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China and Pakistan have put forward a joint proposal on restoring peace and stability in Gulf region and the wider Middle East.
A European Parliament delegation is visiting China for a three-day trip, the first such visit in eight years.
And American tech giants are planning major layoffs while pouring billions of dollars into the AI sector.
Welcome to Road Today, a news program with a different perspective.
I'm Guiana in Beijing.
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Our top story.
China and Pakistan have put forward a joint proposal aimed at restoring peace and stability in the Gulf region and the wider Middle East.
It follows a meeting between foreign ministers of China and Pakistan in Beijing, where they held talks on the Iran situation.
The two countries called for an immediate end to all hostilities to prevent the conflict from spreading, urging that peace talks be initiated as soon as possible.
They also stressed the need to protect non-military targets, warning that attacks on civilians, critical infrastructure and nuclear facilities must stop at once.
They also called for safety on the shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the primacy of the UN Charter must also be ensured.
Wang Mengjie has the details.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishadar put forward a five-point initiative.
They hope it will bring stability in the Gulf and Middle East.
The two sides are calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks, humanitarian assistance, security of shipping lanes and protection of civilians.
Wang Yi said strategic communication between the two sides on major regional issues represents a shared Chinese-Pakistani commitment.
Wang said China is willing to work with Pakistan to create opportunities for peace talks, noting that the current conflict has disrupted international energy supplies and is causing hardships for developing countries.
Da said achieving peace is an urgent matter.
He expressed a gratitude to China for supporting Pakistan's mediation efforts and emphasized the country's willingness to strengthen communication.
This past weekend, Pakistan hosted foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt for a high-level meeting.
A strong US-Israeli strike on Iran escalated tensions across the Gulf and disrupted global energy markets.
Pakistan has adopted a policy for neutrality in a conflict and is hoping that, along with China, they can encourage the US and Iran to work diplomacy.
Initiating peace talks is never easy, but China's position remains firm and consistent.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized that only through dialogue and negotiations can fallen losses be prevented.
He also added that China is ready to work alongside Pakistan to advance peace efforts and help bring the conflict to an end.
That was Wang Menjie on China and Pakistan's efforts toward restoring peace.
So for more on this, joining us on the line are Dr Tim Anderson, director of the Center for Counter-Hegemonic Studies, a Sydney-based think tank.
Dr. Wang Jing, professor at Northwest University in Xi'an, China.
So let's start with initiative itself.
Things are changing almost by the day.
So, Professor Wang, how do you read these five proposals in addressing the core drivers of the current tensions?
What practical pathways do they offer for de-escalation and resolution?
I think the so-called five-point initiative could be concluded with three goals.
The first goal is that each side should end the conflict and should try to ceasefire as early as possible.
And also the second goal in this so-called five-point initiative is that, even when the peaceful dialogue started, that there were still possibilities of the ongoing wars, so that the different conflicting parties, they should be rational, rather than to further escalate the tension and not to destroy and target the non-military, which means the civilians, target at the other side.
And also the last but not least.
The point is that the United Nations' very important status should be respected.
So I think it reflects the very strong consensus of the international society, because nobody wants the war to continue and everyone wants the war to have the opportunities to decrease and to downplay it, and also everyone expected the United Nations role should be further highlighted, rather than the unilateralism or the militarism in this region prevailed.
So that's why, when this kind of five-point proposal was put forward, I think the original country, they now feel it's a very important opportunity because It's suggested that Pakistan and also China, hopes to establish a new communication channel between the different conflicting parties.
Because we know that traditionally that the Gulf Arab states, they are the important channels for the communication between the united states, israel and iran, but now the gulf iraq states they directly or indirectly are affected by the war, so they need new channels.
So that's why, when the five-point uh initiative would put forward, i think it was what they welcomed and praised and also it showed also that the world of pakistan and other countries, their peaceful efforts, will be also accepted by the regional conflicting parties.
Dr. Anderson, how do you assess these five proposals more broadly?
Why now?
What message are China and Pakistan trying to send by speaking out together at this point?
Look, I think it's very welcome that the diplomatic offices of China and Pakistan are being used at this time to try and put an end to this war.
But let's remember, it's rather complicated.
It's very important that China and Pakistan have drawn attention to international law and the role of the United Nations.
But let's remember, this is an unprovoked attack on Iran by the Israelis and by the US.
