https://www.scmp.com/rss/330292/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ann Cao Ann Cao Chinese ride-hailing company CaoCao, backed by Geely, is betting on a heavy-asset strategy to emerge as a leading robotaxi operator, with plans to deploy 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2030 as competition intensifies and self-driving technology matures. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, CEO Gong Xin said the future of robotaxis hinged on an asset-management model built around a closed-loop “trinity” of vehicle manufacturing, autonomous driving technology and fleet... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348985/hong-kong-listed-caocao-hails-fleet-first-strategy-chinas-robotaxi-race-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348985/hong-kong-listed-caocao-hails-fleet-first-strategy-chinas-robotaxi-race-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 07:00:09 +0000 Matthew Cheng Matthew Cheng Hong Kong’s No 2 official has pledged to fast-track a new university town’s development following a visit to similar projects in mainland China, saying authorities will devise a strategy to attract top institutions from across the border and overseas to take part. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki and his working group on the university town’s planning and construction, which falls under the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis, concluded their three-day visit to the mainland... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3348906/university-town-be-fast-tracked-eric-chan-says-after-mainland-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3348906/university-town-be-fast-tracked-eric-chan-says-after-mainland-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 05:55:23 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Shares of Hong Kong-listed UBTech jumped after the robotics firm reported a surge in 2025 revenue, driven by an explosive 23-fold rise in humanoid robot sales as China’s robotics sector moves into large-scale production. Revenue from full-size embodied intelligent humanoid robots and related services reached 820 million yuan (US$119 million) last year, making it UBTech’s largest business line. That marked a 2,203 per cent increase from a low base of 35.6 million yuan in 2024, according to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348635/ubtech-surges-leaps-and-bounds-humanoid-robot-sales-jump-23-fold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348635/ubtech-surges-leaps-and-bounds-humanoid-robot-sales-jump-23-fold?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 06:59:28 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Manycore Tech, a Hangzhou-based developer of spatial design software, has passed its listing hearing in Hong Kong, moving a step closer to an initial public offering (IPO) as it pushes deeper into what it calls “spatial intelligence” – the integration of artificial intelligence with the physical world. The company is one of Hangzhou’s “Six Little Dragons” – a group of rising start-ups that includes AI developer DeepSeek, robotics firms Unitree Robotics and Deep Robotics, Black Myth creator Game... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348377/firing-manycore-first-hangzhous-six-little-dragons-near-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348377/firing-manycore-first-hangzhous-six-little-dragons-near-hong-kong-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:00:11 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek suffered a prolonged outage overnight that extended into early Monday morning, disrupting service for hundreds of millions of users, according to a company notice and user feedback. The Hangzhou-based AI lab’s namesake chatbot website and app were offline from Sunday evening, with the company continuing to investigate while issuing fixes from between 1am and 9am on Monday, according to service maintenance records the company published online. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348345/deepseek-outage-leaves-millions-cut-and-sparks-complaints-rivals-gain-ground?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348345/deepseek-outage-leaves-millions-cut-and-sparks-complaints-rivals-gain-ground?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:41:43 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang Beijing Tong Ren Tang Healthcare Investment, a provider of healthcare services based on traditional Chinese medicine, postponed its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) on Friday amid tepid investor demand for its shares. The delay is the first of its kind during the current IPO boom. New share offerings in the city raised about US$11.64 billion as of March 18 this year, up 385 per cent from about US$2.4 billion a year earlier, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. Tong Ren Tang was one of six... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3348101/tong-ren-tang-healthcare-unit-pulls-hong-kong-ipo-scheduled-monday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3348101/tong-ren-tang-healthcare-unit-pulls-hong-kong-ipo-scheduled-monday?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:30:18 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Unitree Robotics, a Hangzhou-based maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai’s Star Market, seeking to raise 4.2 billion yuan (US$610 million) as revenue and profits surge on the back of rising interest in embodied artificial intelligence. The listing application has been formally accepted by Shanghai’s exchange following a “preliminary review” on Friday. The 10-year-old company recorded revenue of 1.71 billion yuan last year, up 335 per... