https://www.scmp.com/rss/508726/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Xiao Qian Xiao Qian The United States House Select Committee on China recently released a report on artificial intelligence. Titled “Buy What It Can, Steal What It Must: China’s Campaign to Acquire Frontier AI Capabilities”, it captures a hardening view in Washington that Beijing’s artificial intelligence rise is closely tied to both market access and security concerns. Whether fully substantiated or not, such beliefs are increasingly shaping the policy lens through which technology competition between the two... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3350871/us-china-ai-race-must-strike-balance-between-security-and-openness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3350871/us-china-ai-race-must-strike-balance-between-security-and-openness?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu China’s leading LED chipmaker and its Malaysian partner have abandoned their US$239 million cash offer to purchase Dutch technology company Lumileds Holding after opposition from US authorities, marking the latest setback for Chinese tech investment overseas following the high-profile Nexperia saga. Sanan Optoelectronics, listed in Shanghai, said in a disclosure announcement on Friday that despite multiple rounds of discussions, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350520/chinese-led-chipmakers-purchase-dutch-firm-collapses-after-us-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350520/chinese-led-chipmakers-purchase-dutch-firm-collapses-after-us-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:30:07 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Silicon photonic computing chips – long overlooked in the artificial intelligence hardware stack – are emerging as a new focal point in mainland China’s semiconductor push, as domestic companies move towards public listings amid intensifying US-China competition and surging demand for next-generation computing infrastructure. Shanghai-based Lightelligence, the first company globally to achieve large-scale deployment of hybrid optical-electronic computing, passed its Hong Kong listing hearing on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350183/lightelligence-track-ipo-plans-chinas-ai-photonics-race-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350183/lightelligence-track-ipo-plans-chinas-ai-photonics-race-gathers-pace?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:00:31 +0000 Jeffrey Wu Jeffrey Wu A quiet but consequential shift is reshaping the global artificial intelligence competition, and it has little to do with which country builds the most powerful model. Jensen Huang did not mean to describe a geopolitical strategy. But when Nvidia’s chief executive declared, “Your workload is inference, your tokens are your commodity, and that compute is your revenue,” he was articulating, from the supply side, something China had concluded from the other direction. To understand why, start with... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3349947/us-controls-chips-ai-race-china-controls-scoreboard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3349947/us-controls-chips-ai-race-china-controls-scoreboard?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen The latest US restrictions on Chinese telecoms operators could ultimately force them out of the American market, analysts said, marking an escalation in Washington’s multi-year crackdown on Chinese technology. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Thursday that it was considering broader measures to bar Chinese telecom carriers from operating data centres in its territory, further restricting Chinese telecoms carriers’ access to US networks and infrastructure. China Mobile,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3349699/china-telecoms-face-us-exit-risk-fcc-deepens-crackdown-data-centres?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3349699/china-telecoms-face-us-exit-risk-fcc-deepens-crackdown-data-centres?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:55:29 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Artificial intelligence has emerged as the driving force behind global trade growth, fuelled by a surge in data-centre buildouts at a time when geopolitical tensions are redrawing trade flows, according to McKinsey & Company. Global trade grew 6.5 per cent last year, outpacing the world economy, with AI-linked goods accounting for about one-third of that increase, McKinsey’s research showed. The category – including semiconductors, graphics cards, routers and servers – has been propelled by the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349424/ai-fuels-global-trade-growth-china-us-flows-shift-mckinsey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349424/ai-fuels-global-trade-growth-china-us-flows-shift-mckinsey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 23:00:08 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang Chinese artificial intelligence company Zhipu AI open-sourced its latest flagship model, GLM-5.1, on Wednesday while raising application programming interface prices by 10 per cent, signalling a shift towards monetising advanced AI capabilities as competition with US rivals intensifies. The move marked Zhipu’s second price increase this year, following a broader overhaul in February that lifted rates for its coding subscription plans by more than 30 per cent. While the latest adjustment was more... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3349422/chinas-zhipu-ai-open-sources-flagship-model-raises-prices-narrow-gap-us-rivals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3349422/chinas-zhipu-ai-open-sources-flagship-model-raises-prices-narrow-gap-us-rivals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:00:27 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao The latest bill proposed by US lawmakers to further restrict China’s access to advanced chipmaking equipment marks a fresh escalation in Washington’s efforts to throttle the country’s semiconductor ambitions, as it seeks to bring allies such as the Netherlands and Japan into closer alignment on export controls, analysts said. Introduced last week by Republican Representative Michael Baumgartner, the Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls in Hardware (Match) Act aims to close “critical... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3349413/washington-pushes-allies-match-tougher-china-chip-curbs-under-new-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3349413/washington-pushes-allies-match-tougher-china-chip-curbs-under-new-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:02:26 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng China’s hunt for semiconductor talent has intensified as Beijing aims to achieve artificial intelligence breakthroughs amid deepening tech rivalry with the US, but the plans have triggered fresh probes by Taiwanese authorities into talent poaching by mainland Chinese firms in what analysts describe as a “quiet tech war” over the human capital. A total of 11 new mainland Chinese firms were put under investigation for allegedly poaching semiconductor and other hi-tech talent, according to Taiwan’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3349072/semiconductor-ai-talent-race-heats-taiwan-tightens-crackdown-alleged-poaching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3349072/semiconductor-ai-talent-race-heats-taiwan-tightens-crackdown-alleged-poaching?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 03:00:12 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow There was a surprise guest speaker at Nvidia’s widely watched GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in San Jose, California, last month: Yang Zhilin, the founder of Beijing-based Moonshot AI, the developer behind the Kimi family of foundational artificial intelligence models. Amid heated rhetoric about US-China AI competition, which some have likened to an “arms race”, the participation of a Chinese AI start-up’s CEO at the flagship event of American chipmaking giant Nvidia might have struck some as... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348973/competition-or-co-opetition-how-convergence-shaping-ai-race-between-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348973/competition-or-co-opetition-how-convergence-shaping-ai-race-between-china-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Apr 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Less than a year after US artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic called out China as an “adversarial nation” and vowed to restrict the country’s access to its technologies, the company inadvertently released coding secrets, triggering a frenzy among Chinese developers. The leak occured after an Anthropic employee accidentally included the modified source code of Claude Code, the company’s sensational AI coding tool popular among developers worldwide, in a file within a software package... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3348817/anthropics-ai-code-leak-ignites-frenzy-among-chinese-developers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3348817/anthropics-ai-code-leak-ignites-frenzy-among-chinese-developers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:00:17 +0000 Ben Jiang,Ann Cao Ben Jiang,Ann Cao Biren Technology and Iluvatar CoreX, two Chinese graphics processing unit (GPU) champions that are seen as potential alternatives to Nvidia, saw their revenues surge in 2025 amid China’s accelerated push for chip self-sufficiency, according to their first earnings reports since listing in January. Biren’s annual revenue surged 207.2 per cent from a year ago to 1.03 billion yuan (US$149 million), beating the consensus estimate of 954.5 million yuan, while its crosstown rival Iluvatar CoreX posted... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3348446/biren-iluvatar-corex-post-triple-digit-revenue-growth-losses-persist-ai-chip-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3348446/biren-iluvatar-corex-post-triple-digit-revenue-growth-losses-persist-ai-chip-race?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:45:09 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang A US move to ban imports of new foreign-made consumer routers aims to pressure Chinese manufacturers to “onshore” parts of their production chain, although that will be a challenge given limited US manufacturing capacity, according to analysts. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said on Monday that it had updated its Covered List to include consumer-grade routers produced in foreign countries, citing concerns that the devices could “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3347733/us-move-ban-chinese-routers-part-onshoring-push-could-be-uphill-battle-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3347733/us-move-ban-chinese-routers-part-onshoring-push-could-be-uphill-battle-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:30:08 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen “Tokens are the new commodity,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, clad in his iconic leather jacket, at the company’s annual flagship developer conference, GTC, last week in San Jose, California. The chip designer’s helmsman wants to recast his company not as a silicon vendor but as the architect of what he calls “AI [artificial intelligence] factories”, whose standard product is “token”. While Nvidia is busy writing the rules of a new token economy, a parallel debate is emerging in China around the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347495/how-china-could-dominate-ai-eras-tokenomics-vast-power-grids-and-low-cost-models?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347495/how-china-could-dominate-ai-eras-tokenomics-vast-power-grids-and-low-cost-models?