https://www.scmp.com/rss/519738/feed Get the latest on China’s push for semiconductor innovation, as the nation strives for self-reliance in this critical technology. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Minxiao Chang,Wency Chen,Eunice Xu Minxiao Chang,Wency Chen,Eunice Xu A recent meeting between Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su signals a potential loosening of US chip export policies, which could reopen high-end semiconductor sales, including artificial intelligence chips, to select Chinese firms, according to analysts. During their meeting on Monday, He reiterated that Beijing welcomed continued foreign investment, according to Xinhua News Agency. Su praised the outcomes of last week’s summit between President Xi... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3354097/amd-ceos-meeting-chinas-vice-premier-raises-optimism-about-us-ai-chip-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3354097/amd-ceos-meeting-chinas-vice-premier-raises-optimism-about-us-ai-chip-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 May 2026 11:30:04 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Chinese memory chip stocks rallied on Monday after ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) disclosed sharply stronger first-quarter results and an upbeat first-half outlook in its updated listing prospectus, as the global memory shortage boosts China’s semiconductor supply chain. GigaDevice, a chip designer and CXMT shareholder, rose 6.57 per cent on Monday to close at 400 yuan per share, taking its gain over the past month to more than 40 per cent. In Hong Kong, GigaDevice shares rose 8 per cent on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353988/cxmts-blowout-earnings-outlook-fuels-rally-chinese-memory-chip-stocks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353988/cxmts-blowout-earnings-outlook-fuels-rally-chinese-memory-chip-stocks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 May 2026 11:05:02 +0000 Akhmad Hanan Akhmad Hanan US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing with a delegation of leading American tech executives should not be read as a throwback to transactional diplomacy. It points to something more consequential. After years of rhetoric about economic separation, the reality is becoming harder to ignore: the United States and China are not decoupling. They are learning how to compete while remaining deeply entangled. For much of the past decade, Washington has framed its China policy around technological... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3353561/why-trump-took-us-tech-leaders-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3353561/why-trump-took-us-tech-leaders-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 May 2026 08:30:05 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng US President Donald Trump and Chinese officials discussed artificial intelligence “guardrails” and Nvidia’s H200 chips during his just-ended state visit to Beijing. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One during his return flight, Trump said the two sides “talked about possibly working together for guardrails” on AI, characterising them as “standard guardrails that we talk about all the time”. Regarding Nvidia’s H200 graphics processing units (GPUs) – shipments of which have yet to be approved by... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3353764/trump-xi-weigh-ai-guardrails-nvidia-chip-exports-hang-balance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3353764/trump-xi-weigh-ai-guardrails-nvidia-chip-exports-hang-balance?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 13:45:47 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao US President Donald Trump invested millions of dollars in Apple and Nvidia in the first quarter, according to financial disclosures released as he was wrapping up his first state visit to China since 2017. According to a filing disclosed by the US Office of Government Ethics on Thursday, Trump increased investment in Apple and Nvidia, whose CEOs were part of the president’s high-profile business delegation to Beijing this week, during the first three months of 2026. In the first quarter, the US... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353752/trump-poured-millions-nvidia-apple-first-quarter-ethics-filing-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353752/trump-poured-millions-nvidia-apple-first-quarter-ethics-filing-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 12:30:57 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu The global AI boom is driving orders back to Chinese foundries as overseas rivals shift production towards high-margin AI chips and high-bandwidth memory, creating a shortage in mature-node semiconductors, according to the head of China’s top contract chipmaker. “AI demand has directly pushed power-management and other mature capacity into shortage,” said Zhao Haijun, co-CEO of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353715/panic-over-capacity-crunch-mature-node-chips-drives-orders-chinese-foundries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353715/panic-over-capacity-crunch-mature-node-chips-drives-orders-chinese-foundries?