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Technology
Latest news features and opinion on technology, covering everything from AI innovation to smartphone makers and apps.
China is pushing to commercialise brain-computer interface technology. Photo: Shutterstock
China technology

The next tech race? China launches push to leapfrog US in ‘brain chip’ devices

China is throwing the power of the state behind efforts to overtake Elon Musk in a vital frontier technology: brain-computer interfaces.

Style Edit

Style Edit: Richard Mille’s fresh take on women’s watches

Science

China is sending scientists to Iran for rare earth ‘exploration and processing’

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China-Africa relations

How Africa is becoming a ‘strategic hub’ for Chinese industrial expansion

Countries including Zimbabwe and Guinea are ending the pit-to-ship model that saw them exporting raw minerals with limited local gains.

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Large piles of bauxite ore, which is refined into aluminum, sit at a treatment area storage in Guinea. Photo: Shutterstock
Semiconductors

YMTC-backed fund invests in China’s push for an alternative chipmaking route

Guangzhou-based SOI Micro is developing a low-power logic process aimed at easing reliance on overseas technology while strengthening domestic chip capabilities.

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Malaysia

Palm oil to cool data centres? Malaysia explores option as water demand surges

However, the proposal has raised concerns that it could lead to an expansion of palm plantations and create an environmental burden.

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Honor

Robot in a pocket: Honor’s new phone camera nods back at users

The Chinese smartphone maker has integrated embodied AI to control camera movement, along with other features to boost interest amid a cooling market.

Chinese smartphone maker Honor has launched the Robot Phone, a handset with a motorised, fold-out gimbal camera. Photo: Handout
China trade

EU’s new packaging rules leave China’s traders feeling boxed in

As trade tensions rise, Brussels has implemented new rules aimed at reducing packaging waste, with the threat of fines and bans for non-compliance.

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Tencent

Tencent capex jumps 176% on AI push as revenue beats estimates

The firm’s second-quarter revenue surpassed market projections at US$30.4 billion, but the surge in AI spending led to a large negative free cash flow.

Artificial intelligence

Zuckerberg cites China threat to US lead in AI manifesto

The Meta’s chief’s 6,500-word essay on artificial intelligence backs open systems and highlights China’s infrastructure edge as a threat to US leadership.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: AP Photo
Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s EV sales keep sliding as incentives fade and price war seen heating up

A seven-month domestic downturn contrasts with a 147.8 per cent jump in overseas shipments, highlighting a widening gap between domestic and export markets.

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Electric vehicles made by Volkswagen are seen on a production line in China’s Anhui province earlier this year. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong seeks tech exposure amid Beijing’s rising AI dominance

The city is looking to expand stock benchmarks in an effort to challenge Nasdaq’s tech dominance.

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Semiconductors

Why does SK Hynix want to sell its chip facility in southwest China?

The South Korean chipmaker wants to pivot towards the high-margin AI memory sector, but analysts warn any sale would face valuation hurdles.

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US-China relations

Facebook parent Meta to unwind US$2 billion Manus AI deal after Beijing block

Chinese-founded AI platform says affected users’ data will be deleted as it returns to independent operations.

Meta acquired Chinese-founded AI platform Manus for a reported US$2 billion in December. Photo: Getty Images
US-China trade war

US export controls achieving no strategic gain, hurting American firms: survey

US’ export-control licensing regime costs billions in lost exports, with items ‘already available in China’ from variety of other suppliers.

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The US-China Business Council survey found that “poorly calibrated US export controls weaken American companies in China”, conceding market share to foreign competitors. Photo: Shutterstock, orange background added with Shutterstock AI
Science

China’s hypersonic weapons can be guided by the stars if GPS fails: report

Guangdong researchers build prototype star sensor after developing a way to accurately predict how starlight bends at extreme speeds.

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Artificial intelligence

Alibaba tests paid AI appetite with US$30 annual assistant subscription

The e-commerce giant launches paid tiers for its office assistant in the Qwen app as costs for artificial intelligence mount.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Driven off the road: Nio’s German car registrations down 90%

In contrast to its Chinese peers, Nio is struggling in Europe’s largest car market, registering just three cars last month and 18 this year.

Nio cars at a dealership in Stuttgart, Germany. The company is struggling in Europe's largest car market, registering just three cars in July and 18 in total so far this year. Photo: Shutterstock
Robotics

Unitree IPO deluge masks humanoid robots’ limitations

Retail investors subscribed for more than 5,500 times the shares on offer in Unitree Robotics’ offering amid hype about advances for humanoid robots and a run of Shanghai IPO windfalls.

Artificial intelligence

Meta strikes at China’s open AI lead, betting on potential US curbs

Meta’s renewed push into open-source models aims to attract US businesses wary of the regulatory risks associated with adopting Chinese AI.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Tesla faces uphill battle against Beijing’s new standards for self-driving cars

Data regulation is a key issue facing the US electric vehicle giant in China, according to experts.

A woman uses her phone as she walks past a Tesla store in Beijing on July 31. Photo: Tingshu Wang
US-China tech war

Editorial | As China ups its basic research game, the US will have to look sharp

Presence of science and technology experts at the annual Beidaihe meeting of China’s top leadership underlines Beijing’s strategic focus.

Part of a programmable quantum computing prototype called “Jiuzhang 4.0” developed by Chinese scientists that has set a new world record for optical quantum information technology, according to a study published in May in the journal Nature. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

Chinese national pleads guilty to trying to export US military gear to China

Chen Dingwei, 29, pleaded guilty to attempting to illegally procure US military-grade satellite modems and radios for export to China.

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United States

US court rules tech firms must face lawsuits over social media addiction

The lawsuits allege that companies including TikTok and Meta intentionally addicted young users, contributing to a ⁠mental health crisis.

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Robotics

Opinion | US does its robotics industry no favours by fencing it off from China

By banning Chinese humanoid robots, Washington is trying to buy its industry time, but the lack of competition is not a strength.

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A robot made by Chinese company AgiBot dances at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 7. Photo: Xinhua
China’s private sector

China’s drug firms set to compete on the world stage, analysts say

Amid systemic efficiency and a wave of innovation, the country’s biotech sector is expanding at a pace that has caught the market off guard.

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With an efficiency edge that transcends simple cost advantages, China is set to see the emergence of a home-grown drug giant capable of competing with global players. Photo: Shutterstock
Singapore

AI zombie video on Singapore’s National Day sparks talk on filmmaking’s future

The creator behind the short video, Bersama Majulah, stresses that the ‘soul of the work’ is written by humans.

Semiconductors

Memory prices to peak this year in upcycle turning point, research suggests

AI demand is keeping supplies tight, but slower pricing momentum and expansion by CXMT and YMTC are raising questions over how long boom can last.

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