https://www.scmp.com/rss/31742/feed Alibaba is China's largest e-commerce company, with holdings in a wide portfolio of businesses from logistics, cloud services and finance to media. The company provides business-to-business, business-to-consumer and other services through platforms including Alibaba.com, Tmall, and Taobao. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post. It was co-founded by Jack Ma, who retired as chairman in 2019 but is still a major shareholder. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Coco Feng Coco Feng US President Donald Trump and Chinese officials discussed artificial intelligence “guardrails” and Nvidia’s H200 chips during his just-ended state visit to Beijing. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One during his return flight, Trump said the two sides “talked about possibly working together for guardrails” on AI, characterising them as “standard guardrails that we talk about all the time”. Regarding Nvidia’s H200 graphics processing units (GPUs) – shipments of which have yet to be approved by... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3353764/trump-xi-weigh-ai-guardrails-nvidia-chip-exports-hang-balance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3353764/trump-xi-weigh-ai-guardrails-nvidia-chip-exports-hang-balance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 13:45:47 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai A Chinese-made tiger’s head bag carried by Elon Musk’s young son in Beijing has prompted a wave of interest online. Musk’s six-year-old son X Æ A-Xii, dressed in a Chinese style silk jacket, was pictured carrying the brown shoulder bag with a tiger’s face when he visited the Great Hall of the People with his father in Beijing. The photo quickly went viral on Chinese social media. The Tesla boss was part of a delegation accompanying US President Donald Trump on his visit to Beijing, which ended... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353755/eye-tiger-how-elon-musks-sons-bag-became-hit-chinese-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353755/eye-tiger-how-elon-musks-sons-bag-became-hit-chinese-public?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 12:34:39 +0000 Ben Jiang,Eunice Xu Ben Jiang,Eunice Xu For years, online shopping in China has followed a rigid, tedious ritual: typing precise keywords, squinting at endless rows of listings, and falling into a rabbit hole of product comparisons. But for a man surnamed Liu, a 30-something finance professional based in Hong Kong, that experience has recently evolved into something more akin to a casual conversation. Chatting with Alibaba Group Holding’s Qwen artificial intelligence assistant, Liu found that he was being offered a few curated choices... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353747/chinas-tech-companies-are-looking-rewrite-e-commerce-playbook-ai-agents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353747/chinas-tech-companies-are-looking-rewrite-e-commerce-playbook-ai-agents?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:42 +0000 Ada Li Ada Li China’s state broadcaster and ⁠football’s world governing body Fifa have come to an agreement over showing the World Cup, less than a month before the tournament kicks off. In an official announcement on Friday, China Media Group, CCTV’s parent company, said the deal would run until 2031 and take in the next two men’s and women’s tournaments. Apart from this summer’s event in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the agreement covers the following men’s tournament in 2030, as well as women’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3353725/china-state-broadcaster-fifa-agree-world-cup-tv-deal-covering-4-tournaments-until-2031?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3353725/china-state-broadcaster-fifa-agree-world-cup-tv-deal-covering-4-tournaments-until-2031?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 10:07:44 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings are doubling down on a massive artificial intelligence spending spree, betting that a new wave of Chinese-made chips will break the supply bottlenecks stifling their ambitions. While both Chinese tech giants saw revenues trail expectations this past quarter, they pledged an aggressive acceleration in capital expenditure, as home-grown silicon from Huawei Technologies and Alibaba’s in-house labs begins to reach scale. Alibaba was likely to “overshoot”... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353573/alibaba-tencent-signal-ai-spending-surge-despite-earnings-pressure-china-chips-ramp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353573/alibaba-tencent-signal-ai-spending-surge-despite-earnings-pressure-china-chips-ramp?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 10:02:45 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Shares of Alibaba Group Holding opened up 7.8 per cent in Hong Kong, after the firm reported strong growth from its artificial intelligence products and ramped up its commitment to the technology. The Chinese tech giant also saw its New York-listed shares surge 8.2 per cent on Wednesday, closing at US$145.81, after it confirmed that revenues from AI-related products had hit 8.97 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in the first quarter. The company said the segment had now registered triple-digit... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353487/alibaba-shares-surge-8-new-york-firm-accelerates-pivot-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353487/alibaba-shares-surge-8-new-york-firm-accelerates-pivot-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 01:19:53 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin Chinese universities have significantly overtaken their American rivals in research output at one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) conferences, according to an analysis of more than 5,000 accepted papers that went viral on social media. Among the top 50 institutions contributing to the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), held in Rio de Janeiro last month, mainland China accounted for about 44 per cent of the total, with Tsinghua University, Shanghai... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3353459/basically-chinese-racket-how-china-streaked-ahead-global-ai-conference?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3353459/basically-chinese-racket-how-china-streaked-ahead-global-ai-conference?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 01:00:16 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Washington and Beijing have piled on irritants in advance of this week’s summit between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, suggesting that neither side wants to be seen as a deal killer – even as they try to build potential leverage to bargain away, analysts and former US government officials said. Scott Kennedy, senior adviser with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that both sides had been “picking up some chits which they might be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353432/wary-mood-mark-xi-trump-summit-irritants-aplenty-both-sides-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3353432/wary-mood-mark-xi-trump-summit-irritants-aplenty-both-sides-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 15:59:04 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding expects its annualised recurring revenue from AI models and applications to hit 30 billion yuan (US$4.42 billion) by the year’s end, as the company ramps up its AI commitment. AI products are projected to generate more than 50 per cent of Alibaba’s cloud-computing revenue within the next year, as the tech giant looks to step up its AI monetisation efforts. Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming said the company was likely to “overshoot” the original capital-expenditure target of 380... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353451/alibaba-ai-revenue-logs-triple-digit-growth-11th-quarter-amid-strategic-reshuffle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353451/alibaba-ai-revenue-logs-triple-digit-growth-11th-quarter-amid-strategic-reshuffle?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 10:57:52 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Bridging the gap between science fiction and reality, a Chinese robotics firm on Tuesday unveiled a manned “mecha” capable of transitioning between bipedal walking and four-legged mode. Developed by Unitree Robotics, the GD01 – resembling an Autobot from a Transformers movie – is a high-strength alloy machine designed for civilian transport. It weighs 500kg with a pilot on board – roughly the weight of a grand piano – and carries a starting price of 3.9 million yuan (US$573,674), according to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353262/real-life-transformers-chinas-unitree-debuts-mecha-robot-shifts-2-legs-4?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353262/real-life-transformers-chinas-unitree-debuts-mecha-robot-shifts-2-legs-4?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 May 2026 08:54:13 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Chinese technology companies and researchers turned out in force at a leading global artificial intelligence conference, despite mounting questions over whether they might avoid the event as a consequence of tense relations between Beijing and Washington. Papers with contributors from mainland China and Hong Kong accounted for over 51 per cent of accepted submissions, compared with just under 32 per cent from the United States, according to statistics compiled from the listed affiliations for... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353173/china-deepens-footprint-ai-conference-despite-neurips-dispute-us-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353173/china-deepens-footprint-ai-conference-despite-neurips-dispute-us-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Ben Jiang,Eunice Xu Ben Jiang,Eunice Xu Alibaba Group Holding is integrating its flagship AI assistant Qwen into its biggest e-commerce platforms, betting that the future of online shopping lies in fluid conversations rather than rigid search terms. Using the Qwen app, shoppers are able to find, compare and purchase products from Taobao and Tmall’s 4-billion-item inventory via text or voice chat, Alibaba said in a statement on Monday. Taobao has also launched a Qwen-powered shopping assistant, which was trained on the platform’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3353132/alibaba-taps-chinas-chat-buy-trend-qwen-ai-and-taobao-integration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3353132/alibaba-taps-chinas-chat-buy-trend-qwen-ai-and-taobao-integration?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 08:03:17 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding is preparing an overhaul of how local consumers shop online, betting that the next trend will feel more like chatting with an artificial intelligence chatbot rather than typing keywords into a search bar, according to a source. Users of the company’s flagship AI assistant Qwen – one of the most popular in China – would soon be able to use natural language to “talk” with the chatbot app to find and buy items listed on Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353044/alibaba-brings-chat-style-shopping-taobao-and-qwen-amid-ai-gateway-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353044/alibaba-brings-chat-style-shopping-taobao-and-qwen-amid-ai-gateway-push?