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Technology
Latest news features and opinion on technology, covering everything from AI innovation to smartphone makers and apps.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto holding one of the EV battery products during the inauguration of Southeast Asia’s largest battery industry project in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia, on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Indonesia’s US$5.9 bn battery project sparks environmental concerns

The world’s largest nickel producer is trying to capitalise on its vast reserves, with a 2020 export ban spurring a domestic industrial boom.

Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong to mandate digital job applications for civil service

Artificial intelligence

AI is no longer artificial as models show ability to lie and blackmail

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Artificial intelligence

China catching up fast with US in algorithms: ex-Microsoft AI head

While the US is still far ahead in AI chip technology, China is following very closely in algorithms, says computer scientist Harry Shum.

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Harry Shum Heung-yeung, former head of AI and research at Microsoft, speaks at an economic summit hosted by the HKU Business School on Friday. Photo: Handout
China technology

Opinion | To rival Boeing and Airbus, China’s C929 needs more than top engineering

The country must secure international certification to win trust, build an aerospace ecosystem and balance localisation with global integration.

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Alibaba

Alibaba unveils new AI model for more precise image creation

Qwen VLo adds to the intense competition in China’s AI landscape, where Alibaba has pursued an open-source approach to gain users.

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Science

Why is China building AI centres on the roof of the world?

Yajiang-1 centre extends China’s Eastern Data, Western Computing plan into Tibet with an eye to creating high-altitude digital economies.

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Yajiang-1 is the first major hub of China’s Eastern Data, Western Computing project on the Tibetan Plateau. It leverages the region’s extreme environment to make massive AI training tasks more energy-efficient. Photo: Handout
United States

S&P500, Nasdaq hit record highs on renewed AI bets, rate-cut hopes

A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran that sparked higher crude prices also boosted market confidence.

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Germany

DeepSeek faces ban from Apple, Google app stores in Germany

Apple, Google must now decide whether to block the app in Germany, though an exact time frame has not been specified.

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Hong Kong politics

Hong Kong leader taps 2 tech heads from Hangzhou’s ‘Little Dragons’ as advisers

Han Bicheng, CEO of BrainCo, and Wang Xingxing, head of Unitree Robotics, are among three new additions to John Lee’s advisory council.

Among the new advisers are Wang Xingxing (left), founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, and Bicheng Han, founder and head of BrainCo. Photo: Handout
Singapore

‘It’s a human issue’: will NTU case prompt rethink on AI use for students?

Saga involving three students accused of academic misconduct reveals gaps in universities’ dispute resolution processes, observers say.

Students at The Hive learning hub at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Three NTU students were accused of academic misconduct over the use of generative AI. Photo: Shutterstock
Electric & new energy vehicles

Xiaomi’s SU7 SUV a hit with mainland Chinese motorists as bookings reach 240,000

Bookings for the SUV, priced from US$35,366, hit 200,000 in just three minutes, company says.

Alibaba

Alibaba trims partnership as company bets on younger leaders

Nine partners – including former CEO Daniel Zhang – have left, bringing the number down from 26 to 17.

Artificial intelligence

UN agency pushes AI ethics standards as US-China tech rivalry deepens

Unesco hosted a forum in Bangkok this week to drive the adoption of its AI ethics recommendations.

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra delivers opening remarks during the Unesco Global Forum on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, in Bangkok on June 25, 2025. Photo: AFP
Artificial intelligence

Over 40% of agentic AI projects forecast to be scrapped by 2027

Many current models do not have the maturity and agency to autonomously achieve complex business goals, Gartner analysts say.

More than 40 per cent of agentic AI products will be scrapped by 2027, according to Gartner. Photo: Reuters
Smartphones

Trump Mobile drops ‘made in USA’ smartphone claims from website

But a spokesman insists that ‘T1 phones are proudly being made in America’.

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China-EU relations

Exclusive | China has begun issuing rare earth export licences to European firms: EU sources

Development comes as bloc continues push for structural solution to tense issue that has leapt atop bilateral agenda.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Xiaomi takes aim at Tesla with 4% cheaper YU7 SUV, a Model Y competitor

YU7 starts at around US$35,322; Xiaomi CEO says ‘we have set an unreasonable goal of beating the Model Y’.

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun in Beijing. Photo: AFP
Science

New Dawn: Pan Jianwei reveals high-orbit quantum satellite for global network

China’s ‘father of quantum’ tells German conference that project has laid groundwork to potentially redefine international basic unit of time.

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Semiconductors

ASML launches science project in China to discover new talent in lithography

The competition is committed to creating a ‘window for contestants to deeply explore lithography technology’, according to the company.

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Artificial intelligence

OpenAI: Zhipu AI is fuelling China’s global push for US tech alternatives

The Beijing-based start-up is racing to secure clients in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, the ChatGPT maker says.

A Zhipu AI booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. Photo: Handout
Artificial intelligence

Nvidia climbs to record high to become world’s largest stock again

With Wednesday’s gain, Nvidia overtakes Microsoft as the world’s largest stock.

Nvidia is the world’s largest stock by market cap. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

China moving ‘breathtakingly fast’ in space military tech: US general

America’s top space force official voices concern about Beijing’s growing capabilities, echoing previous warnings about ‘kill chain’.

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China economy

Opinion | China is taking Silicon Valley’s market ‘hacks’ to a whole new level

From ‘blitzscaling’ to leveraging network effects, China is using these same methods to dominate supply chain and disrupt markets.

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In Good Taste

For this French entrepreneur, a good life includes plenty of family travel

French co-founder Diego Dultzin Lacoste of flash-sale platform On The List on having fun – and the power of a smile.

Diego Dultzin Lacoste with his sons, Gabino (left) and Pablo, at home in Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
US-China relations

China-tied AI tools like DeepSeek face US federal ban over ‘threat’

Bipartisan bid would also prohibit American agencies from procuring or deploying such tech developed in Russia, Iran and North Korea.

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A DeepSeek AI sign is seen at a building where the Chinese start-up’s office is located in Beijing on February 19, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Opinion | We’re sleeping on threats from AI, shadow banking and cryptocurrency

The financial industry’s use of emerging technologies could lead to cascading crises if regulators don’t act fast to enforce transparency.

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Science

China’s Feitian 2 hypersonic vehicle shows critical capabilities in test flight

University subject to US sanctions says test flight proved key capabilities, such as autonomous flight with variable angle of attack.

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