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3347365/chinas-unitree-robotics-rides-humanoid-tide-it-targets-us610m-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3347365/chinas-unitree-robotics-rides-humanoid-tide-it-targets-us610m-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:00:16 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang More than 10 loss-making biotechnology companies have filed for Hong Kong stock exchange listings this year, bringing cutting-edge drugs and artificial intelligence-powered drug discovery platforms to market, as the city’s bourse presses ahead with reforms aimed at supporting the real economy. The latest applications came as healthcare and biotechnology equity capital market activity – stock sales by companies and their shareholders – in Hong Kong reached US$15.6 billion last year, the second... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3346710/hong-kong-attracts-wave-biotech-ipo-filings-amid-ai-drug-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3346710/hong-kong-attracts-wave-biotech-ipo-filings-amid-ai-drug-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 05:07:12 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang By the time software programmer Guo Cancan realised something had gone horribly wrong with OpenClaw – the task-executing AI agent that has ignited a fervour across China – the damage was already done. While on holiday over the Chinese New Year, Guo was tinkering with the autonomous open-source program. When he attempted to resolve an error that it had made, OpenClaw responded by deleting nearly everything on his computer’s D: drive – a major storage partition – wiping out years of personal data... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346513/inside-openclaw-mania-gripping-china-security-fears-surge-alongside-enthusiasm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3346513/inside-openclaw-mania-gripping-china-security-fears-surge-alongside-enthusiasm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 22:00:14 +0000 Shi Huang Shi Huang In the high-stakes race for radar supremacy, China could leap two generations ahead of the United States following an advancement in semiconductor technology published last month that is poised to redefine the future of military electronics. While the US Air Force struggles to modernise its fighter fleet with gallium nitride-based radar systems, Chinese engineers are already pioneering the next frontier: gallium oxide semiconductors with built-in data storage capabilities. Today’s Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346507/could-chinas-gallium-oxide-leap-leave-us-f-22-radar-2-generations-behind?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346507/could-chinas-gallium-oxide-leap-leave-us-f-22-radar-2-generations-behind?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:00:08 +0000 Zhang Tong Zhang Tong A private company in China providing intelligence-gathering services to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) claims to have intercepted radio signals from American stealth bombers that struck Iran on March 1 as part of the US-Israel military action. Jingan Technology, a defence technology firm based in east China’s Hangzhou, also asserted that it detected signals linked to US military activities well before tensions with Iran escalated, using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse early... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346200/chinese-firm-claims-it-intercepted-b-2-radio-signal-during-us-strike-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3346200/chinese-firm-claims-it-intercepted-b-2-radio-signal-during-us-strike-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang China’s highest court says that while it handles AI-related cases with care it has allowed room for the country’s artificial intelligence industry to innovate and make mistakes, according to its annual report. Supreme People’s Court president Zhang Jun told the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislative body, on Monday that the court had “promoted the orderly development of artificial intelligence” last year. Delivering the supreme court’s work report, Zhang said China’s courts... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345999/chinas-top-court-says-it-treats-ai-cases-care-without-stifling-growth-or-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3345999/chinas-top-court-says-it-treats-ai-cases-care-without-stifling-growth-or-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:12:01 +0000 Yulu Ao,Ann Cao,Wency Chen Yulu Ao,Ann Cao,Wency Chen China’s most powerful economic regions – the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area – are racing to meet President Xi Jinping’s call for breakthroughs in core technologies including artificial intelligence, as Beijing maps out priorities for the coming 15th five-year plan during the “two sessions”. As part of the annual meeting on Friday, provincial and municipal leaders of Zhejiang province outlined an ambitious strategy to become a key area of AI development and cement the province’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345770/chinas-zhejiang-guangdong-provinces-vie-heed-xi-jinpings-call-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345770/chinas-zhejiang-guangdong-provinces-vie-heed-xi-jinpings-call-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:41:21 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. She hated working at her parents’ Chinese restaurant. Now she’s made it viral Anna Peng shares the daily joys and challenges of running Canada’s Great Fountain Fast Food to its nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram. 2. Why Michael Tse, Hong Kong actor behind Laughing Gor, is a lesson in resilience Michael Tse’s journey... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-zodiac/article/3345530/viral-hong-kong-eatery-canada-actor-michael-tses-resilience-7-lifestyle-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/chinese-zodiac/article/3345530/viral-hong-kong-eatery-canada-actor-michael-tses-resilience-7-lifestyle-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 07:15:08 +0000 Shen Wei Shen Wei When German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Beijing for his first visit to China last week, it came at a moment of heightened geopolitical attention. With US President Donald Trump expected to visit Beijing in late March or early April, European leaders are watching closely for possible shifts in transatlantic relations and trade policy. Against this anxious backdrop, Merz’s meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing offered something the global stage has been deeply... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3345145/merzs-china-visit-shows-pragmatic-diplomacy-still-matters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3345145/merzs-china-visit-shows-pragmatic-diplomacy-still-matters?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:30:07 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and the core leadership of Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Group spent over an hour with teachers in Hangzhou on Tuesday, discussing the profound challenges and opportunities brought about by artificial intelligence. Ma told the group that the impact of AI was “immense”, but so were the “opportunities” and that teenagers held the greatest hope and opportunity for adapting to and enabling transformation in the AI era, according to a statement issued by Hangzhou Yungu... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345343/jack-ma-alibaba-executives-meet-teachers-discuss-how-education-should-adapt-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345343/jack-ma-alibaba-executives-meet-teachers-discuss-how-education-should-adapt-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Mar 2026 03:37:00 +0000 Julie Zhang Julie Zhang Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese pharmaceutical companies are on track to deliver full-year profits, as surging drug sales and lucrative out-licensing deals with global partners start to pay off after years of research and development outlay. “Despite domestic challenges, particularly drug pricing pressure, the earnings performance of innovative drugs should still fare well in China in 2025,” said Tony Ren, head of Asia Healthcare Research at Macquarie Capital. Innovent Biologics, the first... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3344928/hong-kong-listed-chinese-drug-firms-set-turn-corner-rising-sales-licensing-deals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3344928/hong-kong-listed-chinese-drug-firms-set-turn-corner-rising-sales-licensing-deals?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 04:00:22 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited China’s eastern tech hub of Hangzhou on Thursday and met leading figures including those from Alibaba Group Holding and Unitree Robotics, signalling growing international recognition of the country’s robotics and artificial intelligence technologies. Merz had lunch and took group photos with local entrepreneurs, including Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu Yongming and Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing, according to a social media account run by Chinese state... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344835/germanys-merz-meets-chinas-tech-vanguard-including-alibaba-and-unitree-ceos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344835/germanys-merz-meets-chinas-tech-vanguard-including-alibaba-and-unitree-ceos?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:23:19 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who made his first visit to China since taking office, have pledged to boost ties as they rebalance relations amid global uncertainties. The diplomatic language reflects some compelling pragmatic considerations. As the most important industrial and economic power in Europe, Germany’s stance will help shape China’s relationship with the European Union. Merz’s visit shows that despite trade tensions Germany realises it needs to work... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3344750/merzs-beijing-trip-shows-germany-realises-it-needs-work-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3344750/merzs-beijing-trip-shows-germany-realises-it-needs-work-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 23:15:10 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has concluded his first visit to China, hailing the “good cooperation” with Beijing as Berlin seeks to rebalance ties with its biggest trading partner amid the unpredictability of the Trump administration. Merz characterised the visit as “worthwhile”, noting that China would buy up to 120 additional aircraft from Airbus SE. The company operates two assembly lines in the northern port city of Tianjin that mainly produce A320 jets for Chinese carriers. In his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344777/merz-leaves-china-bargaining-chips-looming-trump-trade-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344777/merz-leaves-china-bargaining-chips-looming-trump-trade-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:25:08 +0000 Johannes Pong Johannes Pong Anybody with rudimentary knowledge of Chinese culture will recognise Hangzhou as a byword for refined gastronomy. The city, which has stood on the bucolic banks of the West Lake for over 2,000 years, is the southern terminus of China’s Grand Canal and served as the country’s capital during the Southern Song dynasty. Centuries before the first public restaurants opened in France, Hangzhou had taverns, nightclubs, speciality restaurants – vegetarian for Buddhists, spicy food for merchants from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3344553/why-hangzhous-2-michelin-star-ru-yuan-restaurant-unlike-any-other?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3344553/why-hangzhous-2-michelin-star-ru-yuan-restaurant-unlike-any-other?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:15:08 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan China and Germany have pledged to elevate ties as they seek to rebalance relations amid global uncertainties. Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Beijing on Wednesday that he was “willing to work together with the chancellor to continuously advance the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany to new levels”. Merz echoed Xi’s call to strengthen bilateral relations, according to state broadcaster CCTV. “The more turbulent and complex... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344618/meeting-merz-xi-urges-efforts-advance-china-germany-ties-new-levels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344618/meeting-merz-xi-urges-efforts-advance-china-germany-ties-new-levels?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:34:57 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Robots have taken another step closer to playing a mainstream role in human society with an appearance on China’s biggest holiday television show of the year. The sight of humanoids alongside flesh-and-blood performers sparked an online buying spree and offered more proof that the world must prepare for the arrival of the machines. The devices created by the nation’s leading humanoid robotics companies dominated the Spring Festival Gala last week. They did martial arts backflips, performed in a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3344415/china-takes-robots-human-touch-needed-more-ever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3344415/china-takes-robots-human-touch-needed-more-ever?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 22:45:07 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan,Agence France-Presse Cao Jiaxuan,Agence France-Presse German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will visit China from Wednesday, shortly after the Lunar New Year holiday, according to the chancellor’s spokesman. “This date was proposed by the Chinese side,” spokesman Sebastian Hille said on Friday. “We consider this offer to come right at the beginning of the year to be a good omen.” Merz will leave Berlin on Tuesday for his first official China visit since he took office in May. He is expected to be welcomed in Beijing on Wednesday by Premier Li Qiang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344174/germanys-merz-latest-european-leader-visit-china-amid-tensions-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3344174/germanys-merz-latest-european-leader-visit-china-amid-tensions-us?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 13:25:32 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Consumer interest in robots has surged in China since several leading models appeared on stage at Monday’s Spring Festival Gala, with delivery dates pushed as far back as late April. This development follows the featuring of robots from four domestic firms – Unitree Robotics, Magiclab, Galbot and Noetix – at the event after they signed partnerships reportedly worth around 100 million yuan (US$14 million). One of the biggest beneficiaries was Hangzhou-based Unitree, whose G1 humanoid robots... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3343908/robotics-firms-see-backlog-orders-after-humanoids-steal-show-spring-festival-gala?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3343908/robotics-firms-see-backlog-orders-after-humanoids-steal-show-spring-festival-gala?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Carol Yang Carol Yang The global frenzy around embodied intelligence is still in its infancy and could ultimately surpass the impact of the mobile internet, according to the founder of Chinese robotics pioneer Unitree Robotics. Wang Xingxing, the company’s CEO, told state broadcaster CCTV in an interview scheduled to air on Saturday that the sector remained in a “climbing phase” rather than nearing a peak. He said a definitive breakthrough in large-scale artificial intelligence models for robotics could trigger a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343476/unitree-bets-embodied-ai-leap-will-drive-next-wave-global-investment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343476/unitree-bets-embodied-ai-leap-will-drive-next-wave-global-investment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:00:08 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Before humanoid robots realise their longer-term potential as efficient industrial workers, a more immediate role is emerging in China: on-demand entertainment. For 999 yuan (US$145), customers can now rent a humanoid robot to dance, perform and pose to order. That proposition is being trialled by Botshare – known in Chinese as Qingtianzu, or “Optimus rent” – which last weekend rolled out a “999 yuan robot experience programme for everyone” ahead of Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3342943/factory-floor-dance-floor-humanoids-find-path-market-us145?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3342943/factory-floor-dance-floor-humanoids-find-path-market-us145?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:15 +0000 Holly Chik Holly Chik Remote surgery conducted over thousands of kilometres can be just as reliable as robot-assisted operations done by a medical team in the same room as the patient, according to a new study led by Chinese military researchers and carried out in five cities. The researchers said telesurgery could be a “feasible” way to overcome the lack of medical services in parts of the country as well as the growing demand for operations to treat cancer. “As the first randomised controlled trial in the field of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341700/robot-aided-surgery-it-doesnt-matter-where-you-are-chinese-military-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3341700/robot-aided-surgery-it-doesnt-matter-where-you-are-chinese-military-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 04:00:12 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Education in China’s countryside should shift away from rote-based learning to focus on nurturing curiosity and creativity in the artificial intelligence era, Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma said in a meeting with rural teachers on Monday. In remarks published by the Jack Ma Foundation on Tuesday, former English teacher Ma said the dawn of the AI era posed a challenge for rural education, but also presented an opportunity to “return to the fundamentals of education”. Alibaba owns the South... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341543/teach-our-children-well-jack-ma-urges-changes-chinas-rural-education-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341543/teach-our-children-well-jack-ma-urges-changes-chinas-rural-education-ai-era?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:00:09 +0000 Ni Tao Ni Tao Hangzhou’s space industry got off to a flying start in 2026. On January 7, China’s leading private rocket firm Space Epoch broke ground on a medium-to-large liquid rocket assembly, testing and reuse facility in Hangzhou’s Qiantang district. Basing this in the port city allows the rockets to be transported by sea to launch areas in the East China Sea and recovered the same way. Logistics alone do not explain the decision. Space Epoch is plugging into an industrial ecosystem Hangzhou has been... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341303/how-hangzhous-tech-ecosystem-nurtures-dragons-and-rockets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3341303/how-hangzhous-tech-ecosystem-nurtures-dragons-and-rockets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li China aims to make breakthroughs in artificial intelligence chips, accelerate 6G development and establish key benchmarks for humanoid robotics, as the country kicks off its new five-year plan prioritising innovation as a key driver of economic growth. To promote the development of the AI industry, the government was targeting breakthroughs in core technologies such as training chips and heterogeneous computing, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said at a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3340692/beijing-outlines-tech-push-focus-ai-6g-humanoid-robots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3340692/beijing-outlines-tech-push-focus-ai-6g-humanoid-robots?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:08:14 +0000 Iris Deng,Coco Feng,Wency Chen Iris Deng,Coco Feng,Wency Chen China’s Unitree Robotics shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, as the Hangzhou-based company ramped up production ahead of its planned listing on the mainland. That number – covering “pure” full-body, bipedal humanoid models – exceeded those of its American peers such as Tesla, Figure AI and Agility Robotics, which shipped 150 humanoid robots each last year, according to market research firm Omdia. Unitree saw its annual output... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340446/chinas-unitree-ships-more-5500-humanoid-robots-2025-surpassing-us-peers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340446/chinas-unitree-ships-more-5500-humanoid-robots-2025-surpassing-us-peers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:15:09 +0000 Zhu Wenqian Zhu Wenqian More economy and mid-range hotel operators in China are leasing office buildings for conversion to guest accommodation, and such flexible, mixed-use approaches are expected to increase amid a continued weakening of the office market. In some Chinese cities, the practice of multiple hotel brands co-leasing separate floors within a single building has become more prevalent, fuelled by interest from both property owners and hotel operators. In Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China’s Zhejiang... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3340179/hotel-conversions-gain-traction-chinas-office-market-amid-high-vacancies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3340179/hotel-conversions-gain-traction-chinas-office-market-amid-high-vacancies?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 03:00:10 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek continues to keep the world guessing on when its next major release – the much-anticipated updates to its V3 and R1 models – will be launched, according to analysts, amid its recent publication of technical papers. The papers underscored DeepSeek’s efforts to improve the underlying infrastructure of AI systems in China at a time when geopolitical tensions and domestic production hurdles restricted the country’s access to advanced semiconductors to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3339769/deepseek-stays-mum-next-ai-model-release-technical-papers-show-frontier-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3339769/deepseek-stays-mum-next-ai-model-release-technical-papers-show-frontier-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 02:00:14 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng High-Flyer Quant, co-owned by DeepSeek founder and CEO Liang Wenfeng, recorded a return of 56.6 per cent last year to rank second among China’s 10 top-performing large hedge-fund firms. According to the ranking published on Monday by data provider Shenzhen PaiPaiWang Investment & Management, High-Flyer only trailed behind Lingjun Investment, which posted a return of 73.5 per cent in 2025. All the top performers were quantitative hedge funds, underscoring the popularity in China of using complex... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3339633/deepseek-founders-high-flyer-ranks-among-chinas-top-hedge-fund-firms-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3339633/deepseek-founders-high-flyer-ranks-among-chinas-top-hedge-fund-firms-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 13:02:30 +0000 Zhu Wenqian Zhu Wenqian Mainland China’s retail and retail property sectors have suffered another blow amid a fresh wave of store closures by foreign and Hong Kong brands. “The series of closures come as a combined result of their outdated business models and profound changes in the macroeconomic environment,” said Wang Tianshi, an analyst at Shanghai-based LeadLeo Research Institute. “Compared with emerging mainland retailers, Hong Kong and foreign brands often remain under a ‘selling on the mainland’ phase, rather... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3339368/foreign-hong-kong-retailers-close-stores-mainland-china-amid-changing-dynamics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3339368/foreign-hong-kong-retailers-close-stores-mainland-china-amid-changing-dynamics?