The Chinese can only copy, they can’t develop anything of their own: this is a common misconception about Germany’s most important trading partner. The Chinese car manufacturers are currently showing that this is not true at the IAA mobility fair in Munich. The technology groups Huawei and Baidu have recently shown that they can push ahead with their own innovations even against active resistance from the West.
A few days ago, Huawei launched its latest flagship smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, in China, which is unusually quiet. This mobile phone would definitely be worth a big appearance if what the state media reports is true: The device, which costs around 900 euros, should therefore achieve mobile phone speeds like the 5G standard, made possible by a chip that was developed and produced entirely locally. The US government had cut Huawei off from supplies of modern semiconductors in recent years and badly mutilated the smartphone business of what was once the largest cell phone manufacturer.
Huawei does not want to comment officially on this. But if the Chinese company has really managed to become independent of foreign chip technology, that would call into question the effectiveness of the American sanctions. Launching the sale while US Trade Representative Gina Raimondo was touring China last week is like giving Washington an extra middle finger — and drawing applause from nationalist circles.
The Chinese chat GPT competitor Ernie Bot, which the search engine operator Baidu released to the public a few days ago despite American sanctions, is also causing a stir. The group had already introduced the artificial intelligence in the spring, when China, like the rest of the world, was in chat GPT fever. But so far only a few hand-picked testers have had access to the software because Baidu lacked the necessary government license. This is now there, and it is becoming clear what constitutes an AI with “socialist values”.
A quick test shows that Ernie does maths and vacation tips as well as his American rival. Also, despite repeated digging, the AI cannot be convinced that Elvis Presley could possibly still be alive. On the other hand, she cannot decide who China’s foreign minister is: Qin Gang, who has disappeared and has since been deposed, or the current incumbent, Wang Yi, are both named. Ernie answers politically sensitive questions about protests against China’s ruler Xi Jinping or what happened on June 4 (the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre) with a cautious “Let’s change the subject.” And Taiwanese independence efforts are clearly instigated by “foreign powers.”
Ernie is self-confident when asked who will win the technology competition between China and the USA: The People’s Republic will close the gap simply because of its economic rise. And with its xenophobic policies, the US government is tripping itself up in the competition for global talent.
At least in Beijing government circles, they will be happy to hear these answers.