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China technology

China technology
Latest news, features and opinion on China’s technology industry, including AI, the US-China tech war, 5G, smartphone makers and apps, and issues surrounding China’s Great Firewall.
Visitors take pictures of wafer samples at the Intel booth during Computex 2024 in Taipei last summer. US President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on semiconductor chips has complicated Taiwan’s bid to remain a global powerhouse in the critical sector and stay onside with key backer Washington, analysts have said. Photo: AFP
China trade

With its chips on the table, Taiwan seen avoiding the worst US tariffs

Taiwan falls under the 15 per cent of the world Trump has flagged for its trade imbalance with the US, so tariff risk still looms in coming days.

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Semiconductors

China’s top foundry SMIC reports revenue growth in 2024, but net profits plunge

China-EU relations

‘Reverse Deng’: can Europe pull a role reversal and secure Chinese battery tech?

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US-China relations

Trump, some Republicans differ on TikTok ahead of sell-or-ban deadline

‘If ByteDance stays involved in any way, the deal is illegal – plain and simple,’ said one senior Republican lawmaker.

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A woman poses with her smartphone displaying the @realdonaldtrump TikTok page, in Washington in January 2025. Photo: Reuters
Boao Forum for Asia

‘Unstoppable momentum’ vs ‘big challenges’ in China’s cross-border e-commerce

Former deputy secretary general for China’s State Council warns of a potential negative impact from foreign import tariffs on small packages.

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Alibaba

Alibaba’s AI crackdown: Taobao says e-commerce images must be ‘realistic’

Taobao’s initiative aligns with China’s broader regulatory efforts to address the misuse of generative AI.

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Alibaba

Alibaba launches AI model that can process images and video on the go

The multimodal Qwen2.5-Omni-7B model is designed to run locally on mobile devices and tops rivals in some benchmarks.

Alibaba’s open-source Qwen models have been popular options for AI developers to build upon. Photo: Reuters
Robotics

US robotics firms push for national strategy to compete with China

Tesla, Boston Dynamics and others are pushing for US policies that would boost American companies in the global robotics race.

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China manufacturing

‘Dominant’: US and Chinese robotics start-ups attract 75% of global funding

America and China are ‘reinforcing their leadership’ in robotics, allowing them to shape the future of automation, new study finds.

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Science

China aims to switch on world’s first fusion-fission power plant by 2030

If 100 megawatt hybrid plant is on schedule, it could put China decades ahead of comparable efforts in the rest of the world.

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Xinghuo would be the first major hybrid project in the world designed to deliver real-world power by combining the strengths of both processes. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

China finishes deep-sea tests on upgraded Jiaolong submersible

The month-long trial shows that upgrades will allow it to complete more frequent and intensive scientific research missions, state media says.

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The Jiaolong recently finished a month-long trial. Photo: National Deep Sea Centre
US-China relations

US adds more Chinese firms to tech ban list. Is it just the start for Trump 2.0?

America has a sense of urgency about the way China is closing the technology gap, analyst says.

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US-China tech war

Beijing AI research lab says inclusion on US export control list a ‘mistake’

The updated BIS list includes more than 50 new Chinese entities, including six units of cloud computing provider Inspur Group.

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Artificial intelligence

Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai questions AI’s limits, casts doubt on humanoid robots

Speaking at Alibaba’s Jumpstarter event, the entrepreneur said much of what humans value is not captured in training data.

Alibaba chairman Joe Tsai speaks at the grand finale of the company’s Jumpstarter 2025 event on March 26. Photo: Handout
Semiconductors

‘Coming out’: Huawei-related chip tool maker makes splash at Semicon China

In the first public display of SiCarrier’s latest chipmaking equipment, the company’s booth drew throngs of visitors eager for more information.

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The booth of chip equipment maker SiCarrier drew large crowds at Semicon China on March 26, as people looked for any new information regarding the company’s latest technology. Photo: Ann Cao
China’s economic stimulus

China mends fences with big tech in consumption, employment push

Beijing is increasingly praising the tech sector as a driver of jobs and economic growth, but platforms may still be closely supervised.

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Alibaba

Alibaba, Ant partner with home province to boost China’s AI drive

The two tech giants have become key partners in empowering government agencies with AI capabilities.

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Hong Kong stock market

China’s narrower tech gap with US creates investment opportunities: fund managers

CEOs of Primavera Capital, Franklin Templeton tout long-term potential of Chinese stocks at first World Economic Forum event in Hong Kong.

Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton (left) and Fred Hu of Primavera Capital take part in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Financial and Monetary Systems 2025 Symposium in Hong Kong on March 26, 2025. Photo: Dickson Lee
6G

Video | What is 6G and why is China ahead?

Sixth-generation wireless communication is predicted to dramatically change the way we interact with the world, but not all countries are embracing it as rapidly as China

Tencent

Tencent adds AI chatbot friend to WeChat to keep users glued to app

WeChat users can now add Yuanbao as a ‘friend’ and interact with the chatbot without downloading a separate app.

Apple

Apple CEO meets top Chinese officials in charm offensive but offers no AI update

Cook was among 80 company executives who attended the China Development Forum, an annual event to facilitate dialogue with global investors.

Apple CEO Tim Cook at the opening ceremony of the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 23, 2025. Photo: Pool via AP
Robotics

Chinese tech giant Tencent invests in Shanghai robotics start-up Agibot

Robots have become a hot investment area in China as VC firms, supply chain partners and tech giants jostle to back leading start-ups.

The Tencent logo is seen behind a robotic hand in this illustration taken February 16, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Electric & new energy vehicles

BYD out-earns Tesla after out-making, out-selling Model 3 producer

Chinese EV maker is forecast to widen its lead over Tesla in 2025 and 2026 global sales, according to consensus compiled by Bloomberg.

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Artificial intelligence

Ant Group’s use of local GPUs, not Nvidia, cuts AI model training costs by 20%

The fintech affiliate of Alibaba said its Ling-Plus-Base model can be ‘effectively trained on lower-performance devices’.

China-EU relations

Unaffected by EU’s tariffs on EVs, China’s hybrid-vehicle exports surge to bloc

With Brussels’ tariffs not a problem, China’s plug-in hybrid EVs have become the fastest-growing Chinese export item to the 27-nation bloc.

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BYD’s Denza N9 luxury SUV is available in a plug-in hybrid version advertised in London. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Opinion | China’s true talent in AI lies in making it safe to use

While the US remains caught in a computational race, China’s competitive advantage lies not in any LLM model but in AI-embedded ecosystems.

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A screen display inside a Pony.ai robotaxi in Nansha district, Guangzhou, in south China’s Guangdong province on March 11. Photo: Xinhua
China energy security

China weeds out bad behaviour in quest to harvest farmers’ untapped solar power

The country’s energy regulator called for the ‘healthy and orderly’ growth of small-scale, distributed solar power and dissuaded monopolies.

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Banking & finance

Alibaba’s Tsai says some AI bets like excess data centres are speculative

‘People are talking literally about US$500 billion, several US$100 billion [projects]. I don’t think that is entirely necessary,’ Tsai says.

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