And there's a lot of doublespeak coming out about what's going on.
Iran has responded already that it's not simply a matter of a ceasefire, because they were attacked and they are in the process of defending themselves, while the Trump regime, in particular, is flopping between claiming that there are negotiations and then escalating at the same time.
So no one should doubt that Iran has the right to defend itself from these attacks.
And that's within the basis of the strikes they've made on US military bases in the Persian Gulf.
But again, as I say, the principles of international law are welcome and the diplomatic offices of China and Pakistan, I think, are very important at this time.
Dr Anderson, Pakistan has just concluded a four-party foreign ministers meeting with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to promote Middle East peace and then immediately traveled to Beijing to further discuss de-escalation in the region.
With China now joining these efforts.
What kind of role can China play here, or being expected to play?
China is an important player in international diplomacy, but also an important ally of Iran.
And I think both China and Pakistan have had the experience, for example in relation to the shipping in the Persian Gulf, of seeing that Iran has a a right, in terms of self-defense, to impose some security regulation on shipping through the Gulf because, of course, Iran has complained for a long time and made it very clear that it can't tolerate US military bases used to carry out attacks on Iran and then expecting free passage through the Iranian waters to do that.
Basically,
So China understands this, because both China and Pakistan have accepted that there is an Iranian security right to monitor and to regulate the shipping there.
So China has that practical experience as well as a strong commitment to international law in the UN.
Professor Wang, what's your take?
What's your view on China's diplomatic efforts in the region?
And what makes China and Pakistan working together different or effective on the matter?
I think China has already shown our very strong willingness war should be ended and show our very strong willingness that we hope to establish new communication channels for the conflicting parties.
Because, as we just mentioned, that for the conflicting parties United States, Israel and Iran One of the very difficult for them is that they have now no reliable communication centers, communication organizers, because the traditional the Gulf Arab states.
They were also affected very directly by the war.
So the relations, actually, their relations with Iran now faces a big problem.
So that's why they may not be able to intervene peacefully for the peace opportunities of the world.
So that's why China becomes important, because China has the communication channels with the United States, Israel and also Iraq.
And also what we cannot forget that I think the other important, maybe more important is Pakistan.
Because Pakistan, they have the close connections with the United States and also they are the important neighbors of Iran.
Because in the Mujadaba Khamenei, who is now the new supreme leader, in his nomination statement very specifically praised Pakistan's very positive role for the peaceful efforts.
So that's why Iran trusted the possible peaceful efforts from Pakistan.
So that's why Iran hopes to utilize Pakistan as an important channel for sending positive and seek positive peaceful opportunities.
So that's why Pakistan and China are important.
So that's why the joint statement and joint so-called five-point proposal are very, very timely and very, very important right now.
Professor Wang, Wang Yi says to many, the logic is quite simple.
Stop the fighting and you stop the spillover and the casualties and the risks to global energy right.
That sounds straightforward, but why aren't the US and Israel choosing that path?
What's really driving their decisions today?
And more specifically, do you think their goals are still the same as when this war started?
Or are we seeing divergence begin to emerge between US and Israel?
I think, actually for the United States and Israel.
They are, of course, as Chin just put forward.
Several times they violated the possible peace efforts, peace opportunities with Iran.
So when they always propose a kind of peace dialogue and when there were possibilities of breakthrough, they always violated directly.
So and that further led to the end of the peaceful hopes and also the starting and the further escalation of the tensions, so that that would happen repeatedly many times during the past.
I mean one year, two years or even during the past several months.
But also i think we cannot forget that after the war outbreak at the end of the february, iran's reactions, of course they responded very uh strongly to safeguard their own national security, to safeguard their own national.
But some of the countermeasures, I don't think it will be understood as proper because it targets the targets in the neighboring Arab states, particularly the Gulf Arab states, who claim and who synthesize the events, the very be attacked status.
But then after the us counter-attack, that led to the further expansion of the tension in this region and also that might lead to the further possibilities of spillover of the war.
So that's why i think uh, the fire point uh, the proposal is a five-point initiative.
It's very clear.
We hope that both conflicting parties, they should be rational, they should be restrained, they should be uh to to try to welcome the opportunities of peace, opportunities of stabilization of the original situation, rather than trying to further provoke the danger and escalate the tension.
I think that's why everybody should work hard for that.