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:30:16 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has updated the technical paper of its landmark R1 model, showcasing the contributions of the 18 core scientists who powered its AI ambitions and capabilities, as anticipation heightened about a potential new major model release. The paper suggested that DeepSeek retained all 18 scientists behind its AI model development efforts, as well as many of the R1 project’s 176 contributors, despite fierce competition for talent in China’s AI industry. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3339215/core-chinese-research-team-behind-cutting-edge-ai-model-r1-remains-intact-deepseek?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3339215/core-chinese-research-team-behind-cutting-edge-ai-model-r1-remains-intact-deepseek?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jan 2026 13:00:12 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Amap, the mapping and navigation platform of Alibaba Group Holding, has launched new features powered by its top-ranking world model, as the tech giant doubles down on artificial intelligence to upgrade its massive consumer ecosystem. “Flying Street View”, a new feature on the Amap app based on the unit’s self-developed system designed to simulate real-world environments, allowed users to take 3D virtual tours of restaurants and other offline venues, the company said at a launch event in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3338964/alibabas-amap-rolls-out-ai-powered-3d-virtual-tours-offline-destinations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3338964/alibabas-amap-rolls-out-ai-powered-3d-virtual-tours-offline-destinations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jan 2026 02:00:27 +0000 Cao Li Cao Li China’s top real estate developers continue to shrink, according to industry data. The number of mainland property developers achieving annual contracted sales of at least 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) dropped to just 10 in 2025 from a peak of 43 in 2020, research firm China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC) said in a report on Sunday. Among the top 10 developers, only one, China Jinmao Holdings, reported year-on-year growth in sales, according to CRIC. The ranks of developers in the... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3338893/chinas-developers-diminish-further-amid-unending-property-downturn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3338893/chinas-developers-diminish-further-amid-unending-property-downturn?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 07:30:11 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has updated the user interface of its flagship chatbot by adding an advanced “thinking” feature, as its app recorded a massive 90 per cent jump in monthly active users (MAU) in December. The upgrades, including a deep research mode similar to OpenAI’s namesake product, marked a rare improvement on the consumer side for the Hangzhou-based firm at a time when anticipation was building over its next-generation models, analysts said. DeepSeek’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3338809/chinas-deepseek-adds-advanced-thinking-feature-chatbot-amid-buzz-over-next-model?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3338809/chinas-deepseek-adds-advanced-thinking-feature-chatbot-amid-buzz-over-next-model?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jan 2026 01:00:49 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu Hangzhou-based biotech start-up MindRank has progressed to Phase 3 clinical trials for its weight-loss drug, making it China’s first artificial intelligence-assisted Category 1 new drug to reach this stage. MindRank announced last month that it had initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial in China for MDR-001, a small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonists designed with the help of AI. GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic natural hormones to regulate blood sugar and appetite. According to Niu Zhangming, MindRank’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3338618/mindrank-phase-3-trial-chinas-first-ai-assisted-new-drug-cutting-rd-costs-60?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3338618/mindrank-phase-3-trial-chinas-first-ai-assisted-new-drug-cutting-rd-costs-60?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 02:00:16 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng AI scientist Ling Haibin, the acclaimed computer scientist behind the world’s first mobile plant identification app, has left his position in the United States to take up a full-time role at Westlake University in Hangzhou, eastern China. One of Ling’s PhD research projects, which involved using computers to recognise leaves of different shapes, led to the creation of the identification app LeafSnap. The app teaches users about plant diversity, how to care for houseplants, diagnose disease and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338607/ai-scientist-ling-haibin-father-worlds-first-plant-id-app-leaves-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3338607/ai-scientist-ling-haibin-father-worlds-first-plant-id-app-leaves-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jan 2026 12:00:11 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen One of China’s largest comic conventions has banned Japanese-themed content and derivative works just a week ahead of its opening amid spiralling tension between Tokyo and Beijing. Organisers of the Comicup (CP) 32nd edition “Pre” event – set to take place in Hangzhou on December 27 and 28 – informed exhibitors and visitors on Friday that there would be a “full-scale adjustment” of content shown throughout the venue. “Due to consideration regarding the current social environment and our cultural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337463/china-cp-comic-fan-event-stripped-japanese-content-dozens-booths-affected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337463/china-cp-comic-fan-event-stripped-japanese-content-dozens-booths-affected?