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2026 10:35:23 +0000 Lucy Quaggin Lucy Quaggin At a New York City ballroom late last month, a crowd of hi-tech luminaries gathered at an honours ceremony. The biggest draw for the assembled tech geniuses was Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, the superstar head of one of the world’s most valuable companies, set to receive the night’s top award. In some ways, engineers have been at the centre of every industrial revolution, Huang told the crowd, from steam to electricity to information technology. But this one, artificial intelligence (AI), will be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352950/china-and-us-ai-revolution-race-tech-rivals-battle-global-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3352950/china-and-us-ai-revolution-race-tech-rivals-battle-global-supremacy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2026 14:01:56 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng TikTok is investing US$25 billion in data infrastructure projects in Thailand, the company’s biggest investment announced to date in Southeast Asia, as China’s technology giants continue expanding their footprint in the region. The investment would be used to install additional servers and expand data storage and processing infrastructure across Bangkok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao provinces to support rising demand for digital services, according to an announcement by Thailand’s Board of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3352736/tiktok-makes-record-us25b-investment-expand-digital-infrastructure-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3352736/tiktok-makes-record-us25b-investment-expand-digital-infrastructure-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 08:30:10 +0000 Zhang Shidong,Peggy Ye Zhang Shidong,Peggy Ye Optimism that the Middle East hostilities will conclude soon drove Hong Kong equities to a two-month high on Thursday, as the city’s stock market joined a global rally supported by easing oil prices and artificial intelligence-driven enthusiasm. The Hang Seng Index closed 1.6 per cent higher at 26,626.28, a level last seen on February 27. The Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 3.1 per cent. On the Chinese mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both gained 0.5 per cent. Media... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3352687/hong-kong-stocks-cross-26500-easing-middle-east-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3352687/hong-kong-stocks-cross-26500-easing-middle-east-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 02:32:38 +0000 Xinmei Shen,Sylvia Ma Xinmei Shen,Sylvia Ma Chloe Wang, a 26-year-old fund employee in Shenzhen, said she “definitely wouldn’t” pay for a subscription to Doubao, Chinese tech giant ByteDance’s artificial intelligence chatbot, at its proposed price. “I’m willing to pay for AI tools, but I don’t think it’s worth that much – even though I find Doubao relatively easy to use among domestic AI products,” said Wang, who uses the app occasionally for work-related queries. “If I had to pay for an AI tool as a productivity aid, I’d probably rather... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3352661/bytedances-ai-subscription-gamble-chatbot-faces-reality-check-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3352661/bytedances-ai-subscription-gamble-chatbot-faces-reality-check-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2026 01:59:51 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang The release of DeepSeek’s latest large language model, V4, has been followed by a wave of adoption among domestic semiconductor manufacturers and artificial intelligence chipmakers, with firms racing to support the model on local hardware platforms. The shift comes amid rising geopolitical tensions over advanced semiconductors. Here are some of the key players enabling the model’s deployment on domestic hardware. Huawei Huawei Technologies was among the first to act, with the V4 fully adapted to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352644/chinas-chipmakers-rush-embrace-deepseeks-v4-which-names-stand-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352644/chinas-chipmakers-rush-embrace-deepseeks-v4-which-names-stand-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Wency Chen,Vincent Chow Wency Chen,Vincent Chow China and the United States are taking divergent paths to developing artificial intelligence (AI), putting their technology ecosystems increasingly at odds. This divergence was on show on April 24 when start-up DeepSeek launched its next-generation V4 AI models that were optimised for use with the Ascend chips and associated software tools of tech giant Huawei Technologies. China has for years been pursuing technological self-reliance, a policy reiterated by the Communist Party’s Politburo at... https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/tech-war/article/3352563/ai-ecosystems-china-and-us-grow-apart-amid-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/tech-war/article/3352563/ai-ecosystems-china-and-us-grow-apart-amid-tech-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 04:15:04 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao In China, computing facilities have emerged as a new form of infrastructure over the past two years, sparking an arms race among cities and technology companies to build 10,000-card computing clusters. These clusters – which link 10,000 or more artificial intelligence accelerator chips – enable faster iteration of AI capabilities and significantly reduce model training times. Domestic champions, from tech giants such as Huawei Technologies and Alibaba Group Holding to graphics processing unit... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352200/supersized-and-scaling-china-pushes-10000-card-computing-clusters-ai-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352200/supersized-and-scaling-china-pushes-10000-card-computing-clusters-ai-race?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 15:00:08 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen A desk with a laptop and a stack of books. A shirt waiting to be folded. A kitchen counter, a milk-tea stand and pile of building blocks – all in a single room. Robots of different shapes face their tasks with focus, controlled by a human operator. Pick up. Place. Fold. Repeat. This is not a film set, it is a data collection factory for embodied intelligence – a de facto “data foundry”. The facility, in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang hi-tech zone, is run by Agibot, a fast-rising robotics company. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3351817/hype-or-real-cash-flow-chinas-robot-boom-faces-reality-check-commercialisation-lags?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3351817/hype-or-real-cash-flow-chinas-robot-boom-faces-reality-check-commercialisation-lags?