Trade volume

TRADE volume between China and ASEAN countries hit a record high in 2017, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Bilateral trade totaled US$514.8 billion last year, up 13.8 percent year on year, the fastest growth pace between China and any of its major trading partners. China’s exports to ASEAN countries reached U$279.1 billion in 2017, up 9 percent year on year, while imports grew 20 percent year on year to stand at U$235.7 billion. Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand were China’s top trading partners in the region last year.

AI labs

CHINESE ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing has opened artificial intelligence labs to develop new transportation ideas, the company announced Friday.

The labs are an expansion of Didi’s research network intended to attract top professionals to push the frontiers of smart traffic technology. With a team of over 200 scientists and engineers, Didi AI Labs will work on natural language processing, computer vision for operational research, deep learning, statistics and other innovative technology.

Auto recall

MITSUBISHI Motors will recall 51,596 vehicles in China due to a potential safety hazard in the rear parking brake, according to China’s top quality regulator.

Mitsubishi Motors Sales (China) Co. Ltd. filed the recall with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The recall, which will start April 27, is for imported Outlander vehicles manufactured between Nov. 15, 2012 and Jan. 28, 2016, the administration said in a statement.