Building on that, Dr. Anderson, as you said earlier, the situation is complicated.
So is the development.
The U.S. says talks with Iran are making progress and that a deal is the top priority.
But at the same time, strikes continue and more forces are being sent to the region.
How do you make sense of this gap between words and actions?
I think we should pay a little bit less attention to what the white house is saying, because there have been a series of contradictory statements there the the us and, in particular, their israeli partners, who do not subscribe to international law.
The israelis have breached all numbers of international laws.
It's very difficult to see that they can enter in good faith into negotiations when they have stated as an objective they want to destroy the Islamic Republic of Iran.
That's not a very good basis for negotiations.
Having said all that, It's true what Professor was saying, that the Gulf Arab states are now in a compromised position because, on the one hand, they have good relations with Pakistan and China and they are complaining that they are coming under attack from Iran without really recognizing that Iran is targeting Iran, for the most part, the US military bases that have been used in their countries.
So I've just spent two weeks in Iran.
I've just emerged from Iran and seen what's been going on there.
There are many, many strikes on civilian targets there, much more than on military targets.
And so the US has been claiming negotiations are going on, when Iran is saying no, we are just getting messages back and forth.
And those messages, it's true, have been from the Gulf Council cooperation states like Oman and Saudi Arabia, and so on.
That channel of communication is compromised.
So, As you were saying, it is important that the lines of communication, if not negotiation, are opened up with serious independent players such as China and Pakistan.
That's very important now.
But let's remember, the US began this war and you can't simply say to Iran look, agree to a ceasefire, because they've seen that happen in the past.
And then it's been time for the Israelis to realm and attack them again.
So this is what Iran is saying.
I don't think we can seriously ignore that.
Professor Wong, what's your take on this?
This is the same playbook as before.
You know, the first strike on February 28th started.
You know, talking about peace while preparing for something hotter.
Of course I think I share the same view with Anderson, because the United States and Israel, they unilaterally, then they start the war and then the further escalation of the tension winds up.
Opportunities for peace always emerge.
They always start with the very aggressive measures to further provoke the anger, to provoke the uncertainties in this region.
So that's why they think should be strongly condemned.
So that's why I think China's stance is very clear, that we hope that most non-conflict insights United States, Israel and also Iran should maintain rational, and also that the war should not be further spilled over to other parts of the region, should be managed through the very rational and restrained diplomatic activity rather than the military activities.
So that's why I think the five-point initiative is very, very timely and very important.
As we always stress that when the war started, it will be easy to force everybody to become irrational.
But then from the irrational to rational, it would be the most difficult part.
But I think it's something that deserves the most energy and the most determinations for the competing parties right now.
Indeed.
But Professor, at this point, how likely is any kind of negotiation will happen?
Because President Trump says he wants a deal by April 6th.
Iran insists that there's no direct talks between Tehran and Washington, and Israel seems to be ramping up operations in the meantime.
So realistically, how much chance is there for negotiations?
Well, let's be frank, I don't know.
I don't know, because I cannot predict the future.
What is happening?
What is happening for sure, because nobody actually really knows what will happen for sure tomorrow.
But I think the United States kind of the so-called desire for peace, should not be taken very seriously, because the United States is still gathering new military forces and the presence and still threatening to take and occupy parts of iranians own territories with their military new gathering.
So that's it's very dangerous signal that could be sent to iran that the united states, united states, is still preparing for the war.
And also one thing we cannot deny is that united states they have their own terms, They have their own condition that they hope the peace could be established upon, which is very, very important, for the United States want to see the concessions, major concessions from Iran.
So that's why I think these are things very, very crucial that, although United States express very clear views, clear sentences of the so-called negotiations, so-called contacts with Iran,
But I don't think they have the real intention over it.
They just don't want Iran to make concessions according to United States terms and accept the terms that are imposed by the United States.
Speaking of U.S. calculation, Dr. Anderson, the conflict is already hitting the U.S.
Energy prices up, shipping costs rising, and large-scale protests breaking out in the country.
So what kind of impact is the war having on the U.S., both positive and negative?
Of course it's affecting the US and that's placing some pressure on the Trump administration to look for a way out.
Let's remember, the escalation is still happening and that's why this diplomatic initiative, which could be a circuit breaker, is important.
Ukraine is already involved in weighing in on Israel's side.
