German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer claims that a recently passed law will make Germany "the first country in the world to put self-driving vehicles on the road." By 2022, this should be achieved. In China, however, autonomous driving cars, without safety drivers and centralized control, have been on the road since late 2020. And the gap between developments in Germany and the People's Republic is likely to widen.
By Frank Sieren
Many older Chinese feel left behind by the country's rapid digitization. China's government wants to close the "digital divide" between young and older people by 2022. This means more social integration, but also more consumption – and thus follows the logic of the 14th Five-Year Plan. For companies, at any rate, the target group of senior citizens is a long underestimated growth market.
By Frank Sieren
Chinese technology companies want to go public again in 2021. Instead of New York, however, AI companies in particular will probably choose Shanghai. They are controversial in the US because of their facial recognition technology. IPOs of Didi Chuxing or parts of TikTok's parent company Bytedance are also possible.
By Christiane Kuehl