Quotable

It would effectively save costs and even make profits to divide the current CRC system into several regional companies with a proper shareholding structure to optimize the country's railway service resources and networks."

IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Baidu to shift to AI, says CEO

Baidu Inc's CEO has pledged to shift the company's business model from a search engine model to one based on artificial intelligence, after a recent government probe put a chill on its core search business.

Bank of China sets sights further overseas growth

Bank of China Ltd will further expand its overseas business by tapping into more profitable fields such as corporate financing and commodity hedging, historically dominated by financial institutions on Wall Street.

Initiatives help UK startups get a foothold in China

Sensewhere, a software company from Edinburgh, opened an office in China only a year ago, but already millions of people in the country are using its technology.

Making vital parts key to Sino-Russian energy partnership

China-made parts vital to a major LNG facility are due to arrive in northwestern Russia this month, marking a milestone in the nations' energy cooperation.

Shopping made easy for expats

For expats living in China, finding their way around the giant online shopping platforms run by Alibaba, which offer more than 800 million products, can be a daunting task.

Kitchen gives culinary startups a chance to get cooking

With demand booming for more diverse types of international cuisine in China, British-born Stewart Johnson and New Zealander Alex Worker developed a business platform to help innovative food startups take off in the Chinese capital.

Learning from a good neighbor

Kazakhstan is eager to learn from China's experience in building soft infrastructure, such as new technology and financial services, says a leading financial official.

A country in need of a national image

In the Lonely Planet guidebook, Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is introduced as being "famous for its cold winter".

Tech firms 'should do more' to fight probe

A new probe into alleged patent violations by ZTE Corp and Lenovo Corp Ltd in the United States illustrates just how Chinese technology enterprises should do more to integrate patent protection measures in their overseas expansion plans, experts say.

EY report highlights bank profit slowdown

The net profit growth of China's 16 A-share-listed banks continued to slow in the first quarter of the year, while their nonperforming loan balance exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($153 billion; 134 billion euros) along with a continued increase in the NPL ratio, according to a new EY report on the Chinese banking industry.