And the Chechen Republic in the Russian Federation has said that if there's a US ground invasion, which is the major risk of escalation at the moment, that the Chechen Republic will send troops to support Iran.
So there's some substantial escalation that could still take place.
And that's why a circuit breaker is important.
The economic pressure that you mentioned in the US is very important in terms of trying to force Trump to look for some way out.
It's widely considered that he's looking for an off-ramp.
And if these diplomatic initiatives can provide some sort of off-ramp.
It's already reported, for example, that Trump is leading towards accepting that Iran now has the right to some security clearance of the Straits of Hormuz.
Let's remember, the Straits had no such restrictions before the Trump and the Israelis started this war.
But he's leaning towards accepting that in some sort of way.
So Iran has legitimate security concerns about shipping coming into the Persian Gulf, which is then being used to build up the bases that are attacking Iran.
So I think really the escalation is still a very great risk at this stage.
And that's why any sort of initiative, diplomatic initiatives from the good offices of China and Pakistan in particular, are going to be very important.
Trump is looking for something to hang on to to back down from this war of aggression which he started against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Professor Wang, from Israel's perspective, it looks like Israel isn't backing down and is even ramping up strikes on Iran.
How do you see this choice?
What challenges is Israel already facing or likely to face because of this?
Oh, I think Israeli's stance is very clear.
They hope that the war continues.
They hope that the war from the United States against Iran will continue.
So that's why they hope that the United States war against Iran will be by the largest extent to weaken Iran's military and political capabilities and even shaken up their authority.
But I don't think this will be realized.
We have already witnessed the very strong internal unity of the United Nations people over their government and support their government.
So that's why our goal maybe Israel hopes that it will continue, but I think that we will also face pressures both inside Iran as well from the United States.
Dr. Anderson, from Iran's perspective, what are the most pressing challenges it currently faces?
And are there any potential areas where it could achieve strategic or tactical breakthroughs?
There are some substantial challenges because the US is putting out a big smokescreen of misinformation about the process, trying to cover up the fact that they initiated this war, and they claiming there's negotiations going on when there are no negotiations.
I think one of the most important things is that the Iranian right to security has to be respected.
Secondly, in the current circumstances and this is where diplomacy may help the Trump administration is looking for a way out.
Basically,
They have to try and find some face-saving measure to stop their war, because there's still threats of escalation basically, and that's that's where diplomacy can help, basically to turn the trump administration around from further escalation and provide some way out.
For of course it's difficult because the us is so embedded in the persian gulf with its military installations And Iran sees that as an existential threat and they see the current war as proof of that existential threat.
Amid rising regional tensions, China and Pakistan are calling for a ceasefire, stressing shipping security, nuclear civility and UN's role.
These five proposals don't just respond to the urgent risks on the ground.
They also point toward a long-term path.
So, as we talk about this today, peace is never easy, but every effort helps move things back towards dialogue.
So many thanks to our guests for the insightful analysis.
Dr. Tim Anderson, director of the Center for Contra's Hegemonic Studies, a Sydney-based think tank.
Dr Wang Jing, professor at Northwest University in Xi'an China, will continue to keep a close eye on how the situation unfolds.
This is Road Today.
We'll be back after a short break.
A European Parliament delegation is visiting China for a three-day trip, the first such visit in eight years.
The trip comes as Europe faces mounting pressure from Washington on trade and security, fueling debate in Brussels over how to manage its relationship with Beijing.
China says exchanges between legislative bodies are an important part of China-EU relations.
So for more on this, my colleague Gao Yinshi spoke with Dr George Tsougopoulos, director of the EU-China programs and a senior research fellow at the European Institute of Nice.
This is the European Parliament's first official visit to China in eight years.
How should we understand the importance of this visit?
Why has the European Parliament chosen this moment to resume formal engagement with China?
Well, to start with, the more exchanges between the European Union and China occur, the better it is, in order for the two sides to foster dialogue, which is highly significant in an era of geopolitical and economic turmoil.
So I would consider the decision of the European Parliament to send a delegation to China, in line with the interest of the European Parliament, as much as possible to resume exchanges with the People's Republic of China after several years of tensions between the two sides.
So even the fact that Tensions seem to be behind and exchanges are resuming is a positive development.
It does not mean that all difference will be bridged.
But as I said before, it is dialogue which matters for the time being.
Yeah, the visit is focused on digital economy and e-commerce, areas where China has clear market scale and industrial strength.
