantitative private equity players have spoken out

  In recent years, the scale of quantitative private equity institutions has expanded rapidly. A number of tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of quantitative private equity giants have emerged in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. These institutions have also lived up to customer expectations. When A-shares did not have large-level market prices and the index only fluctuated within a narrow range, they created considerable returns for customers. Although some quantitative products have poor returns, they far outperformed the net worth financial management of last year and the year before. However, quantitative private equity's focus on high-frequency trading and fast-in and fast-out style has also attracted the attention of more investors and fundamentalists.

  On September 4, He Bin (pseudonym), a tens-billion-level quantitative private equity investor in Shanghai, analyzed during an interview that exchanges have been closely monitoring abnormal quantitative trading behaviors. Therefore, this time the focus of attention is on transactions with a maximum filing rate of more than 300 transactions per second, or a maximum daily filing rate of more than 20,000 transactions. Assume that the average order cancellation rate of a quantitative product is 6%, the minimum transaction amount is 10,000 yuan, and there are 20,000 transactions in a single day, the transaction volume is approximately 200 million yuan. If the turnover rate is 20% bilaterally per day, only products with a scale of about 1 billion yuan will be monitored intensively. Therefore, quantitative products with extremely high turnover rates or large scale may be focused on and additionally report multiple aspects of information.

  According to statistics from a reporter from China Times, after the notice was issued, a number of quantitative institutions, including Qianxiang Assets, Niankong Technology, Siyuan Quantification, Century Frontier, Wenbo Investment, etc., expressed their attitudes.

  Qianxiang Asset stated that the company’s alpha strategy includes three types: high frequency, medium frequency and low frequency, and the strategy is relatively balanced. At present, the proportion of stocks exchanged by the company every day is about 20%, which does not belong to ultra-high-frequency trading. The total daily declaration volume of products with a scale of less than 500 million yuan in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets is less than 20,000 times. Therefore, the relevant measures introduced this time will not have much impact on the practicality of the company's current strategy. Relevant measures are expected to have a greater impact on strategies such as high-frequency bottom positions T0 and high-frequency securities lending T0.

  "At present, the latest regulatory requirements have little impact on the operation of the company's strategy itself. Moreover, there is about a month's interval between the release of the "Reporting Notice" and "Management Notice" from the release to the official implementation. Each company has sufficient time to make adjustments and adaptations at the transaction execution level." Jukuan Investment said.

  After the issuance of the above two notices, Siyuan Quantitative Investment Director Wang Xiong said that the China Securities Regulatory Commission guided major stock exchanges to introduce a series of measures to strengthen the supervision of programmed trading, which means that programmed trading will be included in a reasonable and legal regulatory system, which will help to further improve market transparency, crack down on illegal and illegal transactions using programmed trading, and maintain a healthy market order and ecology. At the same time, the latest requirements will also promote the standardized development of programmatic trading and help the quantitative investment industry move forward steadily.

  Qianfulai Asset Management stated that the company’s quantitative transactions of convertible bonds did not reach this level in terms of declaration speed and quantity. And before the release of these two documents, most of the quantitative interfaces that I came into contact with also set limits on the frequency of declarations and the number of declarations. As an asset management company that interfaces with them, the company's system is actually designed according to the descriptions in the documents from beginning to end, so the new regulations basically have no impact on the company's trading behavior.

  "For a mature and orderly capital market, standardized program transactions are indispensable. Therefore, the inclusion of program transactions in the regulatory system is of great significance for improving the resilience and vitality of the capital market. At the same time, regular reporting helps regulators understand the market situation more clearly, thereby improving the foresight and effectiveness of the entire market risk response, which will benefit the development of quantitative investment in the long run." Wang Xiao, chairman of Niankong Technology, pointed out.

  On September 5, relevant people from Century Frontier told a reporter from China Times that since September 2021, regulators and multiple quantitative institutions have had many active communications, and established an information registration and reporting mechanism. In the process, they gradually understood the essence of quantitative trading, and finally settled into the content of this release.