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2026 09:32:40 +0000 Ann Cao,Howard Liu Ann Cao,Howard Liu China’s leading semiconductor foundries, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, expect their second-quarter sales to rise amid a dynamic global market defined by surging artificial intelligence demand and a memory supply crunch, while Hua Hong said it hopes this week’s Xi-Trump meetings could help relax US export controls. SMIC expected its second-quarter revenue to range between US$2.86 billion and US$2.91 billion, up from US$2.51 billion in the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353594/chinese-foundries-smic-hua-hong-forecast-second-quarter-growth-amid-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3353594/chinese-foundries-smic-hua-hong-forecast-second-quarter-growth-amid-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 12:27:33 +0000 Howard Liu Howard Liu Chinese memory module manufacturers are accelerating the release of consumer and enterprise storage products powered by domestic DDR5 chips, as breakthroughs by ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), the nation’s leading memory chipmaker, filter through the supply chain. Powev, one of China’s major memory module vendors, recently said its Sinker-branded DDR5 server memories had entered mass production and delivery. The 64GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM product passed testing by multiple major customers and was... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353464/chinese-memory-module-makers-ramp-production-cxmt-ddr5-breakthrough-hits-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3353464/chinese-memory-module-makers-ramp-production-cxmt-ddr5-breakthrough-hits-market?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 23:30:05 +0000 Ann Cao,Ji Siqi Ann Cao,Ji Siqi US President Donald Trump’s landmark visit to China comes as the US-Iran war disrupts global energy supplies, fuels economic uncertainty and adds fresh strain to Washington-Beijing ties. In this story, part of a series examining how rivalry, interdependence and geopolitical crises are reshaping the relationship between the two powers, we examine how artificial intelligence (AI), chip controls and competing technology ecosystems are redefining US-China rivalry. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3353180/chinas-ai-ascent-leaves-trump-stark-choice-escalate-or-relax-chip-controls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3353180/chinas-ai-ascent-leaves-trump-stark-choice-escalate-or-relax-chip-controls?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 22:00:12 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Huawei Technologies’ little-known chip research lab has been thrust into the national spotlight as Beijing flexes its technology muscles ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China later this week. The Chip Fundamental Technology Research Laboratory was featured for the first time on national television on Friday, when Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei hosted Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang at the firm’s Lianqiu Lake campus in Shanghai, according to footage aired on China Central... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3353161/huaweis-secretive-chip-lab-featured-prime-time-tv-ahead-trumps-trip-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3353161/huaweis-secretive-chip-lab-featured-prime-time-tv-ahead-trumps-trip-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 May 2026 12:30:10 +0000 Minxiao Chang Minxiao Chang The release of DeepSeek’s latest large language model, V4, has been followed by a wave of adoption among domestic semiconductor manufacturers and artificial intelligence chipmakers, with firms racing to support the model on local hardware platforms. The shift comes amid rising geopolitical tensions over advanced semiconductors. Here are some of the key players enabling the model’s deployment on domestic hardware. Huawei Huawei Technologies was among the first to act, with the V4 fully adapted to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352644/chinas-chipmakers-rush-embrace-deepseeks-v4-which-names-stand-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352644/chinas-chipmakers-rush-embrace-deepseeks-v4-which-names-stand-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 12:30:05 +0000 Eunice Xu Eunice Xu China’s chip champions channelled a larger proportion of revenue into research and development (R&D) than their US peers, first-quarter earnings show, as Beijing presses ahead with its tech self-reliance drive amid an artificial intelligence boom. Beijing-based Moore Threads spent half of its revenue on R&D in the quarter ended March 2026, while Shanghai-based MetaX spent 45 per cent over the same period, according to exchange filings. By contrast, US chipmakers such as AMD and Intel have... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352533/chinas-chipmakers-pour-revenue-rd-outpacing-us-ratios?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3352533/chinas-chipmakers-pour-revenue-rd-outpacing-us-ratios?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 02:30:05 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings US technology companies should stay in China, despite persistent political pressure for their exit, to capitalise on revenue potential and stifle local competition while monitoring consumer trends, according to a Washington-based policy think tank. Sales generated by American firms within China can be reinvested in research and development back in the United States, thereby helping “sustain US innovation leadership”, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) said in a new... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3352371/us-tech-can-use-china-listening-post-global-edge-washington-think-tank-explains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3352371/us-tech-can-use-china-listening-post-global-edge-washington-think-tank-explains?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 May 2026 13:00:13 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Cambricon Technologies, dubbed “China’s little Nvidia,” on Thursday became the costliest stock in mainland China’s equities market after it reported substantial growth in the first quarter amid an artificial intelligence boom and China’s tech self-sufficiency push. Cambricon shares rose as much as 18 per cent to nearly 1,680 yuan (US$245) on Thursday, beating optical chipmaker Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology, which traded at around 1,660 yuan. On Wednesday, Cambricon announced a 160 per cent... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351894/revenue-jumps-chinas-cambricon-metax-amid-thirst-domestic-ai-chips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351894/revenue-jumps-chinas-cambricon-metax-amid-thirst-domestic-ai-chips?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:15:23 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng The impact of sky-high costs for memory chips is spreading from smartphones to cars, as China’s electric vehicle (EV) king BYD announced a 21 per cent price increase for its high-end driver-assistance system. Starting on Friday, the price of the optional DiPilot 300 assisted-driving system would rise to 12,000 yuan ($1,757) from 9,900 yuan, BYD said on Tuesday, attributing the decision to “the sharp rise in global storage hardware costs”. The system, which allows cars to navigate themselves on... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351842/hit-memory-costs-spreads-phones-evs-chinas-byd-raises-driving-tech-price?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3351842/hit-memory-costs-spreads-phones-evs-chinas-byd-raises-driving-tech-price?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:30:11 +0000 Carol Yang Carol Yang China is flexing its dominance over the global supply chain – claiming the world’s largest reserves of 14 essential minerals, including rare earths and graphite – while preparing to ramp up exploration through the end of the decade. The Ministry of Natural Resources disclosed the information at a monthly media briefing on Wednesday, vowing that China would continue accelerating its search for minerals during the 15th five-year plan period spanning 2026 to 2030. The message underscores Beijing’s... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351864/trumps-visit-china-touts-mineral-dominance-fortifies-resource-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3351864/trumps-visit-china-touts-mineral-dominance-fortifies-resource-security?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:00:09 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu China has cleared the way for a landmark visit by the Dutch trade minister – signalled by Beijing’s quiet removal of long-held sanctions on the official – at a time when their bilateral relations need some attention, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing has agreed to host Sjoerd Sjoerdsma for a visit and has removed him from the sanction list, a source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. “No date is fixed yet [between Beijing and The... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3351671/un-sanctioned-china-welcome-dutch-trade-minister-amid-nexperia-asml-discord?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3351671/un-sanctioned-china-welcome-dutch-trade-minister-amid-nexperia-asml-discord?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Apr 2026 06:57:56 +0000 Daniel Ren,Themis Qi Daniel Ren,Themis Qi Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers and supply-chain vendors, from Tesla rivals Xpeng to Nio and lidar sensor producer Hesai Group, will display their technological advances on a new front – in-car chips – at the Auto China show in Beijing as the country’s automotive industry makes rapid progress. Carmakers and vendors are designing and developing chips to power autonomous driving and in-car entertainment systems. These chips boast computing power on par with blockbuster products made by chip... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351186/chinese-ev-makers-bet-house-chips-make-cars-smarter-and-more-autonomous?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3351186/chinese-ev-makers-bet-house-chips-make-cars-smarter-and-more-autonomous?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:30:08 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on a recent podcast that if Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek optimised its new models on chips from Huawei Technologies, it would be “a horrible outcome” for the US. If “future AI models are optimised in a very different way than the American tech stack”, and as “AI diffuses out into the rest of the world” with Chinese standards and technology, China “will become superior to” the US, Huang said on the Dwarkesh Podcast on Wednesday. The conversation... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350460/nvidias-jensen-huang-warns-huawei-chips-deepseek-ai-models-would-be-horrible-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350460/nvidias-jensen-huang-warns-huawei-chips-deepseek-ai-models-would-be-horrible-us?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:00:14 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) expects a revenue surge of more than 30 per cent in 2026 as the world’s largest contract chipmaker “pulls in all equipment” to ramp up supply, as management downplayed the impact of memory price hikes and Middle East tensions. During its first-quarter earnings call on Thursday, company executives voiced optimism for the year ahead anchored by the global AI frenzy, attributing the expected revenue surge to strong demand for artificial intelligence and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350346/tsmc-targets-over-30-revenue-surge-2026-ramps-capex-amid-booming-ai-demand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3350346/tsmc-targets-over-30-revenue-surge-2026-ramps-capex-amid-booming-ai-demand?