In these sectors, where do you see the greatest potential for deeper cooperation between China and EU?
Well, this is a very important question as far as electronic commerce, the digital economy and, generally speaking, industrialization.
Allow me also to start with the general remark that it is cooperation that matters at first.
So if cooperation prevails in terms of the mindset of both sides as far as future exchanges are concerned, then we can see different sectors where this cooperation will materialize.
And certainly China's technological progress, for example in the sector of the digital economy and e-commerce, is unquestionable.
So in that regard, synergies are possible.
But again, it's not China's success that matters in this area.
I would say it is rather the mindset that matters.
So if the European Union believes that it needs to build a multilateral world together with China, then we can be optimistic.
If another mindset prevails, as it was happening in the past, then we cannot be optimistic.
So again, it depends on the mindset, and that's why i consider this visit very important.
The most important thing is to look for synergies in this area up to what extent, for example, chinese digital companies can work together with the european digital companies, up to what extent research can be upgraded and can intersect in order for the two sides to proceed together towards new, innovative products.
So ideas are always on the table.
Again, what matters is up to what extent synergies are significant.
And beyond the digital economy, certainly the area where China is currently thriving, the production of electric vehicles has been a sector which is of high interest for almost all EU member states.
And in that regard, digitalization and China's progress cannot be ignored in the European Union.
And this is what is shaping the European approach, which is reflected in the interest of the European Parliament to send a delegation to China.
Yeah.
And after several years of limited contact, can this visit be seen as a sign that China-EU relations are beginning to stabilize and improve?
And does it suggest that Europe is rethinking its China policy?
Well, it is in the interest of the European Union to protect multilateralism in an era which is characterized by instability and uncertainty.
And in that regard, cooperation between China and the European Union is important.
Certainly in the last 15 months the world is suffering by a new wave of instability with the tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump, together with the new war in the Middle East, and certainly it is not in the interest of China and the European Union to continuously suffer by developments which are being decided in a unilateral way.
So the two sides both value multilateralism and this is certainly impacting on the joint interest of the two regime dialogue.
As I said before, it does not mean that differences will be bridged, but what matters in today's world is for the two sides to talk to each other.
So the European Union is certainly looking at China as an actor which can play a crucial role in stabilizing a multilateral world order.
And I would link the visit in this context and in this perception which is currently dominating the European approach.
Yeah, and speaking about the United States, with Washington continuing to put pressure on Europe, some analysts say China is increasingly seen as a source of policy predictability.
To what extent is this shift driven by Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy, and to what extent is it a response to growing uncertainty in transatlantic relations?
Well, the United States remains an ally of the European Union.
Nevertheless, the problems which are currently experienced in transatlantic relations and there are several problems it's the Iran war, the most recent one, but it's not the only difference which exists right now and which is marking transatlantic relations, is certainly revitalizing the debate in Europe about the need for the European Union to become an actor that will be able to autonomously respond to external crisis.
This means that the European Union needs to be robust in order to deal with challenges.
And certainly China is an actor which can play a role in that regard.
So without closer collaboration with China, it is impossible for the European Union to achieve its goal.
And certainly China has been diachronically a predictable actor in the international system.
And this is what matters right now for Europe.
If this is the beginning of a new phase of engagement, what concrete signs should we watch for next, to determine whether China-EU relations are truly stabilizing and improving?
In my opinion, we have seen important visits which recently took place.
So almost all European leaders of the most significant EU member states traveled to China.
And this is indicative of the interest of the European Union to work together with China.
So, Chancellor Merz of Germany and President Macron of France, together with the Prime Minister of Spain Sanchez, they went to China.
And this is mirroring the European approach in looking for collaboration with China.
So if we put all visits in the same basket, adding obviously the new one of the European Parliament, I would suggest that the European Union is looking into ways of working together with China, because it is impossible to imagine a multilateral world without the participation of China.
So from the moment China's participation is necessary, then synergies are also necessary.
And I would consider all the visits, together with the recent one, from this prism, which is highly significant in a changing world order.
That was George Tsougopoulos, director of EU-China programs and a senior research fellow at the European Institute of Nice, speaking with my colleague Gao Yingxu.
Coming up.
American tech giants are planning major layoffs while pouring billions of dollars into the AI sector.
This is Road Today.
We'll be back.
Welcome.
