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New iPhone 16 Pro Max models on display at an Apple store in the Huangpu district of Shanghai, June 23, 2025. Photo: AFP

Big Tech

China’s smartphone shipments plunge 21.8% in May amid weak consumption

The May figures marked a downward shift from the previous three months, as monthly shipments from February to April all rose year on year.

Chinese robot maker Dobot’s humanoid cooks steak from 1,800km away using VR

Hong Kong’s AI ambitions take shape with 90% of supercomputing capacity now in use

Big Tech

DeepSeek’s LinkedIn AI job listings show hunger for international Chinese talent

DeepSeek joins a global scramble for AI talent that includes the biggest players, from Meta and OpenAI to ByteDance and Alibaba.

DeepSeek has posted a flurry of job listings on LinkedIn over the past week, all in Mandarin. Photo: dpa
DeepSeek has posted a flurry of job listings on LinkedIn over the past week, all in Mandarin. Photo: dpa

Policy

France fines Shein US$47 million for ‘deceptive’ pricing amid EU scrutiny

Shein did not offer discounts based on the lowest price in the previous 30 days, and sometimes raised prices before applying a reduction.

Blockchain

Singapore’s crypto exchange crackdown seen benefiting Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Web3 industry sees benefits from the end of regulatory arbitrage by exchanges in Singapore serving overseas customers.

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Big Tech

Meta’s AI lab is stacked with Chinese talent, drawing attention back home

Seven of 11 publicly listed recruits at the new Meta Superintelligence Labs graduated from prestigious Chinese universities before moving to US.

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Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on September 25, 2024. Photo: Reuters
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on September 25, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Tech Trends

Chip design software firms climb as US lifts curbs on China exports

The export resumption means Synopsys and Cadence will only lose one month of revenue in the current quarter.

Banking & Finance

Alibaba seeks US$1.5 billion from exchangeable bonds for cloud, e-commerce push

The zero-coupon bonds maturing in July 2032 can be exchanged for Alibaba Health shares.

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Big Tech

Alibaba AI model-based agentic framework tops global ranking

DeepSWE, trained on the Qwen3-32B model, scored 59 per cent accuracy in the latest industry benchmark to outperform a DeepSeek-V3 variant.

Artificial intelligence agents are software programs that are capable of autonomously performing tasks on behalf of a user or another system. Photo: Shutterstock

China EVs

Xpeng launches G7 ‘Super AI’ SUV, taking on Xiaomi YU7 and Tesla Model Y

The G7, Xpeng’s first model to feature its in-house Turing AI chip, starts at 195,800 yuan (US$27,325).

Xpeng’s G7 sits next to a model of the company’s slef-developed AI chip. Photo: Weibo
Xpeng’s G7 sits next to a model of the company’s slef-developed AI chip. Photo: Weibo

Big Tech

Apple’s China iPhone sales face headwinds in second half: Counterpoint

Sales of Apple’s flagship device ‘will stumble amid weak consumer spending and an ageing iPhone 16 cycle’, Counterpoint analyst says.

Policy

Tech war: US lifts export control of chip design software to China

Siemens, Synopsys and Cadence – three of the world’s largest EDA software developers – are set to resume sales to China.

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Big Tech

Alibaba leads US$14 million funding round in Chinese AI agent start-up

AI agents, designed to perform specific tasks, are increasingly seen as the future of business automation.

AI agents are programs that are capable of autonomously performing tasks on behalf of a user or another system. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Big Tech

OpenAI to rent massive amount of computing power from Oracle

Totalling about 4.5 gigawatts, the unprecedented sum of energy could power millions of homes.

Oracle and OpenAI are expanding their Stargate deal. Photo: AP
Oracle and OpenAI are expanding their Stargate deal. Photo: AP

Big Tech

Microsoft cuts 9,000 roles in its largest lay-off in years

The cuts will have an impact across teams, geographies and tenure, a company representative says.

Blockchain

Mainland Chinese digital yuan partner to develop stablecoin tech in Hong Kong

Shenzhen-listed North King says Hong Kong will be a springboard into international fintech markets, with plans for stablecoin wallets.

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Big Tech

Tech war takes a new turn as Huawei pushes 5G smartphones with mystery chip

Huawei’s return to the 5G smartphone market and the controversy over its advanced, made-in-China processor reflect the lengths taken by the company to build up its operations, following years of struggles on account of US trade sanctions.

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Illustration: Davies Christian Surya
Illustration: Davies Christian Surya

Big Tech

ChatGPT sparks investment frenzy and soul searching in China

While China had declared AI strategically important as early as 2018, ChatGPT has shattered illusions about the country’s technological prowess.

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Policy

China’s e-CNY blues: major test bed shows sluggish adoption

More than three years after China’s central bank started digital currency trials, adoption in one of the initial test beds, Suzhou, remains lethargic.

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Tech

Can Huawei’s 5G-powered Tianjin Port redefine its enterprise business?

Tianjin Port is the latest technological showpiece of Huawei Technologies, as the world’s largest provider of phone network equipment reinvents itself after nearly four years of crushing US sanctions.

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illustration by Lau Ka-kuen
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China Future Tech
HIGHLIGHTS FROM
China Future Tech

Big Tech

Huawei to open-source self-developed programming language Cangjie

The logo of Huawei is seen at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, France, in June. Photo: Reuters

China Economy

Solar energy milestone: China taps the ocean in breakthrough for industry

China’s first factory-scale all-seawater floating photovoltaic project was completed and put into use at Sinopec Qingdao Refining and Chemical on July 1, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Tech Trends

Chinese robot maker Dobot’s humanoid cooks steak from 1,800km away using VR

A man wearing a VR headset teleoperates a Shenzhen Dobot robot from 1,800km away. Photo: Handout

AI

Hong Kong’s AI ambitions take shape with 90% of supercomputing capacity now in use

The Cyberport building at Pok Fu Lam seen on April 2, 2024. Photo: Jelly Tse

Big Tech

DeepSeek’s LinkedIn AI job listings show hunger for international Chinese talent

DeepSeek has posted a flurry of job listings on LinkedIn over the past week, all in Mandarin. Photo: dpa
MORE IN China Future Tech
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OPINION
Elina Noor

Opinion | Why Silicon Valley signing up to nationalism puts Asia on edge

Elina Noor
Gerui Wang

Opinion | Labubu’s rise reflects hitmaker ability of China’s digital ecosystem

Gerui Wang
Renee Ho

Opinion | Hong Kong must ensure a quality AI education is available to all

Renee Ho
Felicia Feiran Chen,Adam Au

Opinion | As Hong Kong is learning, a deepfake crime epidemic is upon us

Felicia Feiran Chen
Adam Au
Simon S.H. Chan

Opinion | China offers an alternative to Western ‘technofeudalism’

Simon S.H. Chan
4
Anthony Rowley

Macroscope | How the obsession with risky assets is putting global finance in peril

Anthony Rowley
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MULTIMEDIA
Video

The future of driverless cars

How does a Chinese driverless system compare with Tesla’s?
08:33
Video

Hundreds of robots move Shanghai city block

Hundreds of robots move an entire city block in China
01:45
Video

Japanese Nintendo fans get their hands on Switch 2

Nintendo launches highly anticipated Switch 2 amid heavy demand in Japan
02:02
Video

Driverless mining trucks begin operating in China

China rolls out world’s largest fleet of driverless mining trucks powered by Huawei tech
02:27
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TRENDING TOPICS
Huawei Technologies
Artificial intelligence
Smartphones
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