  "Judging from the results, the supervision recognizes programmatic trading as an important trading method, and also recognizes the positive significance of programmatic trading in improving transaction efficiency and enhancing market liquidity. We are still waiting for the further release of specific details. Based on the information we have seen so far, the standards of 300 declarations per second and 20,000 declarations per day are loose enough, and only require more information for exceeding the situation. We judge that it will not have a negative impact on the product." The person said frankly.

  "Wenbo Investment calculates based on existing algorithmic trading that there are basically no strategies for trading more than 300 transactions per second. Calculated based on an average transaction amount of 10,000 yuan and a transaction rate of 70%, 20,000 subscriptions, an annualized change of hands 50 times, and a single product with an upper limit of 700 million yuan or more will receive special attention; such as If the company changes hands 200 times, special attention will be paid to those with a single product scale of more than 500 million yuan. Based on the overall assessment, it will not have a negative impact on the current strategy. The standardized development of the industry will be beneficial to the healthy development of the entire quantitative industry," the relevant person in charge of Wenbo Investment told this reporter.

  What is the future of quantitative trading?

  Currently, how much of the daily trading volume of A-shares is quantitative trading has always attracted market attention.

  The Private Equity Filing Monthly Report of the Asset Management Association shows that as of the end of 2022, the scale of private securities investment funds will be approximately 5.6 trillion yuan. Calculated based on a 15% ratio, the scale of quantitative/hedge strategy funds at the end of 2022 may be between 800 billion and 900 billion yuan.

  According to research and communication data released by Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, the average daily turnover rate of large-scale quantitative private equity is between 10% and 20%. Based on an estimated daily average turnover rate of 15% (the turnover rate of small and medium-sized quantitative private equity is generally higher), the daily trading amount contributed by quantitative private equity can reach more than 120 billion yuan, accounting for 13% of the average daily trading amount of A-shares in 2022.

  “Compared with U.S. stocks, the current absolute scale and relative transaction proportion of A-share quantitative private placements are low, but it is already a part that cannot be ignored in the transaction structure of the A-share market. However, the notice issued by the regulatory authorities predicts that three types of products may be affected: The first is private equity high-frequency self-operated trading; the second is a time-selected hedging strategy product, that is, a product that uses A-shares to open lower in the morning to do T-quantity if the position is not satisfied overnight; the third is a product that combines large-scale holding reduction and uses securities lending," Xu Jiaying told a reporter from China Times.

  Xu Jiaying believes that China's quantitative trading is dominated by medium and low frequency. At present, the average turnover rate of my country's leading quantitative institutions is far from reaching the standards of high-frequency trading, and high-frequency quantification often has relatively small strategic capacity, which will not have a great impact on the overall stock market trading volume and liquidity.

  It is worth noting that the management recently proposed to continue to increase and promote the issuance of ETF funds to introduce more long-term funds into the market. Quantitative private equity institutions seem to be acting in unison to prepare to be long in the market.

  "Comparing domestic and overseas markets, the situation where funds make money but investors do not is often due to investors being accustomed to procyclical operations. Especially during periods when market performance is unsatisfactory and the index is at a relatively low point, many investors lack confidence. As far as the current A-share market is concerned, market valuations have basically met the requirements. The absolute bottom characteristics are not significantly different from the historical bottoms of previous rounds of A-shares. It should be an excellent time to go long on the index and configure a quantitative index increase strategy, especially a fundamental index increase strategy.” On September 5, Xu Zhongxiang, founder of Ruilian Jingchun, a well-known foreign quantitative private equity firm, expressed his opinion.

  Wang Li, general manager of Niankong Investment, said that at this stage, the A-share policy bottom has appeared, and the market bottom has yet to be verified. But overall, when the policy is basically established, it should be a better time to deploy quantitative index products. In addition, quantitative index growth products are always fully operated, and the inflow of related incremental funds will make a positive contribution to the overall funding of the A-share market.

  The relevant person in charge of Mengxi Investment pointed out that the current A-share market is at a low level for many years, and the downside risk is much smaller than when the market was at a high level. Therefore, the "potential beta upside" of the quantitative index growth strategy is larger. From an asset allocation perspective, now is a good time to invest in quantitative index growth strategies. In addition, quantitative strategies such as quantitative index growth strategies have the characteristics of high positions and will have a significant positive effect on stabilizing and assisting market capital.

