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Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged a deeper implementation of the country’s ‘AI plus’ strategy. Photo: AP

Tech

China’s Li Qiang hosts Moonshot AI chief, urges faster industrial AI roll-out

Beijing signals stronger push to embed AI in manufacturing as premier meets rising start-up founders and industry leaders.

China telecoms face US exit risk as FCC deepens crackdown on data centres

Tencent moves to rein in AI content flood on WeChat with stricter rules

Tech Trends

Alibaba takes on Seedance as AI rivalry offers glimpse into race for top talent

HappyHorse’s debut on the global stage has put the spotlight on its creator, Zhang Di, who has been away from Alibaba for five years.

HappyHorse 1.0 was developed under the newly formed Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) business group. Photo: Handout
HappyHorse 1.0 was developed under the newly formed Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) business group. Photo: Handout

Cryptocurrency

HSBC, StanChart-led group among first to get stablecoin licences in Hong Kong

HSBC will launch its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of this year, integrating it into its PayMe and mobile banking platforms.

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Banking & Finance

OKX Ventures, HashKey Capital back Vietnam crypto platform’s pilot scheme bid

Under pilot rules, at least 65 per cent of capital must come from institutional investors and foreign ownership is capped at 49 per cent.

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Big Tech

Alibaba’s Qwen family captures over 50% of global open-source downloads: report

Qwen hits nearly 1 billion cumulative downloads, far surpassing rivals like Meta Platforms’ Llama and DeepSeek, researchers say.

Qwen generated 153.6 million downloads in February alone, more than double the combined total from the next eight major players, according to researchers. Photo: Shutterstock
Qwen generated 153.6 million downloads in February alone, more than double the combined total from the next eight major players, according to researchers. Photo: Shutterstock

Tech

Alibaba cloud growth forecast to climb with AI push, higher charges: analysts

The company’s cloud and AI businesses are gaining speed, with token usage and pricing changes fuelling growth, analysts say.

Tech

Unitree to debut cheapest humanoid robot globally via Alibaba: sources

The international launch of the company’s cheapest humanoid robot next week is expected to cover North America, Europe, Japan and Singapore.

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Tech

Hangzhou ‘Six Little Dragons’ member Manycore seeks US$130m from Hong Kong IPO

The spatial design software developer is selling 161 million shares priced between HK$6.72 and HK$7.62 each, with listing set for April 17.

Manycore’s flagship products include its spatial design platform Kujiale, also known as KuSpace, and its international offering Coohom. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Big Tech

AI fuels global trade growth as China-US flows shift, McKinsey finds

Data-centre expansion and AI investment push global trade ahead of economic growth, consultancy says.

AI-linked goods accounted for about one-third of global trade growth last year, according to McKinsey. Photo: AFP
AI-linked goods accounted for about one-third of global trade growth last year, according to McKinsey. Photo: AFP

Tech

Alibaba sets up top tech committee led by CEO to sharpen AI push

Restructuring brings core AI teams under tighter leadership as competition in China’s model and agent space intensifies.

Policy

China’s Zhipu AI open-sources GLM-5.1, raises prices to trim gap with US rivals

The company’s second price increase this year signals a push to monetise advanced AI models while keeping costs below US peers.

Tech War

Proposed US chip curbs on China risk deeper supply chain disruption

New US bill pressures Japan and the Netherlands to align on China chip curbs, with potential fallout for global supply chains.

A proposed US bill aims to close ‘critical gaps’ in existing restrictions by requiring allied countries to match US curbs on semiconductor equipment exports to China within 150 days. Photo: AFP

Policy

China’s DeepSeek adds expert chatbot mode ahead of much-awaited V4 release

The Hangzhou start-up’s latest chatbot update sparks speculation over whether the expert mode is linked to the long-delayed V4 model.

The changes come ahead of the much-anticipated release of DeepSeek’s next-generation flagship model V4 this month. Photo: Reuters
The changes come ahead of the much-anticipated release of DeepSeek’s next-generation flagship model V4 this month. Photo: Reuters

Tech

As AI race with US intensifies, Alibaba launches 10,000-card computing cluster

Cluster in Shaoguan powered by domestically developed Zhenwu chips latest evidence that China is doubling down on home-grown infrastructure.

Big Tech

ByteDance valuation exceeds US$600 billion after proposed equity sale: sources

The seller originally had the valuation at US$550 billion, but raised the amount after multiple parties expressed interest, one source said.

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Tech War

How Nexperia saga exposes Europe’s waning influence in US-China chip war

The dispute around the Dutch chipmaker shows the erosion of Europe’s geopolitical neutrality in the face of escalating US-China rivalry.

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Nexperia is caught in a geopolitical tussle between the Netherlands and China. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Nexperia is caught in a geopolitical tussle between the Netherlands and China. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Tech War

China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race

The AI war is increasingly waged among ‘hyperscalers’ – companies with full-stack capabilities across software, hardware and applications.

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Tech War

How Huawei and DeepSeek are tending the garden of China’s AI aspirations

Amid growing AI rivalry with the US, the two companies are leading China’s drive to shake off the nation’s dependence on Nvidia processors.

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Big Tech

Immediate gratification: instant commerce transforms China’s retail market

Instant commerce has developed over a short period of time, as providers expanded their on-demand delivery coverage beyond food.

Illustration: Henry Wong
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China Future Tech
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
China Future Tech

Tech Trends

Chinese AI rivals clash over Anthropic’s OpenClaw exit amid global token crunch

A lobster-shaped cutout representing OpenClaw stands outside the Baidu offices in Beijing, March 17, 2026. Photo: Reuters

Tech

China’s Li Qiang hosts Moonshot AI chief, urges faster industrial AI roll-out

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged a deeper implementation of the country’s ‘AI plus’ strategy. Photo: AP

Tech

Tencent moves to rein in AI content flood on WeChat with stricter rules

Tencent’s WeChat, marketed as Weixin on the mainland, has warned against speculative and low-effort content. Photo: Shutterstock

Tech Trends

Alibaba takes on Seedance as AI rivalry offers glimpse into race for top talent

HappyHorse 1.0 was developed under the newly formed Alibaba Token Hub (ATH) business group. Photo: Handout
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MULTIMEDIA
Video

Artemis starts return journey to Earth after historic moon fly-by

NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch peers out of one of the Orion spacecraft's main cabin windows, looking back at Earth, as the crew travels towards the Moon April 2, 2026. NASA/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. REFILE - CORRECTING YEAR FROM "2024" TO "2026".
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Video

Historic Artemis II moon mission lifts off

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Video

Baidu driverless taxis freeze in citywide breakdown

Many autonomous driving vehicles belonging to Chinese tech giant Baidu broke down in Wuhan on Tuesday evening, affecting the company’s services for hours and stranding some passengers for hours in a setback to the Chinese tech giant’s autonomous driving ambition at a time when it pushes to expand its robotaxi business globally. Photo: Weibo/ 闫跃龙
00:40
Video

Indonesia bans social media for under 16s

Authorities say the move aims to protect children and young teens against addiction, abuse and exposure to harmful content.
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