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:07:11 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Chinese suppliers of parts for Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) and robots saw their stock prices gain on Thursday morning as the US tech giant announced that its AI5 artificial intelligence inference chip was 45 days ahead of schedule. After a nearly 7.7 per cent jump in Tesla’s Nasdaq-listed stock on Wednesday, shares of the company’s Chinese suppliers were up by as much as 4.6 per cent on Thursday. Shanghai-listed Ningbo Tuopu Group and Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350279/chinese-investors-cheer-teslas-ai-chip-progress-pushing-shares-local-suppliers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3350279/chinese-investors-cheer-teslas-ai-chip-progress-pushing-shares-local-suppliers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:00:36 +0000 Ann Cao,Themis Qi Ann Cao,Themis Qi Printed circuit boards (PCBs) – unsung core components in all electronic devices – are emerging as the latest source of excitement in China’s chip supply chain, as domestic companies capitalise on surging global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure to pursue share listings. Victory Giant Technology, a PCB supplier to US chip champion Nvidia, kicked off bookbuilding in Hong Kong on Monday for an initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise up to HK$17.49 billion (US$2.2... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3349924/victory-giant-joins-ipo-push-chinas-circuit-board-makers-amid-ai-frenzy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3349924/victory-giant-joins-ipo-push-chinas-circuit-board-makers-amid-ai-frenzy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:00:08 +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 Iris Deng,Ann Cao Iris Deng,Ann Cao China is ramping up efforts in the AI race, as tech giants Alibaba Group Holding and Huawei Technologies deploy massive computing clusters in the push to develop home-grown infrastructure. E-commerce giant Alibaba has announced the deployment of a 10,000-card intelligent computing cluster powered by the Zhenwu AI chips developed by its T-Head semiconductor design arm. Launched in collaboration with China Telecom in the Shaoguan data centre in Guangdong province, the “fully domestic” cluster was... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349335/ai-race-us-intensifies-chinas-alibaba-launches-10000-card-computing-cluster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349335/ai-race-us-intensifies-chinas-alibaba-launches-10000-card-computing-cluster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:30:08 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng As the global memory industry rides an unprecedented “super cycle” fuelled by AI demand, China’s leading memory chipmakers are leveraging lower pricing and expanding production to capture a bigger market share, according to analysts. “Chinese manufacturers often enjoy a price advantage of more than 15 per cent for products of the same specifications, which is highly attractive to the price-sensitive general-purpose server and consumer markets,” said Arisa Liu, chief director and research fellow... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349266/chinese-memory-giants-gain-market-share-lower-prices-expanded-capacity-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3349266/chinese-memory-giants-gain-market-share-lower-prices-expanded-capacity-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:30:08 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings Andrew Tilton, chief Asia-Pacific economist at Goldman Sachs, speaks to the South China Morning Post about the long-term future of China’s economy after the “two sessions” in Beijing and ahead of an expected Xi-Trump summit – all during an oil crisis sparked by the US-Israel war against Iran. For other interviews in the Open Questions series, click here. What impact will the oil shock arising from the Iran war have on the growth of Asian economies this year? Asia is greatly affected by the war... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3348903/andrew-tilton-chinas-growth-prospects-economic-trajectory-wake-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3348903/andrew-tilton-chinas-growth-prospects-economic-trajectory-wake-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 22:00:29 +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 Wency Chen Wency Chen Xiaomi has raised prices on several smartphone models, joining a broader wave of increases across China’s handset makers as surging memory chip costs ripple through the global consumer electronics supply chain. The company said on Friday that prices for three models would rise by about 200 yuan (US$29), with the adjustments taking effect next Saturday. The move follows similar increases by domestic peers including Oppo, Vivo and Honor in March. Xiaomi attributed the hike to “continued sharp... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348944/xiaomi-lifts-handset-prices-memory-chip-crunch-ripples-through-supply-chain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3348944/xiaomi-lifts-handset-prices-memory-chip-crunch-ripples-through-supply-chain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:00:13 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen A string of Chinese analogue chipmakers have announced price increases in step with their international peers, as a broader pricing wave sweeps across the semiconductor supply chain – a shift that analysts say could hand China’s mature-node producers a rare window to gain ground. Novosense Microelectronics, SG Micro, Fortior Technology, Halo Microelectronics, Silan Micro and Kiwi Instruments are among the domestic firms recently raising prices, in line with global leaders including Texas... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348284/chinese-analogue-chipmakers-join-wave-global-price-rises-mature-node-firms-eye-gains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3348284/chinese-analogue-chipmakers-join-wave-global-price-rises-mature-node-firms-eye-gains?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:00:13 +0000 Mia Nurmamat Mia Nurmamat The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA) is lagging behind China’s national average in basic research, despite showing strong potential in sectors such as semiconductors and smart manufacturing, according to Deloitte. The cluster of cities in southern China, which included Shenzhen, spent about 28.9 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) on basic research in 2024, accounting for just 5.67 per cent of total spending in research and development (R&D), the consulting firm said in a report... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347992/greater-bay-area-trails-peers-basic-research-despite-strong-tech-potential-deloitte?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347992/greater-bay-area-trails-peers-basic-research-despite-strong-tech-potential-deloitte?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:00:08 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Agentic artificial intelligence and advanced packaging technology will be key growth drivers for China’s chip industry in coming years, as the country is expected to increase its share of chipmaking capacity to nearly half of the world’s total by 2028. According to data revealed at Semicon China, the world’s largest chip industry trade show, China’s share of wafer fabrication capacity for mainstream processes was expected to reach 42 per cent of global capacity by 2028. That would mark a rapid... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347902/semicon-china-ai-advanced-packaging-set-drive-countrys-chip-industry-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3347902/semicon-china-ai-advanced-packaging-set-drive-countrys-chip-industry-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:13:25 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Shenzhen – southern China’s technology powerhouse – has launched an ambitious three-year action plan to build itself into a hub for intelligent computing clusters by advancing key areas such as semiconductors, storage and AI servers. The city aimed to see a “leapfrog” increase in the production capacity and shipment volume of the entire AI server supply chain by 2028, according to the plan published Monday by Shenzhen’s industry and information technology bureau. The blueprint is geared to... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347834/shenzhen-eyes-leapfrog-gains-ai-server-supply-chain-under-self-reliance-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3347834/shenzhen-eyes-leapfrog-gains-ai-server-supply-chain-under-self-reliance-push?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:00:08 +0000 Coco Feng,Yeon Woo Lee Coco Feng,Yeon Woo Lee Nvidia’s latest language processing chip, unveiled at the company’s annual artificial intelligence conference, has opened a new frontier in the AI inference arms race, as the booming market for AI agents like OpenClaw presents a complex new reality for China’s semiconductor industry, according to analysts. The Nvidia Groq 3 Language Processing Unit (LPU), introduced on Monday at GTC 2026 in San Jose, California, was described by the company as an accelerator with fast memory and low latency... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346880/how-nvidias-inference-bet-gtc-poses-challenge-and-opportunity-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346880/how-nvidias-inference-bet-gtc-poses-challenge-and-opportunity-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:00:10 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Cambricon Technologies, a Chinese semiconductor designer seen as a potential alternative to US giant Nvidia, will pay its maiden dividend after posting its first full-year profit since listing in 2020. Cambricon, dubbed “little Nvidia”, planned to distribute a cash dividend of 15 yuan (US$2.2) for every 10 shares held, totalling more than 632 million yuan, according to its filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday. Another 20 million yuan would be allocated for share buy-backs, taking... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346447/cambricon-chinas-little-nvidia-pay-maiden-dividend-after-profitable-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346447/cambricon-chinas-little-nvidia-pay-maiden-dividend-after-profitable-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:34:06 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Memory price hikes are likely to become “the new normal” for the next few years, according to an executive at storage giant Seagate Technology, as the artificial intelligence boom of the past two to three years pushes the industry into what he described as a supercycle. “It’s hard to tell if it will last forever,” Ban-Seng Teh, Seagate’s chief commercial officer, told the South China Morning Post. The current cycle was “very unusual because in the past we went through cycles of shortage and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346104/memory-price-hikes-new-normal-ai-boom-fuels-storage-demand-seagate-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3346104/memory-price-hikes-new-normal-ai-boom-fuels-storage-demand-seagate-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:30:07 +0000 Wency Chen Wency Chen China’s semiconductor entrepreneurs – including artificial intelligence chipmaker Cambricon Technologies and testing-and-packaging leader Tongfu Microelectronics – have voiced support for the country’s 15th five-year plan, which places renewed emphasis on the chip industry as a cornerstone of Beijing’s technology ambitions. “National policy direction and planning are very well designed,” said Chen Tianshi, founder and CEO of Beijing-based Cambricon. Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345996/chinas-chip-bosses-endorse-semiconductor-push-next-5-year-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345996/chinas-chip-bosses-endorse-semiconductor-push-next-5-year-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:00:11 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Representatives of China’s semiconductor industry are calling for stronger state backing in artificial intelligence chips and critical materials, aiming to fast-track core technology breakthroughs. During last week’s “two sessions” – the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and advisory body – scholars and entrepreneurs in the semiconductor sector urged Beijing to leverage the nation’s advantage in strategic chip raw materials and accelerate the commercial application of AI chips to secure... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3345997/chinas-chip-industry-seeks-more-state-support-ai-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3345997/chinas-chip-industry-seeks-more-state-support-ai-dominance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng China’s top semiconductor executives have called for a nationwide push to build a domestic alternative to Dutch chip-equipment giant ASML, urging the industry to “abandon illusions and prepare for struggle” amid US sanctions. The current industry was too “small, fragmented and weak”, which was “dispersing numerous public resources”, according to an article co-authored by the co-founder of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and leaders of Empyrean, Yangtze Memory... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345557/top-chip-leaders-urge-national-drive-build-chinas-asml-amid-us-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3345557/top-chip-leaders-urge-national-drive-build-chinas-asml-amid-us-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2026 09:32:07 +0000 Peggy Ye Peggy Ye The Taiwan Stock Exchange has become increasingly tied to American capital, as the global artificial intelligence boom drew a record amount of US investments into the island’s semiconductor-heavy equity market. US investors currently hold a record US$668 billion worth of Taiwan equities – about 23 per cent of the exchange’s total market capitalisation – after funnelling roughly US$12 billion into the market in 2025, according to BNP Paribas, citing data from Treasury International Capital – a... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3345307/us-investors-drive-record-outlay-taiwans-equities-market-back-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3345307/us-investors-drive-record-outlay-taiwans-equities-market-back-ai-boom?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 22:30:08 +0000 Julie Zhang,Yulu Ao Julie Zhang,Yulu Ao Until last year, Fidelity International’s most significant cornerstone commitments on the Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) market dated back to 2021, when Chinese short-video platform Kuaishou Technology raised US$5.4 billion and healthcare firm Medlive Technology completed a US$543.4 million listing. Then for the next four years, the asset manager went quiet. Late last year it returned to Chinese assets in force. It backed gold miner Zijin Gold International’s US$3.2 billion listing in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3344890/big-cornerstone-comeback-whats-driving-investors-back-hong-kong-ipos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3344890/big-cornerstone-comeback-whats-driving-investors-back-hong-kong-ipos?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:00:57 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Semiconductor designer Moore Threads Technology has achieved full-stack compatibility between its flagship MTT S5000 graphics processing unit (GPU) and Alibaba Cloud’s Qwen3.5-series artificial intelligence models, as China’s tech self-reliance efforts gather pace. Beijing-based Moore Threads, founded by former Nvidia executive James Zhang Jianzhong, on Thursday said the firm’s flagship AI chip was now compatible with the three new models under the latest Qwen series – Qwen3.5-35B-A3B,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344877/moore-threads-flagship-ai-chip-compatible-alibaba-models-tech-self-reliance-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3344877/moore-threads-flagship-ai-chip-compatible-alibaba-models-tech-self-reliance-push?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 09:26:06 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Huawei Technologies is aiming for a major international comeback, with the overseas release of its latest flagship smartphone, the Mate 80 Pro, alongside a new smartwatch and the addition of a “wheelchair mode” to its wearable devices. Powered by the company’s self-designed, China-made Kirin 9030 Pro processor, the overseas version of its Mate 80 Pro handsets will run on the Android-based EMUI 15 operating system, Huawei announced at a launch event in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday. While the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344774/huawei-targets-global-comeback-mate-80-pro-smartphone-new-smartwatch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344774/huawei-targets-global-comeback-mate-80-pro-smartphone-new-smartwatch?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:01:08 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Semiconductor designer Hygon Information Technology and supercomputer maker Sugon, two stalwarts of China’s tech self-reliance efforts, reported surging revenue for 2025 amid strong domestic demand for home-grown computing systems. The two Shanghai-listed companies’ latest financial results reflect a broader trend across China’s public and private sectors to increase engagement with domestic technology suppliers, as artificial intelligence development projects in the country... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344729/china-computing-stalwarts-hygon-sugon-post-revenue-surge-ai-boom-tech-self-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344729/china-computing-stalwarts-hygon-sugon-post-revenue-surge-ai-boom-tech-self-reliance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:05:11 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng Major Chinese technology companies, including ByteDance and Baidu, are aggressively expanding their US-based research and development teams, targeting high-level artificial intelligence and semiconductor recruits in key American tech hubs. The overseas hiring spree underscores these “big tech” firms’ growing ambitions to build up their skilled workforce in AI systems development and semiconductor design amid increased competition in their home market. Social media giant ByteDance, the parent... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344212/chinas-tech-giants-pursue-ai-semiconductor-talent-us-competition-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3344212/chinas-tech-giants-pursue-ai-semiconductor-talent-us-competition-intensifies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 13:00:09 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Chinese foundry Hua Hong Semiconductor said the global memory shortage was an opportunity to raise prices on its logic chips, as it reported record revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025. On its earnings call on Thursday, Hua Hong chairman and president Bai Peng said the memory supercycle was “a positive thing” as it gave the company room to raise prices on logic chips. “Memory certainly is in high demand nowadays, and that will reduce the supply on the logic side,” Bai said, adding that “if the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3343427/hua-hong-says-memory-shortage-positive-pricing-it-reports-record-quarterly-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3343427/hua-hong-says-memory-shortage-positive-pricing-it-reports-record-quarterly-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Feb 2026 05:35:29 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao A global memory supply shock is sweeping through the electronics industry, as surging component costs threaten to squeeze China’s smartphone and broadband equipment manufacturers. New data from TrendForce and Counterpoint Research point to mounting risks across the consumer electronics supply chain, with memory prices soaring amid a supply crunch driven by relentless demand from artificial intelligence data centres. Prices for memory used in consumer devices – from PCs and entry-level... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343321/memory-price-surge-more-600-squeezes-chinas-device-makers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343321/memory-price-surge-more-600-squeezes-chinas-device-makers?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:00:08 +0000 Iris Deng Iris Deng Lenovo Group, the world’s largest personal computer (PC) maker, warned of the “prolonged impact” of a global memory crunch after reporting a 21 per cent profit drop in the December quarter, while pinning hopes on a shift to artificial intelligence-powered devices to drive growth. “This structural imbalance between supply and demand [for memory chips] is not simply a short-term fluctuation,” Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO, said on Thursday after the earnings release. “It is likely to have a... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343355/chinas-lenovo-warns-prolonged-memory-crunch-looks-ai-rebound?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343355/chinas-lenovo-warns-prolonged-memory-crunch-looks-ai-rebound?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:14:40 +0000 Ann Cao Ann Cao Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), China’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expected first quarter revenue to remain flat as a decline in low-end orders partly offset surging demand for chips used in artificial intelligence applications. SMIC reported on Tuesday that 2025 revenue increased 16.2 per cent from a year earlier to US$9.3 billion, while net profit surged 39 per cent to US$685.1 million. The growth was mainly due to increases in wafer shipment and utilisation... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343139/chinas-smic-expects-flat-revenue-drop-low-end-orders-offsets-ai-chip-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3343139/chinas-smic-expects-flat-revenue-drop-low-end-orders-offsets-ai-chip-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 03:13:58 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng The Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, backed by the municipal government, has expanded one of its three funds more than 11-fold to pump more capital into the financial hub’s chip firms as part of China’s broader pursuit of tech self-reliance. The third phase of the fund, also known as Shanghai IC Fund III, recently increased its registered capital by 5.5 billion yuan (US$794 million) to 6 billion yuan, according to business registry database Aiqicha. It added two new equity... https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343061/tech-war-shanghai-boosts-chip-fund-11-fold-under-chinas-self-sufficiency-drive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3343061/tech-war-shanghai-boosts-chip-fund-11-fold-under-chinas-self-sufficiency-drive?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:30:12 +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