  "The sound development path of quantitative trading involves multiple key factors. The first is transparency and supervision. It is very important to improve the transparency of quantitative trading and ensure that regulatory agencies have sufficient supervisory powers. Regulators need to understand quantitative trading strategies, algorithms and trading processes to monitor market manipulation, malicious trading and systemic risks. Regulators should also constantly update regulations to adapt to the rapid development of quantitative trading technology; secondly, risk management, quantitative trading companies should develop strict risk management Risk management policies, including limiting trading leverage, setting risk exposure limits and implementing risk control processes, can help prevent potential huge losses and market shocks; finally, there is market liquidity. Quantitative trading usually provides market liquidity, but it may also withdraw from the market in extreme circumstances. In order to ensure the stability of the market, quantitative traders need to cooperate with market regulators and other traders to ensure that sufficient liquidity is provided when the market fluctuates violently." Xu Jiaying told this reporter.

  5 hours ago

• Which Is The Best Cambridge English KET/PET Training Provider For Children In Shenzhen? Great Sharing Of Exam Preparation Experience

  A summary of the list of very professional Cambridge English KET/PET training institutions in Shenzhen. Global Education KET/PET classes adopt a small class system. Teachers pay more attention to students and students are more focused. They use games and other methods to teach fun. The classroom is highly interactive and students absorb knowledge points quickly. One-on-one tutoring is also available after class to cultivate children's English learning from the source...

  Listening preparation for the KET exam can be described as a "battle" with your ears. As an examinee who has struggled through this battle, I deeply understand the importance of listening. Not only to pass the exam, but also to be able to thrive in future studies. This article will share my thoughts and experiences accumulated during the exam preparation process from multiple perspectives, hoping to help you who are preparing for the exam. Remember, listening is not something that happens overnight, but is a process that requires continuous effort and persistence. Let’s recharge our ears together and face KET!

  1. Understand the structure of the listening test

  In the process of preparing for the KET exam, you must first understand the structure of the listening test. This is like reading the guide before playing a game, otherwise you will only be defeated by the boss when you enter the level. I remember the first time I heard the KET listening audio, it felt like I was listening to an alien language and I couldn’t understand it at all! However, as I learned more about the exam structure, I gradually found the trick.

  The listening section of KET is usually divided into four parts, each with different types of questions. This made me realize that familiarizing myself with these question types in advance would not only save time but also improve my confidence. Just like a traveler looking at a map beforehand so that he can reach his destination smoothly.

  In addition, the content of the listening test is closely related to daily life, such as shopping, asking for directions, chatting with friends, etc. Therefore, being familiar with these scenarios will also make me more comfortable in the real exam. Believe me, understanding every audio of the exam will really make you feel like "I am listening"!

  2. Develop listening habits

  If you want to stand out in the KET listening test, developing good listening habits is essential. I remember that in order to increase my listening input, I would wake up my ears with a cup of hot coffee every morning and listen to the English radio while drinking. Although I couldn't hear many words clearly at first, I never gave up, just like the classic Internet saying: "Don't be afraid of difficulties, keep moving forward!"

  I also listen to English songs while commuting and sometimes even sing along. Although my pitch was hilarious, it definitely improved my listening skills. Moreover, it feels pretty cool to be able to sing "Shape of You" in English, haha!

  I found that I can use some online platforms and apps, such as BBC Learning English and the English channel on YouTube, to improve my listening sensitivity. These resources are diverse, interesting and practical, and are simply a "treasure" for listening practice!

  3. Good note-taking skills

  Taking notes is my "secret weapon" during the listening test. When I took mock exams before, I often lost points because I didn’t remember key information. So, I decided to develop a “tactical plan” for my listening notes. I started using different colored pens to mark different types of information, and wow, I felt like an artist!

  For example, red represents important information, green represents places, and blue represents people. Every time I finish listening to a passage, I review it again to make my thinking clearer, as if a bridge has been built between my ears and my brain. After a period of practice, I found that this method not only made my memory stronger, but also reduced the panic when answering questions.

  However, you also need to pay attention to your speed when taking notes. I used to be so focused on writing when listening that I didn’t even hear the last sentence. It was a tragedy. So it's important to find the right balance, just like driving a car, don't just stare at the dashboard, pay attention to the road as well.