I am Chu Chu Zhang, Deputy Director at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University.
On the World Today program.
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Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the hottest sectors in the US economy, but its impact on jobs is far from equal.
Even as major tech companies double down on AI investment, tens of thousands of workers are being laid off.
So far this year, around 60000 tech employees have lost their jobs, with more cuts expected at giants like Meta, Amazon and Oracle.
So for more on this, my colleague Zhao Yang spoke with Yan Liang, professor of economics at Willamette University.
So yeah, we are seeing major companies cutting staff while ramping up AI investment.
So where is AI already changing or replacing jobs today?
Well, I think that you just mentioned that many of the tech companies they're now aggressively cutting staff while they're investing heavily in AI.
So we saw, for example, Amazon they slashed 16000 corporate jobs in early 2026 to focus on AI agents.
Meta, they report to the plan to cut 20% of jobs while doubling down on the AI development.
So I think overall, when you look at the broader picture, AI was cited as a factor in over 92000 US job cuts since 2023.
I think just this year or 2026, we already saw a lot of job cuts related to AI, and also 55000 job cuts in 2025 related to AI factors.
So you're right, I think AI is already replacing many of these entry-level tech tech sector jobs, because arguably, AI is able to replace some of these entry level, more routine based kinds of jobs, especially jobs that can be performed on a computer.
And so those jobs are vulnerable and susceptible for layoffs.
And as you mentioned, some entry level and routine works seems especially vulnerable.
But which types of jobs are harder to replace?
For how long might that protection really last?
Well, I think, in general, jobs that really require qualities like emotional intelligence, physical dexterity in very unpredictable environments, as well as jobs that have high stakes accountability, those are the jobs that are harder to be replaced.
So what we are talking about here are, for example, healthcare professionals.
So, even if some of the operations or medical procedures can be done by human rights robots that are intelligent, But still, because a lot of these jobs do come with emotional value,
So I think that is hard to be replaced in the short term.
There are other ones, like education and mentorship, that again require emotional support, or some of the high stake leadership level jobs, and jobs that require a lot of creativity and artistic qualities.
All of these jobs are harder to be replaced.
So if you look at the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, When they do the projection for 2024 to 2034, so in that 10 years span, the categories where they're likely to see the largest percentage growth in jobs are, for example, in healthcare, in computer and mathematical related jobs, and also in community and social service, in management, in architecture and engineering, and so on and so forth.
So those are the jobs that are harder to be replaced, whereas some of the more routine jobs, especially in the service industries, like sales, especially customer service, but also some of the content creators that are again at the entry level or routine, as well as some other jobs that are in a way that again can be more easily replaced by routine kinds of standardized work, then those are the jobs that I think are much more at risk.
And AI is now affecting the white-collar and professional roles, not just the manufacturing or routine job.
So what makes this wave of automation fundamentally different from the previous technological revolution?
Well, I think...
You kind of partly already addressed that right.
So I think this time around this automation is not going to just affect the manufacturing sector.
So, as you mentioned, there are many white collar jobs that are also can be replaced again, as long as these jobs are relatively required relatively less creativity and also emotional skills and doesn't require a lot of complex problem solving skills.
As well, as you know, it doesn't take a lot of moral or ethical judgments.
Those kind of jobs are also vulnerable, right to AI and automation.
So I think, unlike the previous you know industrial revolution, where a lot of times mechanical work is being replaced by machinery,
I think this time around, in terms of the impact, it will be much more far reaching.
But, that said, I think there is also some caution that, while AI is driving the current layoff, some analysts predict that this could be overdone.
So they argue that and predict that by 2027 half of the companies that cut staff for ai may have to rehire some, as they overestimate the efficiency gain from these kinds of decisions.
So i think you know the verdict is still out, but i think it's still clear that ai's job impacts will be very far-reaching and could be easily span from the manufacturing sector to the various service sectors as well.
And as workers increasingly see AI as a competitor, how is that affecting morale, productivity and career choices?
And for managers, how could they integrate AI into teams while keeping people engaged and motivated?
Yeah, I think that's a great question.
I think the matter of factor is that companies cannot avoid using AI, but at the same time, I think they also need to really keep some of the valuable human resources that they have.
So I think there are four essential and important steps.
The first one is really to build trust.
And that means you need to have more clear policies how AI is going to be used and also to acknowledge the kinds of anxieties, but really design transparent policies to stabilize expectations of the workers.