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:30:22 +0000 Neil Denslow,Raymond Ma Neil Denslow,Raymond Ma Nvidia is restarting production of H200s, its second-most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chip, after getting long-awaited approval from Beijing to sell the processors in China. The US chip giant has won licences for “many customers in China” and has received orders from “many” companies, CEO Jensen Huang said Tuesday at a developer conference in San Jose, California. “Our supply chain is getting fired up.” Production of the chip was halted last year. Chinese regulators have opened the... https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/tech-war/article/3347013/nvidia-restarts-h200-ai-chip-production-china-allows-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/tech/tech-war/article/3347013/nvidia-restarts-h200-ai-chip-production-china-allows-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:01:33 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings China leads the world in patent applications for anti-drone technology, which has drawn heightened attention during the wars in Ukraine and Iran and a spate of suspicious sightings in the West, according to intellectual property law firm Mathys & Squire. Patent applications for anti-drone systems rose 27 per cent over the past year, with China submitting 82 compared with 22 from the US, the second-largest filer, the 115-year-old UK-based law firm said on Monday. South Korea ranked third with six... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346874/china-leads-world-anti-drone-patents-us-and-south-korea-far-behind-law-firm-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346874/china-leads-world-anti-drone-patents-us-and-south-korea-far-behind-law-firm-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:00:08 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao China’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency is shifting from broad aspiration to a precision strike on chokepoint materials, with photoresist – the light-sensitive chemical essential for etching microscopic circuits onto silicon wafers – emerging as a new battlefield. The sector, which provides the key material for lithography, was expected to enter a critical stage of “accelerated breakthroughs and large-scale application” over the coming years, according to Fu Zhiwei, chairman of Xuzhou... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346555/precision-strike-china-targets-us-japan-stranglehold-photoresist-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346555/precision-strike-china-targets-us-japan-stranglehold-photoresist-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:00:09 +0000 Denis Simon Denis Simon With the conclusion of China’s annual parliamentary “two sessions” meetings, emerging policy priorities suggest its relationship with the United States is entering a new technological era. This year’s government work report set an economic growth target of 4.5 to 5 per cent and announced increased fiscal support for science and technology, including a 10 per cent funding rise for research and development and over 16 per cent for basic research. More than routine budget adjustments, these figures... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346402/two-sessions-signals-china-us-tech-contest-entering-new-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3346402/two-sessions-signals-china-us-tech-contest-entering-new-era?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2026 12:30:07 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China’s commerce ministry warned that the “Dutch side” should be held accountable if the latest dispute between Nexperia and its Chinese subsidiary triggers another global chip supply crisis, adding to concerns over further worldwide disruption. “Nexperia’s [latest] action has seriously disrupted the company’s normal production and operations,” a ministry spokesperson said in a press conference on Saturday. “If this again triggers a global semiconductor supply chain crisis, the Dutch side must... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3345872/china-warns-fresh-chip-crisis-nexperia-dispute-flares?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3345872/china-warns-fresh-chip-crisis-nexperia-dispute-flares?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:30:08 +0000 Coco Feng,Eunice Xu Coco Feng,Eunice Xu Artificial intelligence has become a stronger force on the battlefield, with the US military’s use of AI-assisted strikes on Iran underscoring what analysts say is the “urgency” for China to accelerate its push for tech self-reliance. The US Department of Defence deployed Anthropic’s systems in the Iran campaign even after their deal collapsed, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The technology was used for intelligence assessments, target identification and battle... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345164/ai-assisted-us-strikes-iran-intensify-china-drive-tech-self-reliance-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345164/ai-assisted-us-strikes-iran-intensify-china-drive-tech-self-reliance-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:00:13 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has stepped up its overseas expansion with the global launch of its flagship Xiaomi 17 series in Barcelona, in its latest effort to challenge Apple and Samsung in the premium segment. The launch event, held on Saturday ahead of MWC Barcelona, marked the overseas release of Xiaomi 17 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra, months after the company launched the Xiaomi 17 series domestically. As with the domestic versions, both models are powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345016/chinas-xiaomi-launches-premium-smartphone-17-series-globally-challenge-apple-samsung?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345016/chinas-xiaomi-launches-premium-smartphone-17-series-globally-challenge-apple-samsung?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Mar 2026 11:00:09 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow WeRide, one of China’s big three robotaxi companies, has cut research and development (R&D) costs by “millions” of US dollars by using artificial intelligence to train its fleet in virtual worlds, its CEO said. While rivals had also developed AI models simulating the physical world, WeRide’s efforts stood out as it was using its world model Genesis to support its global expansion strategy, said Tony Han. “It’s the first real marriage between physical AI and generative AI,” Han told the South... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344817/breakthrough-or-hype-how-weride-aims-steer-past-rivals-crowded-robotaxi-field?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344817/breakthrough-or-hype-how-weride-aims-steer-past-rivals-crowded-robotaxi-field?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:00:38 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Nvidia has yet to generate any revenue from its H200 chips in China and does not know if any sales will be allowed in the country, the company said, as the US chip giant reported record quarterly revenue on surging demand for data centre processors. While the Santa Clara-based tech giant remains the primary beneficiary of the global generative artificial intelligence boom, its ability to navigate the US-China tech war has become a challenge, with the pipeline for the H200 – Nvidia’s second-most... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344663/china-freeze-h200-chip-sales-clouds-nvidias-record-earnings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3344663/china-freeze-h200-chip-sales-clouds-nvidias-record-earnings?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 02:00:05 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat Xiaomi is doubling down on its five-year plan for core technologies including chips, artificial intelligence and operating systems, aiming to position itself as a deep-tech player amid China’s self-reliance push, while peers such as Li Auto and Xpeng accelerate moves into humanoid robotics. Lei Jun, founder, chairman and CEO of the Beijing-based smartphone and electric vehicle giant, on Tuesday said private technology firms must deepen investment in core technologies and speed up the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344572/xiaomi-deepens-push-chips-and-ai-peers-race-humanoid-robotics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344572/xiaomi-deepens-push-chips-and-ai-peers-race-humanoid-robotics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 07:29:56 +0000 Vincent Chow,Ben Jiang Vincent Chow,Ben Jiang US artificial intelligence lab Anthropic’s allegation that Chinese AI firms were “distilling” its Claude models has exposed a widely used AI training technique, sparking heated debate over its accepted boundaries, an analyst said. Anthropic said in a blog post on Monday that DeepSeek, Moonshot AI and MiniMax AI used roughly 24,000 fraudulent accounts to generate more than 16 million exchanges with its Claude models. The US firm said the activity amounted to unauthorised “distillation” of its... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3344499/anthropics-distilling-charges-against-chinese-firms-expose-ai-training-grey-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3344499/anthropics-distilling-charges-against-chinese-firms-expose-ai-training-grey-area?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:05:35 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Alibaba Cloud has unveiled its next-generation open artificial intelligence model, Qwen-3.5, in a move set to have major implications for the global AI race between China and the US. The much-anticipated release, timed on the eve of the Lunar New Year, capped a frenetic week in which nearly every major Chinese AI developer rolled out new flagship models. The two new 3.5-series models were made available on Alibaba’s cloud platform Model Studio on Monday afternoon. The new Qwen-3.5-Open-Source... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343738/alibaba-unveils-qwen-35-sharpening-global-race-spread-ai-models?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343738/alibaba-unveils-qwen-35-sharpening-global-race-spread-ai-models?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:19:44 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding is stepping up its efforts in China’s heated race for embodied intelligence models, launching a new open-source model that gives robots a “brain”. RynnBrain, an embodied foundation model based on Alibaba’s Qwen3-VL, marks the company’s latest efforts to deepen its footprint in the area of embodied intelligence – AI systems designed to perceive, reason and act in physical environments rather than purely digital settings. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The model’s... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343212/alibaba-unveils-rynnbrain-embodied-ai-model-gives-robots-brain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343212/alibaba-unveils-rynnbrain-embodied-ai-model-gives-robots-brain?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:00:12 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng In an intensifying giveaway war among artificial intelligence apps in China, TikTok parent ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot has joined the fray to offer robots and drones, following multibillion-yuan campaigns from Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings to hand out cash and bubble tea. ByteDance said on Tuesday that it planned to give more than 100,000 tech products as gifts, as well as red packets of up to 8,888 yuan (US$1,284), through lucky draws on the Doubao app on the eve of Lunar New... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343104/bytedance-joins-alibaba-tencent-offer-freebies-bid-acquire-ai-app-users?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343104/bytedance-joins-alibaba-tencent-offer-freebies-bid-acquire-ai-app-users?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:19 +0000 Ann Cao,Coco Feng Ann Cao,Coco Feng Taiwan’s move to defend its “silicon shield” is the latest sign of the island’s tech dominance being used as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, as it faces increased geopolitical pressure to shift semiconductor manufacturing capacity overseas, according to analysts. It would be “impossible” to move 40 per cent of the island’s semiconductor capacity to the US, Taiwan officials have told the US, according to Taiwan vice-premier Cheng Li-chiun in an interview with local broadcaster Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343070/taiwan-says-proposal-move-40-its-chipmaking-capacity-us-impossible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3343070/taiwan-says-proposal-move-40-its-chipmaking-capacity-us-impossible?