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:00:18 +0000 Ling Xin Ling Xin China is emerging as a rising powerhouse for scientific innovation at a time when scientific research in the United States faces growing funding instability, according to Belgian neurologist Steven Laureys. Laureys, a pioneer in detecting hidden awareness in patients with severe brain injuries, is expanding his global research network to China, working with Hangzhou Normal University. “There’s a wonderful opportunity for me to work with China. And I’m very happy that China is investing in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3336812/china-offers-wonderful-opportunity-scientists-says-leading-european-neurologist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3336812/china-offers-wonderful-opportunity-scientists-says-leading-european-neurologist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Dec 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Evelyn Chen Evelyn Chen Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, has been known for many things over the centuries: its scenic West Lake, immortalised in poetry; its silk, which earned it the title of China’s “city of silk”; and its Longjing tea, the leaves of which are found all over the city’s rolling hillsides. In 2023, the first edition of the Michelin Guide Hangzhou spotlighted the city’s flourishing fine-dining scene, and now the city has a growing reputation as a gastronomy hotspot. One of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3336223/where-eat-hangzhou-chinas-rising-fine-dining-hub-where-regional-flavours-coalesce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3336223/where-eat-hangzhou-chinas-rising-fine-dining-hub-where-regional-flavours-coalesce?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 23:15:15 +0000 Danielle Popov Danielle Popov Humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics has teased what it calls the world’s first humanoid robot “app store”, a developer platform designed to bring embodied intelligence into everyday life by allowing users to access and control robots directly through their smartphones. The Hangzhou-based robotics unicorn unveiled a centralised programme, dubbed the Unitree Robotics Developer Platform, offering functions such as datasets and remote control programmes for humanoids. Unitree called it the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3336380/chinas-unitree-teases-platform-allowing-users-control-robots-through-smartphones?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3336380/chinas-unitree-teases-platform-allowing-users-control-robots-through-smartphones?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Dec 2025 08:49:43 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng Multiple documents on websites run by public institutions in China were found to feature fake names and people, a pattern state media warned could harm government credibility and provide a haven for corruption. The series of blunders unfolded when internet users on December 3 found that a tender document listed what appeared to be a fake judging panel, with the names of all five members coinciding with the first five entries on Baidu’s “10,000 Popular Chinese Names” archive. The proposal was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3336266/chinas-fake-name-scandal-sparks-warnings-about-government-credibility-and-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3336266/chinas-fake-name-scandal-sparks-warnings-about-government-credibility-and-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 02:00:20 +0000 Danielle Popov Danielle Popov Deep Robotics – one of the “Six Little Dragons” from Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Zhejiang province – on Tuesday said it had raised 500 million yuan (US$70 million) in fresh funding from a group of Chinese investors. According to the company’s statement, its latest round of financing was led by CMB International, China Asset Management and funds under state-owned telecommunications network operators China Telecom and China Unicom. Deep Robotics founder and CEO Zhu Qiuguo, who also serves as... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3335806/chinas-deep-robotics-raises-us70-million-fresh-funds-sector-draws-more-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3335806/chinas-deep-robotics-raises-us70-million-fresh-funds-sector-draws-more-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Dec 2025 01:00:21 +0000 Danielle Popov Danielle Popov DeepSeek’s founder and CEO, Liang Wenfeng, has been listed among the top 10 “people who shaped science in 2025” by the British journal Nature, which hailed the 40-year-old entrepreneur as a “Chinese finance whizz” whose breakthrough artificial intelligence models had stunned the world. The Nature’s 10 profile of Liang recognised the disruption caused in January by the release of DeepSeek-R1, a reasoning model that showed how “the United States was not as far ahead in AI as many experts had... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3335748/deepseeks-liang-wenfeng-makes-cut-top-10-people-who-shaped-science-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3335748/deepseeks-liang-wenfeng-makes-cut-top-10-people-who-shaped-science-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 10:00:16 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has unveiled its most powerful model variant, DeepSeek-V3.2-Speciale, which is said to match Google DeepMind’s new Gemini 3 Pro model in certain tasks, despite the Chinese firm having limited access to advanced semiconductor chips. The achievement by the open-source lab has sparked extensive discussion within the AI research community as it coincides with the prestigious annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, or NeurIPS. In its... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334852/chinas-deepseek-challenges-google-deepmind-and-openai-new-ai-model?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3334852/chinas-deepseek-challenges-google-deepmind-and-openai-new-ai-model?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 04:02:09 +0000