  4. Simulate the real exam environment

  In order to perform well in the KET listening test, I chose to simulate the real test environment at home. I put my headphones on and closed the window to make sure there were no distractions. I remember that during the first simulation, my cat actually broke in and purred loudly, which was like the rhythm of "The King Next Door"!

  However, this simulation training really greatly enhanced my ability to adapt to situations. Through repeated practice, I gradually adapted to the rhythm and tension of the exam, and I felt like I was participating in an "ear marathon."

  At the same time, I will also choose some more difficult listening materials to challenge myself. Even if I don’t understand, it doesn’t matter. This can exercise my endurance. Just like playing a game and grinding dungeons, the higher the difficulty, the more experience points you get!

  5. Ask teachers or classmates for advice

  In the process of preparing for the exam, I realized that asking others for advice is also a very critical step. My English teacher was my "savior". Her guidance on listening made me enlightened. I remember one time, she explained to us how to capture key words and guess the meaning. At that moment, I seemed to see the "bright road of hearing".

  Practicing with my classmates has become my norm. We will play listening recordings to each other, then answer questions individually, and finally discuss the answers together. Not only did this interaction make me have fun, it also strengthened our friendship. Just like a popular saying on the Internet: "The more friends you have, the easier your journey will be!"

  In addition, I also joined some online learning groups to share experiences and encourage each other with friends from different places. During this process, I discovered that everyone has similar hearing problems. We are all working towards the same goal, and we are really "in the same boat"!

  6. Maintain a positive attitude

  What I want to say is that maintaining a positive attitude is the most important point in preparing for the KET listening test. In the process of preparing for the exam, I will inevitably encounter setbacks, such as low scores in the mock exam. However, I always tell myself: "Don't be afraid of being slow, just be afraid of standing!"

  I will always remind myself that improving listening skills is a gradual process and cannot be achieved overnight. Therefore, I have learned to appreciate myself for every improvement, even if it is just a little bit. It’s a miracle that a “novice in listening” like me can actually understand a complete conversation after hard work!

  Sometimes, I would say silently in my heart: "I can definitely do it!" This kind of positive self-suggestion made me feel more motivated on the way to prepare for the exam, as if I had added a buff to myself invisibly!

  Although KET exam listening preparation is full of challenges, with reasonable methods and a positive attitude, I believe everyone can make progress on this road. In the future, with the development of technology, various online learning resources will become more and more abundant, and listening improvement will become more convenient. Therefore, I suggest that you make good use of these tools and persist in working hard. You will be able to overcome obstacles in the exam and create your own brilliant results!

  Newcomers are given free entry, practical training, certification and promotion materials

  6 hours ago

• NVIDIA Rarely Misses In Financial Reports, But Faces Challenges And Investor Concerns Amid Market Changes

  Some analysts pointed out that Nvidia rarely misses at the financial reporting level, but the current market environment requires the company to answer questions that obviously go beyond how many chips it sells.

  Hardika Singh, economic strategist at Fundstrat, said Nvidia almost never misses on revenue, net profit and guidance. However, where the computing power giant "loses points" is that it fails to alleviate investors' concerns that its moat is narrowing, and it does not clearly clarify what kind of response strategy the company will adopt as the computing power landscape continues to evolve and the wave of AI changes that may disrupt various businesses ranging from network security to food delivery to banking.

  (Nvidia’s sideways trading has lasted for nearly half a year, source: TradingView)

  Michael Burry, the "big short" who continues to bet on technology stocks, also jumped out to "make up for it" and said that Nvidia mentioned in its latest 10-K form that the company's irrevocable purchase commitments reached US$95.2 billion, compared with US$16.1 billion in the same period last year, because TSMC required longer-term contracts and received cash in advance. That number, set to swell further, could pose a risk if demand falters.

  Under the influence of Nvidia, other chip companies also fell, with Broadcom falling 3.19% and AMD falling 3.41%.

  The stock prices of related companies that had previously benefited from the wave of AI infrastructure construction also fell. ASML, Lam Group and Applied Materials all fell more than 4%, while server supplier Super Micro Computer fell 3.9%. Storage vendors Western Digital and Seagate Technology also fell nearly 3% each.

