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E-commerce is set to prosper among the BRICS countries and become a major link connecting their residents, according to a report by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. By 2022, gross merchandise volume generated via online shopping portals will skyrocket 340 percent from last year to reach $3 trillion in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the research arm of the world's largest e-commerce platform, Alibaba, said in a report released on Tuesday. That figure would represent 59 percent of global e-commerce transaction value in five years, up from 41.8 percent a year ago, according to AliResearch. Meanwhile, the number of online shoppers is projected to nearly double from 720 million last year to 1.35 billion in 2022. That means an expanded share of total online shoppers from 47.2 percent to 61 percent. Cross-border e-commerce among the five nations will also gain traction, with transaction volume predicted to jump six-fold to $553.6 billion in five years...

A broad range of technology and scientific processes were on show at the World Robot Conference 2017 (WRC 2017), held at Beijing Etrong International Conference and Exhibition Center, which ran for five days from August 23. A life-size robot replicating the appearance of Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming, which could shoot hoops, was an invention to lead by example, being one of the most popular robotic displays at the conference. Wu Jinting, chairman of Shanghai Hefu Holding (Group) Co Ltd, the company which brought seven robotic displays to the show, said the "Yao Ming" shooting robot achieved a technical breakthrough. "Many leading foreign humanoid robots can speak like humans and do facial expressions, but few of them can actually make movements like our 'Yao Ming' can," he said during an exclusive interview with chinadaily.com.cn on the sideline of the conference. He added Chinese robotic companies have also started showin...