https://www.scmp.com/rss/326194/feed Xinmei Shen joined the Post in 2017 and is a technology reporter. She covers content, entertainment, social media and internet culture. Previously, she was with the Post’s tech news site, Abacus. Before that, she was a reporting intern at The Information whilst studying at the University of Hong Kong. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen WuXi AppTec’s shares jumped on Tuesday after the Pentagon removed the company from a list of entities allegedly linked to the Chinese military, marking a win for the biotech service giant and raising hopes among other mainland firms challenging US blacklists. The US deputy secretary of defence decided to delist WuXi AppTec from its list of “Chinese military companies”, according to a notice published on the Federal Register on Tuesday. WuXi AppTec surged more than 6 per cent at the open in Hong... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3373875/chinese-biotech-giant-wuxi-apptecs-shares-jump-after-pentagon-blacklist-reversal https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3373875/chinese-biotech-giant-wuxi-apptecs-shares-jump-after-pentagon-blacklist-reversal Tue, 10 Nov 2026 04:00:30 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen A pledge by China’s central bank to investigate Solana’s recent campaigns in mainland China has extinguished hopes that a crackdown on cryptocurrencies will be eased and underscored Beijing’s unyielding hostility towards foreign public blockchains. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) had halted recent offline events Solana planned to hold on the mainland and would launch investigations into the entities and individuals involved, the PBOC-backed Financial News reported on Friday. Citing an... https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3373747/chinese-central-banks-pledge-probe-solana-snuffs-out-hopes-crypto-crackdown-easing https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3373747/chinese-central-banks-pledge-probe-solana-snuffs-out-hopes-crypto-crackdown-easing Mon, 09 Nov 2026 06:00:34 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Global financial leaders who gathered in Hong Kong this week largely sidestepped Beijing’s offshore trust tax crackdown, a lingering near-term hurdle for the city’s otherwise expanding wealth management industry. Beijing’s move earlier this year to step up scrutiny of wealthy families’ overseas assets was barely discussed openly at a series of financial industry events, including the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit and the PWMA Wealth Management Industry Summit 2026, even as it... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3373542/financial-leaders-tiptoe-around-beijings-asset-scrutiny-hail-hong-kongs-wealth-boom https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3373542/financial-leaders-tiptoe-around-beijings-asset-scrutiny-hail-hong-kongs-wealth-boom Sat, 07 Nov 2026 06:00:18 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Solana, one of the world’s largest blockchain networks, plans to expand in Hong Kong to tap the city’s growing demand for tokenisation, according to a senior executive. “I believe that the biggest opportunity for Solana is actually in [the Asia-Pacific region],” Solana Company chairman and CEO Joseph Chee said in an interview in Hong Kong earlier this week. Founded in the US in 2018, the company is behind one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. With a market capitalisation of about US$53... https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3373582/crypto-heavyweight-solana-eyes-hong-kong-expansion-tap-growing-tokenisation-demand https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3373582/crypto-heavyweight-solana-eyes-hong-kong-expansion-tap-growing-tokenisation-demand Fri, 06 Nov 2026 12:03:24 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Two cancer vaccines from Hong Kong-based Sequencio Therapeutics have been selected for presentation at a major US conference, as companies bet on therapies based on ribonucleic acid (RNA) to deliver breakthroughs in cancer treatment. Sequencio, a subsidiary of Li Ka-shing-backed CK Life Sciences, said on Wednesday that it will present preclinical data on cancer vaccine candidates CKLS118 and CKLS202 at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) conference on Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3373234/2-cancer-drugs-li-ka-shing-backed-sequencio-garner-global-attention https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3373234/2-cancer-drugs-li-ka-shing-backed-sequencio-garner-global-attention Wed, 04 Nov 2026 07:01:26 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Private banking giant Julius Baer expects Asia to play a major role in its growth in the near term as investors seek diversification amid rising AI risks in the US, according to its chief executive. “The AI bubble is building and lots of people are very nervous about how much AI risk they have,” Julius Baer group CEO Stefan Bollinger said in an interview in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Investors who have long been “over-indexed” to the US dollar and US equities now face increased exposure, as... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3373195/asia-drive-julius-baer-growth-investors-diversify-amid-looming-us-ai-risks-ceo https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3373195/asia-drive-julius-baer-growth-investors-diversify-amid-looming-us-ai-risks-ceo Wed, 04 Nov 2026 03:00:16 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Hong Kong’s plan to start an interbank tokenised gold transaction project marks a crucial step in its quest to make itself a key global hub for the precious metal, according to analysts. The city planned to launch a gold token representing a standard 400-ounce gold bar, referencing HAU, Hong Kong’s ticker for gold prices launched earlier this year, said Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu during the annual Fintech Week event on Monday. He said the effort... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3373071/tokenised-gold-bar-advance-hong-kongs-ambitions-digital-metal-trading-hub https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3373071/tokenised-gold-bar-advance-hong-kongs-ambitions-digital-metal-trading-hub Tue, 03 Nov 2026 03:54:43 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Hong Kong has touted rapid progress in the first year of its five-year fintech strategy, pledging to double down on artificial intelligence and tokenisation even as many initiatives face the challenge of achieving commercial scale. Tokenisation, for instance, had moved from the sandbox “into the real world”, said Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), at the city’s annual FinTech Week conference on Monday. Hong Kong had authorised 17 tokenised public funds... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372968/how-hong-kongs-fintech-strategy-progressing-and-where-growth-still-lags https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372968/how-hong-kongs-fintech-strategy-progressing-and-where-growth-still-lags Mon, 02 Nov 2026 10:00:07 +0000 Themis Qi,Xinmei Shen Themis Qi,Xinmei Shen HSBC said its RedCoin retail stablecoin has attracted 50,000 users since its official launch just over a week ago, as the city’s largest lender remains committed to exploring new technologies in the city. The figures were revealed by HSBC group CEO Georges Elhedery during a panel discussion on the first day of Hong Kong FinTech Week, which kicked off on Monday. Elhedery also attributed the quick ramp-up to the “comfortable” regulatory environment that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) had... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372972/hsbcs-redcoin-stablecoin-draws-50000-users-first-week-bank-deepens-local-tech-push https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372972/hsbcs-redcoin-stablecoin-draws-50000-users-first-week-bank-deepens-local-tech-push Mon, 02 Nov 2026 07:59:30 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Hong Kong-based WeBank Technology Services, a fintech unit of Tencent Holdings-backed Chinese online lending giant WeBank, generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue last year amid rising demand for digital banking infrastructure in Southeast Asia, according to a senior executive. WeBank Technology, which provides digital banking solutions, was established in Hong Kong in June 2024 to tap markets in countries taking part in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The company was seeing rapid... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372916/chinas-webank-finds-growth-southeast-asia-mining-high-digital-banking-demand https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372916/chinas-webank-finds-growth-southeast-asia-mining-high-digital-banking-demand Mon, 02 Nov 2026 05:00:25 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Business disputes are expected to make up the bulk of cases at Hong Kong’s new International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed), which plans to accelerate its outreach efforts entering its second year of operation, secretary general Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said in an interview. Commercial cases account for up to 95 per cent of all disputes worldwide, while no more than 5 per cent involve states, and IOMed “naturally” expected a similar spread for its own caseload, Cheng said on the sidelines of... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3372597/worlds-first-intergovernmental-mediation-organisation-ramp-outreach https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3372597/worlds-first-intergovernmental-mediation-organisation-ramp-outreach Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:29:13 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen In September, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled the city’s first five-year plan along with his policy address, highlighting Hong Kong’s strategic role in promoting the greater use of the yuan outside mainland China as a key priority. In the third part of a four-part series on the globalisation of the yuan, Xinmei Shen explores how Hong Kong is testing the interoperability of the e-CNY and other digital assets in an effort to broaden the currency’s international appeal. In a US Senate... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372448/beijing-wants-hong-kong-sow-seeds-digital-yuan-will-its-plans-bear-fruit https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3372448/beijing-wants-hong-kong-sow-seeds-digital-yuan-will-its-plans-bear-fruit Wed, 28 Oct 2026 22:00:10 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen An array of Chinese drug makers showcased positive trial results for new cancer treatments at a major European medical conference, underscoring the expanding international influence of China’s biotech sector. Domestic innovative drugs, particularly antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), delivered impressive data across multiple tumour types at the European Society for Medical Oncology (Esmo) Congress, with some early-stage data further showing the country’s “innovation capabilities”, said analysts... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3372422/chinese-drug-sectors-stature-grows-major-cancer-conference https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3372422/chinese-drug-sectors-stature-grows-major-cancer-conference Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:00:13 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals surged more than 12 per cent in Hong Kong following strong third-quarter results, as positive momentum continues to buoy Chinese biotech stocks. Hengrui, one of China’s largest drug makers, reported a 20.55 per cent rise in third-quarter revenue to 8.95 billion yuan (US$1.34 billion), beating analyst estimates of 8.55 billion yuan amid stronger innovative drug sales. Net profit reached 2.46 billion yuan for the three months ended September 30, jumping 88.92 per... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3372319/chinas-hengrui-posts-89-rise-third-quarter-net-profit-beating-estimates https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3372319/chinas-hengrui-posts-89-rise-third-quarter-net-profit-beating-estimates Tue, 27 Oct 2026 11:30:27 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Chinese biotech firms face fresh headwinds in their global expansion as Washington’s proposed outbound investment restrictions threaten to disrupt deal structures, even though drug licensing agreements remain untouched for now, analysts say. The US Treasury Department’s draft rules released last week would “make it much harder for Chinese biotech firms to attract direct US investment or enter joint ventures”, according to David Zhang, an analyst at policy research firm Trivium China. US Treasury... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3372151/could-new-us-investment-curbs-complicate-chinas-biotech-licensing-surge https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3372151/could-new-us-investment-curbs-complicate-chinas-biotech-licensing-surge Mon, 26 Oct 2026 08:00:23 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Bitcoin may extend its rebound but is unlikely to break above US$100,000 before the end of the year, as rising interest rates and the Iran conflict continue to weigh on crypto assets, according to analysts. The crypto asset class is likely to end the year higher than it is today, but below the peak reached last October, according to Alice Liu, head of research at crypto data platform CoinMarketCap. “The worst of this year’s downturn is behind us, but the recovery will be uneven and led almost... https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3371238/bitcoin-making-comeback-risk-more-sharp-pullbacks-real https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3371238/bitcoin-making-comeback-risk-more-sharp-pullbacks-real Sun, 18 Oct 2026 23:00:14 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Solana, which operates one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies, has cancelled a high-profile event in Shanghai at the last minute as local police appeared on site, according to social media posts, just a day after the firm touted the opening of a fancy new office in the city. Solana was slated to host its Solana Accelerate China event in Shanghai on Friday morning, part of a week-long event across major cities in mainland China. Shortly before the event kicked off, however, the company said... https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3371083/china-has-banned-crypto-business-so-why-solana-opening-splashy-shanghai-office https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3371083/china-has-banned-crypto-business-so-why-solana-opening-splashy-shanghai-office Fri, 16 Oct 2026 03:00:07 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen A former top executive at HSBC has launched an artificial intelligence-driven wealth management start-up, setting her sights on a billion-dollar valuation and betting that AI can transform how individuals manage their investments and finances. Trista Sun, formerly a managing director in the international wealth and premier banking division at HSBC, said in an interview last week that her venture Equora aimed to help investors manage their finances “proactively” with AI agents, addressing... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3370565/former-hsbc-executive-launches-wealth-platform-powered-team-ai-agents https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3370565/former-hsbc-executive-launches-wealth-platform-powered-team-ai-agents Mon, 12 Oct 2026 09:00:09 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen The increasing global appeal of Chinese firms’ novel therapies has propelled the country’s rise as a biomedical powerhouse, but China has yet to produce a drug to rival all-time best-selling Western blockbusters in sales. Beijing has set ambitious new five-year targets to boost its global presence, including at least five products with annual global sales surpassing US$1 billion by 2030. The goal is achievable, according to some analysts. Jefferies’ head of Asia healthcare research Cui Cui noted... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3370340/china-wants-5-innovative-drugs-us1-billion-returns-2030-which-might-they-be https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3370340/china-wants-5-innovative-drugs-us1-billion-returns-2030-which-might-they-be Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:20 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen US firm ArriVent BioPharma’s shares plummeted after a late-stage trial failure involving a cancer drug licensed from China, a setback that analysts said highlighted the challenges facing Chinese biotech companies expanding overseas. New York-listed ArriVent closed down nearly 47 per cent on Tuesday after reporting that its cancer treatment firmonertinib failed to meet its main goal in a phase 3 trial. Firmonertinib was originally developed by Shanghai Allist Pharmaceuticals to treat non-small... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3369985/us-firm-arrivents-plunge-shows-risks-facing-chinas-biotech-expansion-global-markets https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3369985/us-firm-arrivents-plunge-shows-risks-facing-chinas-biotech-expansion-global-markets Wed, 07 Oct 2026 04:20:31 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen A sell-off in technology stocks pushed mainland Chinese equities to their lowest level in more than a year, even as Beijing stepped up support for the economy with a key interest rate cut. At the same time, Chinese government bonds attracted fresh interest as US Treasury yields climbed to a new high. Here are some figures that have captured market attention this week. China’s CSI 300 Index hits 13-month low Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index dropped 2.2 per cent on Monday to its lowest level since... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3369517/stock-losses-bond-bets-5-figures-investors-are-watching-china https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3369517/stock-losses-bond-bets-5-figures-investors-are-watching-china Fri, 02 Oct 2026 05:00:06 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Shares of Akeso surged after British drug maker AstraZeneca moved to advance the Chinese biotech firm’s flagship cancer drug, while a new deal from US giant Merck further underscored the sector’s global momentum amid easing fears of US curbs. AstraZeneca on Tuesday announced a US$2 billion equity investment in Florida-headquartered Summit Therapeutics, which holds the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise Akeso’s immunotherapy drug ivonescimab outside China. Summit and AstraZeneca would... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3369187/astrazeneca-merck-novo-deals-boost-chinese-biotech-global-interest-grows https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3369187/astrazeneca-merck-novo-deals-boost-chinese-biotech-global-interest-grows Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen China’s top intelligence and security agency on Monday issued a stark new warning on the risks of cryptocurrencies, highlighting their role in crime and stressing that transactions are not anonymous. Here are three things to know about the fresh warning from the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and China’s latest stance on virtual assets. What did the ministry say about cryptocurrencies? Virtual currencies facilitated money laundering activities and cyberattacks, and served as “accomplices” in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3369048/accomplices-espionage-beijings-stance-cryptocurrencies-hardens https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3369048/accomplices-espionage-beijings-stance-cryptocurrencies-hardens Mon, 28 Sep 2026 09:00:18 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Chinese biotech deal making is moving beyond the licensing of individual drug candidates, as the country transforms from a follower to a global innovation leader, according to analysts. The latest transaction underscores that shift. Beijing-based cancer drug developer InnoCare Pharma said on Thursday that it had entered into a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement with US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly that could be worth up to US$3.35 billion. InnoCare said it would use its... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3368781/chinas-biotech-firms-move-value-chain-drug-deals-evolve-beyond-licensing-analysts https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3368781/chinas-biotech-firms-move-value-chain-drug-deals-evolve-beyond-licensing-analysts Sat, 26 Sep 2026 01:00:08 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Efforts to detect multiple cancers through a single blood draw are gathering momentum after US regulators endorsed the technology for the first time, although experts say wider adoption in Hong Kong still faces challenges as doctors remain cautious about its clinical value. In a landmark decision for the emerging field of multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood tests, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel on Thursday voted in favour of US company Grail’s “Galleri test”, recommending it... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3368665/us-regulators-back-multi-cancer-blood-test-hong-kong-doctors-remain-cautious https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3368665/us-regulators-back-multi-cancer-blood-test-hong-kong-doctors-remain-cautious Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:05:00 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen China’s edge in fast, cost-effective early clinical trials has propelled its emergence as a global biopharmaceutical powerhouse, but there is a risk that the United States could take steps to curb that advantage, according to analysts. US lawmakers and officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have raised the alarm about American pharmaceutical companies’ growing reliance on conducting early clinical trials in China, flagging the opaqueness of the process and the need to keep medical... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3368445/rising-us-scrutiny-clinical-trials-could-threaten-chinas-biotech-advantage-analysts https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3368445/rising-us-scrutiny-clinical-trials-could-threaten-chinas-biotech-advantage-analysts Wed, 23 Sep 2026 02:00:09 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen US-China biotech deals are expected to thrive because Washington is reportedly leaning away from sweeping restrictions, according to analysts, giving Chinese healthcare firms a major boost following Beijing’s ambitious five-year plan for the sector. Out-licensing deals between China and the US would “ride on a high tide” in the favourable environment, said Nomura’s head of China healthcare research Jialin Zhang, in a research note on Sunday. The US Treasury Department was drafting investment... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3368249/expect-high-tide-chinese-biotech-deals-threat-us-curbs-fades-analysts https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3368249/expect-high-tide-chinese-biotech-deals-threat-us-curbs-fades-analysts Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen China has set its sights on becoming a global biomedicine powerhouse by 2030, targeting key technological breakthroughs and at least a quarter of the world’s first-in-class drugs market under a new five-year plan for the sector. By the end of the decade, China would “firmly rank at the global forefront” in biopharmaceutical research and development and applications, with its “core competitiveness” and international influence making a significant leap, authorities said on Friday. The biomedical... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3367952/how-china-plans-firmly-rank-global-forefront-25-first-class-drugs https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3367952/how-china-plans-firmly-rank-global-forefront-25-first-class-drugs Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:00:06 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point this week, followed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank of Japan, while the 10-year US Treasury yield fell back below 5 per cent. Here are some of the figures that have drawn the most market attention this week. Fed raises interest rates for first time since 2023 The US Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to raise rates by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75 to... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3367978/us-fed-rates-chinas-global-export-share-4-figures-shaping-markets https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3367978/us-fed-rates-chinas-global-export-share-4-figures-shaping-markets Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:00:23 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen China is seeing a fresh fundraising boom for artificial intelligence-powered drug developers, with start-ups including a ByteDance spin-off raising hundreds of millions of dollars this week as investors rush to back domestic challengers to Anthropic and Isomorphic Labs. Anew Labs, a Shanghai-based AI drug discovery firm and former unit of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has raised US$290 million at a valuation of US$1.5 billion, according to an informed source. Investors included prominent venture... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3367926/bytedance-spin-anew-labs-raises-us290m-ai-drug-developers-enjoy-fundraising-boom https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3367926/bytedance-spin-anew-labs-raises-us290m-ai-drug-developers-enjoy-fundraising-boom Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:00:08 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen The US Senate’s rejection of the Clarity Act – a landmark bill meant to regulate cryptocurrency market structure – has opened a window for Hong Kong to accelerate its digital asset ambitions, industry insiders say, even as the sector remains mired in a slump after a brief rally last month. Beijing’s ban on crypto remains in force in mainland China, but Hong Kong has received approval to develop itself as a digital asset hub, with the stalled push in Washington presenting the city with what... https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3367694/us-crypto-bill-stumble-sparks-call-hong-kong-seize-critical-strategic-window https://www.scmp.com/business/cryptocurrency/article/3367694/us-crypto-bill-stumble-sparks-call-hong-kong-seize-critical-strategic-window Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:00:36 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen British pharmaceutical giant GSK has agreed to acquire a cancer drug from Chinese firm Chimagen Biosciences in a deal worth up to US$750 million, underscoring China’s emergence as a global player in biotechnology. GSK announced plans on Tuesday to buy full global rights to a “potential best-in-class” T-cell engager (TCE) from Chengdu-based Chimagen, targeting treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. TCEs work by binding T cells, a kind of white blood cell, directly to cancer... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3367631/gsk-licenses-chinese-firms-cancer-drug-us750-million-deal https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3367631/gsk-licenses-chinese-firms-cancer-drug-us750-million-deal Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:00:05 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s declaration that artificial general intelligence (AGI) has arrived following the release of OpenAI’s latest model, Astra, has ignited debate over whether AI’s holy grail is now reality. As China races to close the gap with the US, leading Chinese AI companies are declaring their ambitions to pursue AGI, even as Beijing appears to maintain a cautious stance towards the concept. Here is a primer on what AGI means, where top Chinese AI developers stand, and how Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3367207/what-agi-how-chinas-ai-firms-are-catching-openai-astra-sparks-debate https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3367207/what-agi-how-chinas-ai-firms-are-catching-openai-astra-sparks-debate Sat, 12 Sep 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Chong Ming Lee,Xinmei Shen Chong Ming Lee,Xinmei Shen A flurry of cybersecurity breaches, internal whistle-blowing, and declining visibility into model safety has sparked fresh alarm over the US artificial intelligence boom, igniting calls from some experts to slow down development – even as critics warn that deceleration risks surrendering America’s technological lead to China. The mounting concerns come just weeks before President Xi Jinping and US leader Donald Trump are set to meet for a high-stakes summit in Washington. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3367163/why-ai-experts-are-freaked-out-over-safety-fears-ahead-xi-trump-summit https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3367163/why-ai-experts-are-freaked-out-over-safety-fears-ahead-xi-trump-summit Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:00:10 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen US cybersecurity researchers have demonstrated how artificial intelligence could help hijack WeChat accounts via unanswered voice calls, intensifying concerns about AI-driven cyber threats and prompting renewed calls for bilateral cooperation between the United States and China. US security firm Calif said on Tuesday that its AI system identified a critical flaw in Tencent Holdings’ widely used messaging and payments app in July. In just a little over a week, researchers developed WeWorm – an... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3366898/us-firm-used-ai-hijack-wechat-account-spurring-call-cyber-cooperation-china https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3366898/us-firm-used-ai-hijack-wechat-account-spurring-call-cyber-cooperation-china Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:01:12 +0000 Chong Ming Lee,Xinmei Shen Chong Ming Lee,Xinmei Shen Chinese artificial intelligence companies Z.ai and MiniMax could remain loss-making through 2030 even as their revenues surge, underscoring the enormous cost of competing at the technological frontier, according to Macquarie Group’s head of Asia internet and software research Ellie Jiang. One reason cited was the expense required for the computing power to train and run frontier AI models. Jiang told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday that China’s compute crunch was two to three times more... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3366784/chinese-ai-firms-zai-and-minimax-could-remain-loss-making-until-2030-macquarie-says https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3366784/chinese-ai-firms-zai-and-minimax-could-remain-loss-making-until-2030-macquarie-says Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:33:07 +0000 Minxiao Chang,Xinmei Shen Minxiao Chang,Xinmei Shen When two of China’s leading AI pioneers went public in Hong Kong in January, they pitched investors on a shared promise: capturing the explosive demand for artificial intelligence at home and abroad. Their first-half earnings, however, suggest that narrative could be splintering into two different trajectories. While Beijing-based Z.ai, also known as Zhipu AI, is winning over market analysts on the back of surging revenue and top-tier model performance, its Shanghai rival MiniMax is facing... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3366253/are-zai-and-minimax-heading-down-opposite-financial-paths-months-after-hong-kong-ipos https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3366253/are-zai-and-minimax-heading-down-opposite-financial-paths-months-after-hong-kong-ipos Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:38:59 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Anthropic’s powerful new Claude Fable 5.1 model has widened its lead in performance benchmarks over Chinese rivals, even as budget-friendly open-weight models from China continue to gain commercial traction globally. The American company said on Wednesday that Fable 5.1, along with a restricted-access version called Mythos 5.1, was the world’s most advanced model for software coding and complex knowledge work. The standard version scored 66 on Artificial Analysis’ Intelligence Index, taking the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3366125/frontier-ai-cost-what-anthropics-fable-51-means-us-china-model-race https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3366125/frontier-ai-cost-what-anthropics-fable-51-means-us-china-model-race Wed, 02 Sep 2026 11:30:06 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen An OpenAI executive and former White House adviser is calling for AI safety cooperation between Washington and Beijing ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, even as Chinese state media launch a scathing attack on American frontier governance in artificial intelligence. “I have always believed US/China AI safety collaboration would be desirable but thought it was unlikely to happen,” Dean Ball, OpenAI’s head of strategic futures, wrote on X on Tuesday.... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3365980/call-trump-xi-ai-safety-talks-comes-state-media-slams-us-ai-governance https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3365980/call-trump-xi-ai-safety-talks-comes-state-media-slams-us-ai-governance Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:10 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Anxiety over the booming AI trade and bitcoin’s uncertain future is overshadowing this year’s Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, as a lingering crypto slump dampens enthusiasm despite a star appearance by Binance founder Zhao Changpeng. Zhao, known in the industry as “CZ”, struck a bullish tone during his highly anticipated appearance on Thursday. Speaking to a large crowd, the 48-year-old billionaire entrepreneur drew applause and cheers by declaring that bitcoin “will for sure become more... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3365484/crypto-slump-ai-boom-overshadow-czs-bullish-pitch-hong-kongs-bitcoin-asia https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3365484/crypto-slump-ai-boom-overshadow-czs-bullish-pitch-hong-kongs-bitcoin-asia Thu, 27 Aug 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Chinese artificial intelligence firm MiniMax on Wednesday posted a 283 per cent surge in first-half revenue to US$116.6 million, powered by a 700 per cent jump in its enterprise business, though top-line growth remains off pace to hit full-year analyst forecasts. Revenue for the six months ended June 30 accounted for roughly 32 per cent of the US$363.77 million expected by analysts for the full year 2026, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The company reported full-year revenue of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3365341/minimax-revenue-surges-283-remains-behind-pace-meet-forecast-amid-crowded-ai-race https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3365341/minimax-revenue-surges-283-remains-behind-pace-meet-forecast-amid-crowded-ai-race Wed, 26 Aug 2026 10:52:43 +0000 Minxiao Chang,Xinmei Shen Minxiao Chang,Xinmei Shen The usage of open-weight AI models from China hit a record high on a popular US web development platform, driven largely by DeepSeek’s latest lightweight model, as business demand for Anthropic’s cutting-edge Fable 5 stalls due to high costs. Open-weight models accounted for 54 per cent of token volume on Vercel’s AI Gateway on Tuesday, surpassing the 46 per cent consumed by proprietary models, according to data on its website. Open models reached a record share of 62 per cent on the platform on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3365204/deepseek-leads-surge-low-cost-chinese-open-weight-models-us-platform https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3365204/deepseek-leads-surge-low-cost-chinese-open-weight-models-us-platform Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:30:07 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Bitcoin has broken above US$80,000 for the first time in three months, riding a broader rally in alternative assets triggered by Washington’s efforts to tame US bond yields. The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded above US$80,900 on Tuesday, jumping roughly 25 per cent over the past week and signalling an early recovery from a prolonged market slump. While bitcoin remains nearly 36 per cent below its record high of US$126,000 set in October, the sharp rebound has prompted observers to predict... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3365147/bitcoin-tops-us80000-first-time-may-us-moves-boost-crypto https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3365147/bitcoin-tops-us80000-first-time-may-us-moves-boost-crypto Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:46:28 +0000 Xinmei Shen,Coco Feng Xinmei Shen,Coco Feng The top two executives at Alibaba Group Holding bought a combined HK$120 million (US$15.3 million) worth of the company’s ordinary shares on Monday in a vote of confidence after the tech giant unveiled one of China’s biggest fundraising rounds dedicated to AI. The share placement, the first since Alibaba’s listing in Hong Kong in 2019, was oversubscribed three times amid strong investor sentiment, according to people familiar with the situation, reflecting what analysts said was “stronger growth... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3365003/alibaba-sets-price-us102-billion-new-share-offer-fuel-ai-expansion https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3365003/alibaba-sets-price-us102-billion-new-share-offer-fuel-ai-expansion Mon, 24 Aug 2026 01:59:29 +0000 Xinmei Shen,Ann Cao Xinmei Shen,Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding will issue HK$80 billion (US$10.2 billion) worth of new shares and use all of the proceeds to invest in AI, the Chinese tech giant said on Sunday. The move aims to “extend the company’s global AI leadership”, it said, adding that Alibaba would use the funds raised to “invest in its full-stack AI capabilities”, including expanding and enhancing its AI infrastructure. The decision underscores Alibaba’s efforts over the past few years to transform from an e-commerce giant into... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3364957/alibaba-issue-hk80-billion-new-shares-global-ai-push https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3364957/alibaba-issue-hk80-billion-new-shares-global-ai-push Sun, 23 Aug 2026 05:18:31 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen A US artificial intelligence start-up backed by OpenAI has built its first in-house model on Chinese lab Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, highlighting a growing shift by Western tech firms towards Chinese open-weight systems amid soaring development costs. San Francisco-based legal tech provider Harvey, whose high-profile backers also include Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, said on Thursday that its new model, Harvey Tenet, was post-trained on top of the open-weight Kimi K3 base. The company said... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3364827/openai-backed-legal-tech-firm-pivots-chinese-kimi-k3-open-weight-model https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3364827/openai-backed-legal-tech-firm-pivots-chinese-kimi-k3-open-weight-model Fri, 21 Aug 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Shanghai has issued plans to boost its digital economy by doubling down on sectors including blockchain technology and AI infrastructure, as it steps up efforts to compete with other Chinese tech hubs such as Beijing and Shenzhen. In a new five-year plan for building “digital Shanghai”, the municipal government said on Wednesday that it aimed to promote the use of blockchain technology across various fields of the economy, including financial services, shipping and logistics, and green... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3364593/shanghai-lays-out-plan-boost-digital-economy-catch-beijing-shenzhen https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3364593/shanghai-lays-out-plan-boost-digital-economy-catch-beijing-shenzhen Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:30:09 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Alibaba Group Holding’s new lightweight AI model Qwen3.8-27B has matched much larger near-frontier rivals while being able to run on everyday hardware, impressing developers as local AI gains momentum. The Qwen3.8-27B, a small model with 27 billion parameters, performed on par with OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 Luna, which was billed as the most cost-efficient model in the US lab’s latest flagship series, benchmark firm Artificial Analysis said on Monday. It nearly matched leading open-weight models from... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3364404/alibabas-lightweight-qwen-model-takes-larger-ai-systems-openai-deepseek-zhipu https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3364404/alibabas-lightweight-qwen-model-takes-larger-ai-systems-openai-deepseek-zhipu Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:00:05 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Zhipu AI’s launch of China’s first answer to Project Glasswing signals a shift in how the country’s top artificial intelligence labs approach global cybersecurity, according to a researcher. The Beijing-based firm – now known internationally as Z.ai – announced its new GLM-5.3 model on Friday alongside the launch of its “Shield of Open Source” initiative. The programme offers free security audits to help users patch software vulnerabilities, as well as automated code-auditing tools via its ZCode... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3364356/zhipu-ais-answer-project-glasswing-marks-shift-chinese-cyber-safety-researcher https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3364356/zhipu-ais-answer-project-glasswing-marks-shift-chinese-cyber-safety-researcher Tue, 18 Aug 2026 03:00:14 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen The rise of Chinese open-weight models has shaken up the global artificial intelligence (AI) market in recent months. With China’s systems offering high performance at a lower cost, businesses around the world are looking at shifting away from Silicon Valley’s leading providers. Now, a new Hong Kong-based company aims to turn that trend into a billion-dollar business. The “neo-cloud” provider Antimatter is helping firms switch from the dominant US models – and the cloud systems that serve them –... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3364190/hong-kong-firm-bets-chinese-open-weight-models-rival-coreweave https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3364190/hong-kong-firm-bets-chinese-open-weight-models-rival-coreweave Mon, 17 Aug 2026 01:00:13 +0000