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 May 2026 03:00:06 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Ultra-low-priced Hong Kong tour packages reliant on commissions and pushing mainland Chinese visitors to make additional purchases remain prevalent despite tighter government regulations, the South China Morning Post has found. The business model has come under renewed scrutiny after the Travel Industry Authority revoked the licences of a travel agency and its tour guide over four cases of suspected coerced shopping between January and March. The practice has also prompted concerns about the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352290/ultra-low-priced-tours-exploiting-mainland-chinese-visitors-survive-despite-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3352290/ultra-low-priced-tours-exploiting-mainland-chinese-visitors-survive-despite-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang A sweeping rule change for drones in Beijing, which bars sales in the Chinese capital and requires identity registration linked to each device from Friday, has left sellers and consumers scrambling to cope with some of the country’s toughest regulations on the sector. At a flagship retail store operated by DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, in Beijing’s bustling Guomao area, a shop assistant said that the store had been preparing to clear its shelves of all drone products in accordance with... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3352070/no-drone-zone-dji-consumers-grapple-beijing-sales-ban-and-registration-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3352070/no-drone-zone-dji-consumers-grapple-beijing-sales-ban-and-registration-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 May 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Artificial intelligence investments by US tech giants continue to soar, dwarfing those of Chinese AI firms, but China’s rising appetite for AI applications will compel its tech companies to increase their AI spending this year, according to analysts. The largest US tech companies are on track for more than US$700 billion in AI capital expenditures this year, driven in part by rising memory costs and continuously growing demand for AI applications. Google and Microsoft on Thursday both said that... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352068/chinese-firms-face-pressure-ai-investments-us-peers-spending-keeps-soaring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352068/chinese-firms-face-pressure-ai-investments-us-peers-spending-keeps-soaring?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:30:09 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng China’s home-grown software and operating systems like Huawei Technologies’ HarmonyOS are gaining traction, according to an official of China’s technology ministry, as the country accelerates its push to cut reliance on foreign technology. More than 55 million smartphones ran on the HarmonyOS mobile platform as of the end of March, according to Ke Jixin, vice-minister of industry and information technology. “Domestic software like operating systems and databases has been improving steadily,” Ke... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3351837/huaweis-harmonyos-more-55m-phones-china-steps-push-domestic-software?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3351837/huaweis-harmonyos-more-55m-phones-china-steps-push-domestic-software?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:30:07 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Three Chinese companies – Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance and Zhipu AI – have been named among Time magazine’s “10 Most Influential AI Companies of 2026”, marking the first time the publication has introduced an artificial intelligence-specific sub-list under its broader Time100 Most Influential Companies ranking. Of the remaining seven companies on the list, six are based in the US, while France’s Mistral AI is the only European representative. The launch of a dedicated AI ranking underscores... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351823/chinas-alibaba-bytedance-and-zhipu-ai-make-cut-times-first-ai-list?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351823/chinas-alibaba-bytedance-and-zhipu-ai-make-cut-times-first-ai-list?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:34:33 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Alibaba Group Holding has released an artificial intelligence model that it claims is more sensitive than radiologists in spotting early stage colorectal cancer from computed tomography (CT) scans, as the Chinese tech giant doubles down on its efforts to develop AI tools for cancer detection. Alibaba’s research arm Damo Academy said on Tuesday that its new Coca AI model accurately identified five previously missed cases of colorectal cancer from the non-contrast CT scans of more than 27,000... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3351719/alibaba-doubles-down-healthcare-ai-new-tool-early-colorectal-cancer-detection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3351719/alibaba-doubles-down-healthcare-ai-new-tool-early-colorectal-cancer-detection?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:00:10 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Alibaba Group Holding’s plan to package a key warehousing hub into a real estate investment trust (Reit) for public listing will benefit the company and its shareholders by redeploying capital into higher-growth opportunities, according to analysts. Alibaba, which two years ago scrapped a plan to publicly list its Cainiao logistics operation, said in a filing on Monday that it had received regulatory approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange to proceed with a proposal to spin off a certain... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3351692/alibabas-plan-list-cainiao-logistics-hub-reit-will-unlock-value-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3351692/alibabas-plan-list-cainiao-logistics-hub-reit-will-unlock-value-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:24:30 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi Alibaba Group Holding gained approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange to proceed with a proposed spin-off of a warehouse park in mainland China, two years after the tech giant withdrew the listing plan of its logistics arm Cainiao. The e-commerce giant said it could separate an infrastructure real estate investment trust (Reit) and list it on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with the underlying asset being the Jiaxing Park, a logistics and warehousing infrastructure hub in eastern China’s Zhejiang... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3351610/alibaba-gets-approval-spin-warehouse-park-reit-pivot-logistics-assets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3351610/alibaba-gets-approval-spin-warehouse-park-reit-pivot-logistics-assets?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:32:43 +0000 Themis Qi Themis Qi China’s recycling platform Zhuanzhuan is preparing to expand into Europe and the US by the end of the year, betting that demand for second-hand goods will continue to rise amid economic uncertainty despite geopolitical tensions. Backed by tech giants Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi, the Beijing-based company plans to export its model – which combines advanced quality inspection technology with door-to-door services – to get a slice of overseas markets. A dedicated international website was expected... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351394/turning-cast-offs-cash-chinas-zhuanzhuan-looks-europe-and-us-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351394/turning-cast-offs-cash-chinas-zhuanzhuan-looks-europe-and-us-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 01:00:32 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu More than 4 million small parcels from China have arrived at the freight airport in Liege, Belgium, every day since the beginning of the year. On the receiving end, the Belgian customs inspection team at the airport has only 80 members. Belgium’s top customs official, Kristian Vanderwaeren, said the airport, close to the Netherlands, Germany and France, was built, in part, to cater to e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Shein, Temu and Alibaba. But the “explosion” in the number of small parcels... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351338/flood-small-parcels-china-pushes-belgian-airports-capacity-limit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351338/flood-small-parcels-china-pushes-belgian-airports-capacity-limit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 07:00:10 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Li Bin, a doctor at the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, was among the wave of Chinese consumers who snapped up Apple Mac Mini computers during the country’s frenzied adoption of the OpenClaw artificial intelligence agent earlier this year. The young surgeon from Lanzhou, the capital of northwestern China’s Gansu province, bought one to run the open-source program, using it to develop an app to extract and organise information from doctor-patient conversations and lab report photos into... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351334/just-what-doctor-ordered-how-ai-could-help-china-bridge-medical-resources-gap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351334/just-what-doctor-ordered-how-ai-could-help-china-bridge-medical-resources-gap?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 03:00:13 +0000 Lizzi C. Lee Lizzi C. Lee The idea of a token economy is gaining traction. The concept is still nascent, loosely defined and easy to dismiss as just another piece of artificial intelligence jargon. It is no surprise Chinese policymakers are quick to jump on the bandwagon. But in the Chinese context, there is a more concrete policy logic that deserves attention. It reflects an emerging attempt to reframe how energy, infrastructure and digital services interact, and in doing so, how China positions itself in the next phase... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3350766/chinas-ai-token-drive-really-about-upgrading-inland-economies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3350766/chinas-ai-token-drive-really-about-upgrading-inland-economies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Yulu Ao Yulu Ao Chinese chipmakers rallied on Friday while artificial intelligence application firms retreated, as investors rotated into semiconductor stocks on expectations of stronger demand for computing power following a new model release by start-up DeepSeek. Shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp rose 10 per cent by the close in Hong Kong, while Hua Hong Semiconductor surged 15 per cent, extending a broader rally among mainland chipmakers. In contrast, several AI application developers... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351328/investors-rotate-chinas-chipmakers-deepseek-intensifies-ai-competition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351328/investors-rotate-chinas-chipmakers-deepseek-intensifies-ai-competition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:03:43 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China’s top market regulator will launch a six-month crackdown on the country’s internet advertising sector, targeting malpractices including the misuse of artificial intelligence, in what it described as its first campaign to clean up the broader online advertising ecosystem. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on Thursday that the campaign comes as new risks – from AI misuse to traffic-driven marketing tactics – emerge alongside long-standing issues, even as data and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351202/beijing-moves-clean-online-ad-ecosystem-first-its-kind-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351202/beijing-moves-clean-online-ad-ecosystem-first-its-kind-campaign?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:03:24 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Alibaba Group Holding has struck its first external partnership for its flagship consumer artificial intelligence app, linking it with China Eastern Airlines in a move that pushes its agentic capabilities beyond the company’s own ecosystem and into real-world services. The company said the fresh collaboration allowed users of the Qwen app to manage the full flight booking process – from search and ticket purchase to seat selection and check-in – within a single natural-language chat interface.... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3351076/alibaba-opens-qwen-app-outside-partners-china-eastern-airlines-tie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3351076/alibaba-opens-qwen-app-outside-partners-china-eastern-airlines-tie?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:12:43 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang As Chinese artificial intelligence companies continue to push for the adoption of their flagship models overseas, they have taken on a new role as a key source of so-called “token exports” to the global market. Chinese AI models accounted for four of the top 10 models in terms of token consumption on popular AI model marketplace OpenRouter from March 18 to April 18, highlighting their growing visibility in global developer usage of AI systems. Domestic token demand has been surging at an... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351011/can-token-exports-give-china-edge-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351011/can-token-exports-give-china-edge-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow In the first of a three-part series on Anthropic’s new powerful Mythos AI model, we look at its impact on Chinese AI, cybersecurity and competition with the US. US start-up Anthropic announced its latest artificial intelligence model Claude Mythos Preview on April 7, sparking an unprecedented global response among policymakers and regulators due to its powerful ability to identify and exploit cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Instead of a public release, Anthropic released Mythos to a consortium of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350987/anthropics-mythos-stoking-cybersecurity-fears-what-does-it-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350987/anthropics-mythos-stoking-cybersecurity-fears-what-does-it-mean-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:00:08 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Behind China’s landmark crackdown on the e-commerce and food-delivery sectors lies a darker narrative of resistance, secrecy and violence, after regulators uncovered a vast network of “ghost” bakeries and imposed a record fine on seven major platforms. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) levied a 3.6 billion yuan (US$528 million) fine on seven platforms run by PDD Holdings, Meituan, JD.com, Alibaba Group Holding and ByteDance, with the probe revealing a hidden office, violent... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3350891/hidden-office-fractured-bone-violent-resistance-behind-chinas-record-food-safety-fine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3350891/hidden-office-fractured-bone-violent-resistance-behind-chinas-record-food-safety-fine?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Chinese artificial intelligence start-up Moonshot AI has released its latest open-source flagship model, Kimi K2.6, as domestic tech giants including Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent issued a consensus to promote open source, even as some continue to invest in closed systems. The move highlights the varied business strategies of Chinese AI companies, as differences in growth and maturity shape their commitment to open source. Unveiled on Monday, Kimi K2.6 brings upgrades in long-horizon coding,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350887/moonshot-ai-releases-flagship-model-open-source-push-continues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350887/moonshot-ai-releases-flagship-model-open-source-push-continues?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Ann Cao,Xinmei Shen Ann Cao,Xinmei Shen Say “open source” and “China” and most people will think of its world-conquering artificial intelligence (AI) large language models. Its open-source computer chips are just as significant. These chips are based on the RISC-V architecture (pronounced risk-five). At last month’s Zhongguancun Forum science festival in Beijing, experts celebrated the establishment in China of a complete RISC-V ecosystem. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) researchers recently unveiled their latest Xiangshan processor... https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/science/article/3350802/china-bets-risc-v-global-ai-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/news/china/science/article/3350802/china-bets-risc-v-global-ai-race?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:44:47 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Huawei Technologies has launched its first artificial intelligence glasses, as the Shenzhen-based tech giant joins an intensifying battle with US leader Meta and domestic peers including Alibaba Group Holding and Rokid in smart eyewear. Priced from 2,499 yuan (US$367), the new eyewear weighed just 35.5 grams and featured various AI functions ranging from voice interaction to payments, Huawei said in a launch event. Powered by Huawei’s self-developed chip designed for eyewear, the glasses enable... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350768/chinas-huawei-debuts-ai-glasses-challenge-meta-alibaba-and-rokid-crowded-arena?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350768/chinas-huawei-debuts-ai-glasses-challenge-meta-alibaba-and-rokid-crowded-arena?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:00:13 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese Big Tech firms from Huawei Technologies’ spin-off Honor to Alibaba Group Holding are moving to the forefront of the country’s robotics push as Beijing seeks to spur growth in the sector. Honor, which separated from Huawei in 2020 to focus on smartphones and wearables and only expanded into robotics last year, emerged as the surprise gold medal winner at the second Beijing humanoid half-marathon on Sunday, besting the country’s robotics darlings from Unitree to X-Humanoid. Its Lightning... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350755/chinese-tech-giants-advance-robotics-push-sector-sees-rapid-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350755/chinese-tech-giants-advance-robotics-push-sector-sees-rapid-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:00:12 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu “State-of-the-art” (Sota) artificial intelligence models excel at solving complex Olympiad maths but still struggle with everyday enterprise tasks, according to an executive from a top AI unicorn in the US. David Meyer, senior vice-president of product at US data processing and analysis company Databricks, told the South China Morning Post in a recent interview that the very traits making models state-of-the-art could cause issues in basic office work. For instance, when tasked with identifying... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350614/state-art-models-can-struggle-basic-enterprise-tasks-ai-unicorn-executive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350614/state-art-models-can-struggle-basic-enterprise-tasks-ai-unicorn-executive?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2026 10:00:18 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow In China’s hyper-competitive and lucrative tech industry, releasing cutting-edge artificial intelligence models for free may seem counter-intuitive – but it has become a core business strategy. At the University of Hong Kong last November, Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai was asked why the tech giant open-sourced its AI models. Addressing a room full of students, Tsai said he believed open-source AI would bring global benefits by lowering costs, making it a natural fit for talent- and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350340/chinas-ai-firms-scaled-open-source-models-next-phase-may-be-different?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350340/chinas-ai-firms-scaled-open-source-models-next-phase-may-be-different?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 01:00:17 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang A wave of companies, from the start-up launched by artificial intelligence “godmother” Li Fei-Fei to the largest Chinese tech firms, are racing to introduce their latest approaches to world models – an emerging field aimed at extending AI beyond language processing to learning from and comprehending physical reality. Alibaba Group Holding on Thursday unveiled Happy Oyster, which it called an open-ended world model designed for real-time and “flowy” virtual world creation and interaction,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350351/chinese-tech-giants-ai-godmother-li-fei-fei-race-seize-edge-world-models?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350351/chinese-tech-giants-ai-godmother-li-fei-fei-race-seize-edge-world-models?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:00:14 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu Chinese robotics companies are increasingly banking on quadruped robots as major revenue drivers, a trend highlighted by AgiBot’s recent decision to spin out its four-legged robotics unit into a new subsidiary called AgiQuad, and Amap’s coming launch of a quadruped model. The move by AgiBot was intended to drive large-scale growth so that the unit would not “live in the shadow of the humanoid robot giant”, Qiu Heng, chief operating officer of the new subsidiary, said at a media briefing last... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350071/chinese-robotics-firms-focus-quadrupeds-major-revenue-drivers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3350071/chinese-robotics-firms-focus-quadrupeds-major-revenue-drivers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:00:19 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang China’s world models are benefiting from early integration with the country’s strong industrial base, which gives the domestic ecosystem greater momentum than that of the US, according to an executive at a leading Chinese world model start-up. World models simulate 3D environments and physical dynamics, and are expected to help train the next generation of physical artificial intelligence applications, including robots and autonomous vehicles. Wang Xiaofeng, an algorithm partner at GigaAI, said... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350062/chinas-edge-over-us-ai-world-models-abundant-data-faster-deployment-executive-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350062/chinas-edge-over-us-ai-world-models-abundant-data-faster-deployment-executive-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:10 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Governments, industry and the public are in “common ignorance” about the present and future of artificial intelligence, making both international collaboration and coordination between industry and policymakers necessary, experts have said. In a panel discussion at the inaugural Hong Kong Global AI Governance Conference at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on Saturday, Alibaba Group Holding policy lead Fu Hongyu said that China was now at the front lines of global efforts to introduce guardrails... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349871/common-ignorance-how-china-took-lead-global-efforts-govern-ais-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349871/common-ignorance-how-china-took-lead-global-efforts-govern-ais-future?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng China’s red-chip structure – long used by internet companies to attract foreign capital while navigating domestic restrictions – is facing renewed scrutiny as regulators tighten oversight of offshore listings. The shift is already reshaping the pipeline for Hong Kong initial public offerings (IPOs), with companies increasingly being encouraged to unwind these structures or justify why they remain necessary. This explainer outlines the reasons behind the policy shift, what it means for tech IPOs,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349735/what-does-chinas-tightening-grip-red-chip-structures-mean-ipos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349735/what-does-chinas-tightening-grip-red-chip-structures-mean-ipos?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:37:35 +0000