And second is I think most essential is to redesign work around human strength, right?
So if AI is able to do you know, 40 of the work that can be automated, then you need to organize your human workers around the remaining 60 of the work, um tasks that require you know creativity empathy, judgements and complex problem solving.
Um so, in other words, really to create some of the so-called brain safes, um the jobs that are mostly uh, performed by humans.
And third, I think it's really to foster culture um of continuous learning, because AI is really changing really fast and it's a very rapid skill upgrading that many of the employees need to do.
So I think encourage the kinds of learning, right?
I think that would help to retool and upscale some of these workers' capabilities.
And last but not least, I think to close the feedback loop is also very important.
So, in other words, using AI to really check in time in terms of what employees, what their concerns are and what their demands are.
So I think that way it will be helpful for the managers to really know the concerns and the voices of their employees and to address some of these concerns promptly.
And finally, Yan, what does the AI Euro mean for education and future careers?
I mean from elementary schools to universities.
How should education evolve, and what skills and mindset should students develop for their long-term success?
Well, I think, first of all, it's very critical that we understand AI and take advantage of AI.
It is a potentially very productive tool.
And I think that in this current era, no one can really avoid encountering and utilizing AI for productive work.
So I would say the first thing educators need to do is to really integrate AI into the curriculum in a critical way, right?
Not to embrace everything that AI can potentially benefit, but also be really critical and mindful of the shortages of AI.
And second, I think again, continue to promote those critical skills, including independent and critical thinking, interpersonal communication skills.
None of this can be replaced by AI.
I think, at the end of the day, students can learn the information and the knowledge from various sources, but in terms of practicing these critical thinking skills and also improve their interpersonal skills,
I think these are very valuable to learn at school.
And third, I think it's also important for students to really learn some of the so-called high value skills stacks through AI.
So, for example, this has to do with things like prompt engineering, where it's going beyond just chatting with chatbots but to create complex, multi-step instructions to build, for example, consistent business results.
That was Yan Liang, professor of economics at Willamette University, speaking with Zhao Yang.
The world's most powerful cargo drone has conducted its first flight in central China.
A prototype of Norinco Luca unmanned transport aircraft took off from an airport in Zhengzhou and stayed in the air for about 30 minutes before landing at the same site, successfully meeting all test objectives.
Measuring 17 meters in length, with a wingspan of 25 meters, the aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 7 metric tons.
It can carry payloads of up to 3.5 metric tons.
The drone also boasts a range of over 3000 kilometers, roughly equivalent to a direct flight from Beijing to Urumqi in the Western Autonomous Region of Xinjiang.
So to delve into this, let's bring in Chen Jiahe, Chief Investment Officer at Novenarchy Technology.
Thanks for joining us.
Hi, thank you.
Thank you for having me.
The Norinco Luca just made its first flight and is being called an airborne heavy truck.
So, in simple terms, what makes it so impressive and how is it different from the small drones we usually see?
Well, it's definitely quite special because when you look at the size of this drone, it can carry 35 tons and the total weight of its airborne is seven tons.
So it's a massive amount of that it can carry.
I mean, for your reference, usually a small passenger car is about one ton weight.
So that means it can carry about three to four small passenger cars weight.
I mean, of course it's not large enough to carry that much.
But when you talk about 35 tons, that's about three to four small passenger cars.
And also look at how long it can travel.
It can travel the distance of 3,000 kilometers.
So that is very large distance.
I mean, that's a huge distance.
You can go almost anywhere. because it's so large the distance.
And finally, the one thing is that it's a drone.
It doesn't take any people to drive it.
So that means that the cost of it can be really, And it can be used at any time.
You don't require the pilot to be ready for 24 hours.
And also another thing that you should notice is that the runway it takes is only 280 meters.
So that's less than 300 meters.
So that actually means you can fly it almost anywhere.
Just to find a road that is about 300 meters long, you can fly the thing.
So it's really useful in application.
That's very impressive.
This drone is fully developed in China, right?
And its designer says, It shows a move from catching up to leading in the sector.
So to what extent does this success reflect China's technological strength in the unmanned aerial systems sector?
Yeah, currently China is already a global leader with designing and producing the drones.
China has so many successful drone companies and the drones has been applied in many daily economic lives and this drone that is so large and can travel for you know so long the distance 3000 kilometers really tells us that it's.
