Wednesday Tech Briefing: Chinese Transport Authorities Punish Didi After All

1. Investigation Launched Into Baby DNA Editing Claims

Guangdong’s provincial health commission has announced it is investigating claims that a Chinese-led research team helped create the world’s first gene-edited babies.

A Chinese-led research team released a video on Monday in which scientist He Jiankui claimed that the world’s first gene-edited babies had been born earlier this month. The revelation unleashed uproar in the international medical and scientific communities.

Medical experts and ethicists have since released statements of disapproval. Shenzhen HarMoniCare Women and Children’s Hospital, which according to documents He posted online appeared to have approved the experiment, said neither the experiment nor the births took place at the hospital. (Caixin)

2. Eight Get Jail Time for Ctrip Day-Care Abuse

Eight people have been sentenced to prison in connection with a child-abuse scandal at a day-care run by Ctrip, China’s largest online travel company.

Shanghai's Changning District People's Court issued sentences ranging from a year with reprieve to 18 months.

The scandal emerged last November after videos surfaced showing toddlers being mistreated at the day care, which is located at Ctrip’s Shanghai headquarters. In one clip, a woman ripped a schoolbag from a girl’s back and hurled it to the floor before pushing the child, who fell and hit her head on the edge of a table. (Caixin)

3. Auto Group Says Tesla's China Sales Plunged

Tesla Inc’s vehicle sales in China sank 70% last month from a year ago according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), underscoring how the Sino-U.S. trade war is hurting the U.S. electric carmaker.

A CPCA official said Tesla sold just 211 cars in the world’s largest auto market in October. In July, Beijing raised tariffs on imports of U.S. autos to 40% amid a worsening trade standoff with the United States.

Tesla responded from its headquarters in California, calling the group’s report "wildly inaccurate." (Reuters)

4. Shanghai And Baidu Partner on AI Development

The Shanghai municipal government and Chinese tech giant Baidu have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to develop the city’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

Baidu will build an innovation center in Shanghai and will also work to turn the southern financial hub into a smart city.

Shanghai aims to build about ten AI innovation platforms and ten AI companies by 2020. (China Daily)

5. Chinese Transport Authorities Slam Didi for Skirting Safety Measures

Chinese authorities announced a broad crackdown on China’s ride-hailing industry Wednesday, targeting market-leader Didi Chuxing with fines following the alleged murders of two passengers earlier this year.

China’s Ministry of Transport said Didi had violated multiple safety rules, presenting a "major safety hazard", including failing to properly flag high-risk drivers and improperly handling deposits.

The ministry will "severely crack down" on ride-hailing platforms hiring "illegal drivers," and will fine Didi’s executives and legal representatives an undisclosed amount of money. (Reuters)

6. Aircraft-Maker Hires Industry Veteran to Boost Sales of China-Made Jet

Tan Wangeng, outgoing general manager at Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, has been appointed a deputy general manager of Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd. (COMAC), the manufacturer announced Monday.

Tan’s new role comes at a critical time, as COMAC pushes to grow its customer base for the C919 jetliner. Industry analysts said the decision to bring in an executive with nearly 30 years of experience in the aviation sector is aimed at shoring up effort to increase customer orders for the first Chinese-made narrow-body jet.

China has been plowing billions of dollars into developing its own jetliners to rival Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, which form a duopoly in the sector. COMAC is touted as a source of national pride with its development of the C919, which made its maiden flight early last year. (Caixin)

Compiled by Shen Xinyue

This story has been updated to remove inaccurate information about the number of Alipay users.