  In contrast, the "AI impact" sectors such as software continued to rise on Thursday after several weeks of continuous decline. Stocks such as Salesforce, IBM, and Visa supported the Dow's slight gain.

  Popular stock performance

  Ranked by market value, Nvidia fell 5.46%, Apple fell 0.47%, Google-A fell 1.76%, Microsoft rose 0.28%, Amazon fell 1.29%, TSMC fell 2.82%, Meta rose 0.51%, Broadcom fell 3.19%, Tesla fell 2.11%, and Berkshire Hathaway-A rose 1.52%.

  Under the dual pressure of the U.S. stock market and the Hang Seng Technology Index, the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 1.78%.

  As of the close, Alibaba fell 2.78%, Pinduoduo fell 1.41%, NetEase fell 0.16%, JD.com fell 2.03%, Baidu fell 5.65%, Ctrip fell 2.59%, Li Auto fell 2.98%, Futu Holdings rose 1.05%, Bilibili fell 3.2%, and Weilai fell 1.73%.

  Other news

  [Google Nano Banana 2 unveiled]

  In the early hours of Friday morning Beijing time, the American technology company Google announced the launch of a new generation of image generation model Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash image model). The company claims that Nano Banana 2 can combine the image generation quality, reasoning capabilities and advanced world knowledge of Nano Banana Pro with the "lightning generation speed" of Flash models.

  [Major US technology companies laid off nearly half of their employees due to AI]

  As of press time, the U.S. financial technology company Block has soared by more than 20% after hours. Company CEO Jack Dorsey sent a letter to employees on Thursday saying that based on the judgment that AI will change labor productivity, the company has decided to reduce the current total number of employees from more than 10,000 to less than 6,000.

  "Smart tools are changing the way companies are built and run, and we're already seeing it internally," Dorsey wrote in the letter. "A significantly smaller team can do more and do it better with the tools we're building."

  [MP Materials invests in building the largest rare earth magnet production base in the United States]

  MP Materials, the largest rare earth miner in the United States, announced on Thursday that it will build a large-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing park in Northlake, Texas, with a total investment of more than US$1.25 billion. The company estimates that when fully operational, the new factory will bring its total annual production capacity of rare earth magnets to approximately 10,000 tons.

  [Netflix withdraws from Warner Bros. acquisition]

  Warner Bros. Discovery announced after the market closed on Thursday that its board of directors believed that Paramount Skydance's latest acquisition offer was better than Netflix's. The latter will have four working days to revise its bid or give up the competition and leave with a $2.8 billion termination fee funded by Paramount.

  Netflix quickly issued a statement saying that without having to match Paramount's latest offer, the deal was no longer financially attractive and decided not to match the bid. Affected by this news, Netflix rose nearly 10% after the market.

  [Meta’s self-developed chip reportedly encounters obstacles]

  According to new reports, Meta last week abandoned the most advanced chip it was developing for training AI models due to design difficulties and turned its attention to a less complex version. The company informed employees in its AI infrastructure division of the updated plans last week. This is also the background story behind Meta’s recent large-scale chip contracts with NVIDIA and AMD.

  In response, a Meta spokesperson said: "We remain committed to investing in a diversified chip product portfolio to meet our needs, including advancing our MTIA product line; we will disclose more related progress later this year."

  [Dell expects AI server revenue to be approximately US$50 billion this fiscal year]

  After the market closed on Thursday, AI server maker Dell Technologies rose more than 10% after releasing its earnings report. For the current fiscal year ending in January 2027, it expects AI server revenue to be approximately $50 billion, a 103% year-over-year increase, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

  Dell said in a statement that adjusted earnings per share for this fiscal year will be about $12.90 on sales of about $140 billion. Analysts on average expected earnings of $11.56 per share and revenue of $126.3 billion.

  [Cook confirmed that Apple will start releasing new products next Monday]

  Apple CEO Cook posted on Thursday: "A big week is coming. It all starts on Monday morning!"

  This statement is also consistent with previous reports that Apple will release new products for three consecutive days starting next Monday. According to previous reports, after releasing a series of new products through its official website, Apple will hold offline media experience events in three places including Shanghai next Wednesday.

  (Shi Zhengcheng of Financial Associated Press)

  6 hours ago