It's really a remarkable thing.
I mean, think about that.
It can actually fly from Beijing to Shanghai and without recharging, flying back to Beijing again.
So it's a very large distance.
It shows that China's capability of producing these kind of drones is really leading the industry in the world.
And you have to remember that traveling by 3000 kilometers doesn't only mean that this drone is capable of traveling by itself.
It also means that we can generate control over this drone over 3,000 kilometers range.
So that's also putting a lot of requirements for China's technologies in things like communication, especially the long-range communication, the satellite communication, all these kinds of things.
You can also even operate in tough places like high-altitude regions and islands, right?
So what real-world problems can this actually help solve?
Yeah, that's right.
It's really useful, especially in situations that are special.
It can be unreplaceable when you are in a situation like that.
If we talk about lives in urban cities, for example I'm living in the center of a city right now you probably won't feel how precious this large drone is can be to you, because you have other ways of transporting.
You can order a truck, you can get a taxi.
It's all sorts of ways.
But if you talk about some other very difficult situations, like people being trapped in the mountain or you have to travel across some daggers, there is no road at all.
You don't really have much options in the past, but now this large unmanned drone is giving people another option.
And this option is not expensive at all because you don't have to bear the cost of training and maintaining the pilots.
You just need a drone to do all these jobs.
So it's really critical when you have no other options at all.
That means the value that it can produce can be really high, because In that kind of situation you just simply don't have another option.
The trucks aren't working, the cars aren't working, the boats aren't working.
You only have this drone or nothing at all.
So it's really valuable in situations such as that.
More broadly, especially in the national level.
What does this mean in practical terms for China's low-altitude economy?
Well, this new drone is giving people another option, and it tells people that you cannot transport 35 tons to 3 000 kilometers away without costing too much money.
It's simply a very It's simply a drone.
It's not something that cost you tens of millions or something like that.
It's a drone that can go into massive production.
So when we look at low altitude economy, is that this new drone is giving this economy a very useful tool?
Without this tool, there are many things that are simply unimaginable.
You just can't imagine that.
But now, with the new tool, you can find out what the application can do, because this new drone is so powerful.
It's similar to some example when you talk to people.
For example, If you talk to someone in 1970s saying that do you need a smartphone or do you need a personal computer.
A regular consumer would tell you that it probably can't figure out what it can do with it because it's never met this kind of thing in its life.
But scientists would tell you that, yes, if you give me a smartphone, it can change everything.
And now look at today, 50 years later, with all these equipments and techniques, we are really having a very different life.
So it's the same thing for this drone.
It's giving another option to the low-altitude economy.
And with this very useful tool, people can find out the application of it in the future.
About solving real-world problems.
When the drone is produced at a scale, how would it change emergency response sectors?
Yes, it's very important when we talk about the application of this drone in the emergency situations and these kind of sectors.
Because, when we look at the daily lives, in many cases there are many competing transportation solutions compared with this drone.
For example, you can take a truck, you can order a taxi, all these kind of things.
But when you are in an emergency situation, the thing is that you simply don't have other options.
Many transportations have been cut off and you have no other choices, but this drone is available.
So it's really valuable.
I mean, I take an example is that I'm in Haiku right now.
This provincial city of Hainan has been hit by a large typhoon back two years ago in 2024.
At that time, the northern part of the Hainan province.
Most of the transportation has been cut down because so many trees are falling on the streets.
So at that time, if Heiko wants to send something to some towns and villages around the city, it simply can't be done because the trucks and taxis can't be used.
But with this drone, as long as you can get a runway that is 300 meters long, which can be a country road, a flat land, all these kind of things, it doesn't really have to be an airfield.
You can just transport 35 tons of goods with this drone.
And you have to remember that in emergency situations, the situation can be very tough.
So if this is not a drone, but an aircraft driven by pilots, the situation can be too dangerous.
You can't risk the life of the pilot for him to land in, for example, in a country road that is just 300 meters long.
But for drones you can do that because you can bear the cost of a potential hazard if the landing wasn't successful.
You're losing a machine.
You're not losing the lives of people.
So it's really effective in the situation of emergency.
Thanks for those valuable insights.
That was Chen Jiahe, Chief Investment Officer at Novenarchy Technologies.
That's all the time for this edition of World Today.
I'm Gaena in Beijing.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye for now.
