SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Julius Wong who wrote (211869)3/6/2025 9:31:37 PM
From: TobagoJack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 219733
 
re <<data>>
bloomberg.com

China’s Embrace of Open-Source AI Will Tip the Scales
Beijing’s push for accessible AI is self-serving. But it has some key lessons for the US.

7 March 2025 at 04:00 GMT+8

By Catherine Thorbecke

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. Previously she was a tech reporter at CNN and ABC News.


China's open-source AI revolution is here.

Photographer: Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

More than anything, China’s embrace of open-source artificial intelligence systems will be what tips the scales in its favor in the heated tech race with the US.

Washington and Silicon Valley now have a limited window to adapt and respond, or risk a future where Chinese AI overwhelmingly powers the products and applications used by the global industries of tomorrow.

The DeepSeek shock earlier this year provided the first wake-up call, after the Hangzhou-based startup released powerful open-source models built at a fraction of the cost of US tools and allowed developers to freely build off of them. But the second came this week, in the closely read policy report released at the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

The National Development and Reform Commission’s annual work statement mentioned AI nine times — but perhaps more significantly, went on to declare that China will develop a system of open-source models. It’s as clear a signal as it gets that Beijing is throwing its entire might behind the push to make the building blocks of AI available for the public to use and modify. Making the source code available allows more people to access and cheaply implement the technology, rather than leaving it to a handful of tech companies. The position stands in contrast with the direction that many US tech leaders, spearheaded by OpenAI, are going with their expensive and opaque proprietary models.

It may seem ironic that China, with its global reputation for tight restrictions on speech and content, may ultimately expand access to this technology. It’s true that the nation’s AI models still face tight restrictions; specifically that outputs must adhere to Chinese Communist Party views and censorship policies.But it’s a highly strategic choice. State-backed media has had a field day promoting this position, especially when the Trump administration’s foreign policy chaos is giving Beijing a unique moment to assert leadership on the global stage. Given Beijing has had to navigate sweeping restrictions on access to advanced chips and other US measures aimed at curtailing its AI ambitions, this approach is its best bet to stay relevant.

Officials have also made clear a broader goal. The spokesman for the nation’s top legislature earlier this week pledged that China will “prevent technological innovation from becoming a game for rich countries and the wealthy,” and praised DeepSeek for showcasing “inclusivity” in development. Beijing is betting its vastly cheaper and more accessible AI services will end up being what the rest of the world chooses. If Washington doesn’t pivot to policies that promote American leadership in accessible and open-source products, it could quickly see China close the technology gap, while losing swaths of global customers to firms under the sway of Beijing.

Some of the most prominent Chinese tech companies have recently announced that they will allow developers access to their top models as momentum swelled after DeepSeek burst the floodgates. Earlier this week, influential startup Zhipu AI said it planned to release multiple new open-source models. Fellow startups MiniMax and Moonshot have also made similar announcements. And Big Tech companies are jumping on the bandwagon: Baidu Inc. earlier this month said it would open up its latest Ernie model. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has long been doing so with its products, most recently with the market-moving unwrapping of its latest reasoning model this week and a pledge to make the code available for its latest video-generation models. The list goes on.

Still, some in the global tech community have criticized DeepSeek for not being fully open-source, but rather “open-weight.” But it’s offering far more transparency and less restrictions to use than Meta Platforms Inc.’s tools. This is all paving the way for AI development to emerge from tinkerers and curious coders around the globe, rather than gatekeeping it within the firm control of corporate interests.

The backbone of China’s innovation ecosystem has always been people, and this approach allows it to leverage its immense talent pool to advance broader AI ambitions. Promoting open systems increases the number of researchers from the country and beyond who can simultaneously experiment and publish new breakthroughs to improve these tools.

Critics of open-source AI have argued that it carries unique risks, heightening the potential for bad actors to exploit it. But the reality in Silicon Valley is that these threats haven’t stopped companies from speeding ahead with its rollout. Addressing the dangers requires global cooperation and thoughtful regulation; and should be done in a way that doesn’t monopolize the power of tech giants.

In an unusual admission, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman disclosed in a January Reddit post that, “I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open source strategy.”

It’s not too late, Sam.