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:00:09 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang The mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is expected to have its best year ever, with artificial intelligence dominating activity despite recent volatility in technology stocks and broader jitters across assets, according to senior investment bankers at Citigroup. Market participants worldwide faced a repricing in the digital economy and a wave of sell-offs across tech stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies last week as investors grappled with the implications of AI. However, the turmoil... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3342869/ma-market-firing-all-cylinders-headed-record-year-citigroup-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3342869/ma-market-firing-all-cylinders-headed-record-year-citigroup-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 03:30:13 +0000 Mark Greeven Mark Greeven China’s BYD has pulled ahead of Tesla, becoming the world’s biggest maker of fully electric vehicles (EVs). The shift reflects more than the fortunes of the two companies. Tesla’s dethroning shows how China’s EV sector, built around dense supplier networks, fast iteration and strong policy support, is setting the pace for the rest of the world. The shift is even more notable considering that BYD was barely known outside China a decade ago. Now BYD is outpacing its competitors, delivering more... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342316/why-tesla-fell-behind-byd-and-why-catching-wont-be-easy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3342316/why-tesla-fell-behind-byd-and-why-catching-wont-be-easy?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Feb 2026 21:30:09 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s plan for advanced chip production at a Japanese plant will help it hedge against US tariff threats and the possibility of a Beijing blockade around Taiwan, analysts said, while providing Japanese giants such as Sony and Toyota with local access to advanced chips for artificial intelligence applications. C C Wei, president and CEO of the world’s top chip foundry, known as TSMC and based in Taiwan, said on Thursday after meeting Japanese Prime Minister... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3342524/tsmc-japan-plan-advanced-chips-seen-hedge-against-pressure-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3342524/tsmc-japan-plan-advanced-chips-seen-hedge-against-pressure-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 12:00:10 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Moore Threads – one of China’s domestic artificial intelligence chip champions – has entered the intensifying race for AI coding tools with the launch of a new service built on its latest graphics processing unit (GPU). The Beijing-based company on Tuesday unveiled its “AI Coding Plan”, a vertically integrated development suite that runs on a fully domestic hardware-to-model stack, marking a strategic push beyond chipmaking into developer-facing software services. AI coding has emerged as a key... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3342398/moore-threads-sees-beyond-silicon-push-ai-coding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3342398/moore-threads-sees-beyond-silicon-push-ai-coding?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:00:38 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Chinese companies are mitigating the risks of artificial intelligence in their own way and should not be judged through a Western lens, according to Chinese industry insiders. The comments come ahead of what is expected to be a busy month for Chinese AI developers, with new major models set to be released ahead of the Lunar New Year. Last year, concerns about the risks of Chinese models held back some global users from adopting them, with high-profile DeepSeek in particular banned or restricted... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3342279/chinese-ai-firms-defend-safety-practices-push-back-western-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3342279/chinese-ai-firms-defend-safety-practices-push-back-western-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 04:01:43 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding has delivered more than 100,000 units of its most advanced artificial intelligence chip, the Zhenwu 810E, whose performance is said to be comparable to Nvidia’s H20, according to people familiar with the matter – a milestone that highlights the company’s growing role in China’s race to build domestic alternatives to US processors. The shipments, handled by Alibaba’s semiconductor arm T-Head, have already surpassed those of domestic rival Cambricon Technologies, the sources... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3341860/alibaba-ai-chip-push-hits-100000-mark-beating-local-rival-cambricon-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3341860/alibaba-ai-chip-push-hits-100000-mark-beating-local-rival-cambricon-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 11:24:07 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Alibaba Group Holding’s semiconductor design arm, T-Head, on Thursday unveiled details of its advanced artificial intelligence chip with capabilities said to be on par with Nvidia’s H20, days after the unit was reportedly being prepared for a potential spin-off and public listing. According to information on T-Head’s website, the Zhenwu 810E was a “fully self-developed” parallel processing unit (PPU), an application-specific integrated circuit designed for both AI training and inference. Alibaba... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341703/alibabas-t-head-unit-unveils-details-ai-chip-designed-rival-nvidias-gpus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341703/alibabas-t-head-unit-unveils-details-ai-chip-designed-rival-nvidias-gpus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 10:00:30 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings The Taiwan government has cleared Nvidia to establish a NT$3.3 billion (US$105 million) headquarters on the island that produces most of the world’s advanced semiconductors, which the Silicon Valley chip designer will need to feed the red-hot global artificial intelligence sector. Nvidia would use the Taipei site for a “commercial office” building and the acquisition of land for a “comprehensive business park”, the island’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Wednesday. The approval came a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341644/nvidia-wins-approval-taiwan-headquarters-secure-ai-chip-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341644/nvidia-wins-approval-taiwan-headquarters-secure-ai-chip-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 09:00:17 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu The financial head of Dutch chipmaking equipment giant ASML – following a year of double-digit sales growth for the company’s machines – said he expects the firm’s already declining sales to China to fall even further, as trade restrictions prevent shipments of the firm’s most advanced units to Chinese clients and demand for other models is likely to taper off after an earlier rush. China’s share of ASML’s global sales dropped by 8 percentage points in 2025, falling to 33 per cent from the 41... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341632/asml-reports-heated-global-demand-2025-cools-china-outlook-amid-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341632/asml-reports-heated-global-demand-2025-cools-china-outlook-amid-us-sanctions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 04:34:10 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Moonshot AI’s newest release, Kimi K2.5, has narrowed the gap between the US and China to the closest it has ever been in the development of artificial intelligence models, according to third-party evaluations. That feat by the Beijing-based start-up, founded in March 2023, has raised questions about the efficacy of US policies – most notably, export controls on advanced semiconductors – to constrain China’s AI development efforts, said Kyle Chan, a fellow of the John L Thornton China Centre at... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341580/moonshots-newest-release-narrows-us-china-ai-model-development-gap-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3341580/moonshots-newest-release-narrows-us-china-ai-model-development-gap-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 13:00:10 +0000 Ann Cao,Coco Feng,Wency Chen Ann Cao,Coco Feng,Wency Chen Beijing has begun approving imports of Nvidia’s H200 graphics processing units (GPUs), according to two sources familiar with the matter, ending regulatory uncertainty over the US tech giant’s second most powerful artificial intelligence chip. The first batch was expected to go to Big Tech companies, which were in urgent need of the GPU, a source said. However, access for state-backed companies, such as telecommunication network operators, was expected to remain under tight control, the source... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341568/beijing-clears-nvidias-h200-imports-ending-chip-uncertainty-china-tech-giants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341568/beijing-clears-nvidias-h200-imports-ending-chip-uncertainty-china-tech-giants?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:12 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen Chinese chip designer Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor has unveiled a multi-year graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture road map, aiming to surpass Nvidia’s next-generation Rubin platform within two years, amid the country’s push for semiconductor self-reliance. The company said its Tianshu architecture had outperformed Nvidia’s Hopper platform last year, while a second architecture, Tianxuan, would be built to benchmark against the US firm’s Blackwell platform. A third, Tianji, was... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341368/iluvatar-corex-targets-nvidias-rubin-gpu-road-map-amid-china-chip-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341368/iluvatar-corex-targets-nvidias-rubin-gpu-road-map-amid-china-chip-push?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:00:13 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu China’s Eyou Robot Technology has launched the world’s first automated production line for robot joints, positioning itself to capture growth ahead of a projected surge in humanoid robot shipments. The plant, based in Pudong, Shanghai, opened last Wednesday with an annual capacity of 100,000 units, with scope to triple output. Founded in 2018, Eyou supplies domestic humanoid robot makers, including industry leader AgiBot. The company achieved mass production of its products in 2023, with annual... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341229/chinas-eyou-opens-worlds-first-automated-line-humanoid-robot-joints?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3341229/chinas-eyou-opens-worlds-first-automated-line-humanoid-robot-joints?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 09:00:14 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng TikTok has officially launched a US joint venture tasked with “safeguarding the American content ecosystem”, with commercial activities such as e-commerce, advertising and marketing remaining under the company’s existing US entities. The arrangement has been widely compared with Apple’s 2018 move to transfer mainland Chinese iCloud user data to Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD), according to Chinese media. GCBD is a project owned by the Guizhou provincial government-backed company AIPO Cloud... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3340996/tiktok-us-joint-venture-seen-resembling-apples-china-icloud-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3340996/tiktok-us-joint-venture-seen-resembling-apples-china-icloud-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:00:09 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow China’s “infrastructure first” approach to developing its artificial intelligence industry will help unlock frontier innovation in the fast-moving technology, according to the president of Kimi model developer Moonshot AI. The country’s energy buildout had made the supply of electricity “very cheap”, which was essential for fundamental research and innovation, said Moonshot’s Zhang Yutong in Wednesday’s panel discussion on China’s “AI Plus” strategy at the World Economic Forum in Davos,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340842/chinas-infrastructure-first-approach-major-advantage-ai-arms-race-davos-panel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340842/chinas-infrastructure-first-approach-major-advantage-ai-arms-race-davos-panel?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 09:45:11 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang Frontier research lab MiroMind, a subsidiary of the China-founded multinational firm Shanda Group, has asked some of its staff in Shanghai to relocate to Singapore, according to people with knowledge of the matter, raising comparisons to artificial intelligence start-up Manus’ pull-out from China last year. Those actions came amid Sunday’s reorganisation announcement by Shanda and Singapore-based MiroMind, which said its research on artificial general intelligence (AGI) and fundamental... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340721/china-founded-shandas-ai-lab-boosts-singapore-operation-pulling-research-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340721/china-founded-shandas-ai-lab-boosts-singapore-operation-pulling-research-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:30:09 +0000 Xiaofei Xu,Wency Chen Xiaofei Xu,Wency Chen The world is witnessing the biggest infrastructure buildout in history, with the foundation for an artificial intelligence system evolving quickly, according to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. “We are now a few hundred billion dollars into it,” he said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Wednesday, adding that trillions of dollars of infrastructure still had to be built. Huang described the AI industry as a “five-layered cake” – energy at the bottom, followed by chips, cloud infrastructure,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3340709/watch-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-speak-davos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3340709/watch-nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-speak-davos?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 10:33:09 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang China’s government-led push into artificial intelligence (AI) contrasts with the US’ private sector-led approach, with the world’s two largest economies advancing along divergent paths, according to China International Capital Corp (CICC). Chinese investments in AI had focused on underlying technologies, including advanced semiconductors, to address a shortage of computing resources resulting from the country’s restricted access to advanced chips, the state-backed investment management firm said... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340551/china-wants-chips-us-needs-power-divergent-ai-growth-paths-emerge-amid-bubble-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340551/china-wants-chips-us-needs-power-divergent-ai-growth-paths-emerge-amid-bubble-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 01:15:10 +0000 Vincent Chow Vincent Chow State-owned China Telecom has developed the country’s first artificial intelligence models with the innovative Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture that are trained entirely on advanced chips from Huawei Technologies. This marked the first time a Chinese developer publicly validated the feasibility of using only Huawei chips to train AI models with MoE architecture, which has become widely adopted because of its ability to deliver high performance with fewer computational resources. The... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3340591/china-telecom-develops-countrys-first-moe-models-trained-entirely-huaweis-ai-chips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3340591/china-telecom-develops-countrys-first-moe-models-trained-entirely-huaweis-ai-chips?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:00:12 +0000 Ben Jiang Ben Jiang One year ago, a little-known Chinese start-up called DeepSeek burst onto the scene with a new artificial intelligence model that challenged assumptions about China’s ability to innovate under US technology curbs. In what became known as the “DeepSeek moment”, the Hangzhou-based firm kicked off what some likened as a modern-day “Sputnik moment” for China’s AI ambitions. Just as the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, shocked the US and triggered the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3340422/deepseek-year-how-little-known-chinese-start-sparked-global-ai-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3340422/deepseek-year-how-little-known-chinese-start-sparked-global-ai-arms-race?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 14:00:13 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao The shortages and associated price increase in the global memory chip sector could potentially intensify, as the US government threatened to impose hefty new tariffs on some major foreign manufacturers. Speaking at Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony for Micron Technology’s US$100 billion factory in New York, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that memory chipmakers – without naming any company – had two options: “They can pay 100 per cent tariff, or they can build in America.” Lutnick... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340428/global-memory-chip-crunch-set-intensify-amid-trumps-new-industrial-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3340428/global-memory-chip-crunch-set-intensify-amid-trumps-new-industrial-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 11:00:10 +0000