If the US wants to maintain its global position in AI leadership, Washington and Silicon Valley must work together to promote American open-source AI to the globe. Inaction risks being caught flat-footed while the world embraces Chinese AI, and all the ideologies that accompany it.



To: Julius Wong who wrote (211869)3/6/2025 9:33:28 PM
From: TobagoJack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 219733
 
re <<data>> been watching the discrepancy and happy so far
bloomberg.com

Alibaba’s Sudden ADR Discount Shows Fear of US-China Decoupling

By Charlotte Yang

7 March 2025 at 08:24 GMT+8

  • Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s US shares traded at an average 2.1% discount to those in Hong Kong last week.

    Summary by Bloomberg AI

  • The divergence in prices follows Trump’s Feb. 21 directive to tighten scrutiny of pension funds’ investments into Chinese stocks.

    Summary by Bloomberg AI

  • Investor flows can vary dramatically if US institutions face regulatory pressure to sell at a time when counterparts in Hong Kong are buying on optimism over the artificial intelligence boom.

    Summary by Bloomberg AI
Donald Trump’s push to restrict US investments in China is testing what in theory should be an ironclad financial relationship — the tight link between Chinese shares trading in New York and Hong Kong.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s US shares traded at an average 2.1% discount to those in Hong Kong last week — at one point reachingthe widest since 2022. A similar pattern appeared for Baidu Inc. and NetEase Inc., with their American depositary receipts trading at their cheapest against Hong Kong peers in five months.

The divergence, which follows Trump’s Feb. 21 directive to tighten scrutiny of pension funds’ investments into Chinese stocks, is an aberration that some analysts warn could become more common as the US president takes an increasingly hawkish stance toward China.

While arbitrageurs have strong incentives to keep prices in the two markets aligned, investor flows can vary dramatically if US institutions face regulatory pressure to sell at a time when counterparts in Hong Kong are buying on optimism over the artificial intelligence boom. It points to what could become a longer-term trend of financial decoupling between the world’s two largest economies.

“If any US policy requires certain types of US investors to divest their holding in certain Chinese stocks, and as US investors’ positions are more concentrated in ADRs, ADRs could see persistent flow-selling,” said Winnie Wu, chief China equity strategist of BofA Securities in Hong Kong. “Hong Kong shares could be relatively immune.”


While a Wednesday surge in ADRs — following Beijing’s forceful economic growth goal and a promise to prioritize consumption — has reduced their discount for this week, the gap could widen should Trump amp up his tough stance against China.

Read: China Sets Bullish Growth Goal of About 5%, Despite US Tariffs

Investors are reminded of the episode in 2022, when bilateral tensions pushed Chinese firms to the brink of a mass delisting from US exchanges. That year, Alibaba’s shares in New York traded at a discount more frequently than at a premium to those in Hong Kong, at one point widening to nearly 8%.

Delisting risks have eased after US auditors were granted greater access to Chinese firms’ documents, but that hasn’t dissuaded investors from hedging their bets. Around 69.11% of Alibaba’s shares were circulating in Hong Kong’s clearing and settling system as of Tuesday, according to exchange data, as holders shifted holdings into the financial hub. That’s up from 66.88% a year ago.

Over the longer-term, Chinese shares in New York and Hong Kong have been priced more or less in tandem given the shares’ fungibility. The five-year average is a 0.1% discount for Alibaba ADRs.


Some investors had been downplaying Sino-American tensions as the rise of DeepSeek injected new life into Chinese stocks. That optimism was given a reality check following the release of Trump’s “America First Investment Policy” memo, which potentially calls into doubt the “variable interest entity” structure that underpins many Chinese listings in the US.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index and the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index were rallying in lockstep this year before a bigger plunge in the latter last week allowed the Hong Kong gauge to outperform by about four percentage points.

While global investors have reason to spurn ADRs, shares in Hong Kong are supported by an influx of money from mainland buyers. Southbound flows have reached HK$302 billion ($38.9 billion) this year.

“If US policies further escalate scrutiny on VIE structures or impose additional restrictions, we could see sustained dislocations between ADRs and Hong Kong-listed shares, with broader market implications including a continued shift of liquidity and investor focus toward Hong Kong,” said Andy Wong, Investment and ESG director for Asia Pacific at Solomons Group in Sydney.