China’s tech news
quarterly in 2023
Technology news headlines from, and covering, China in Q1 of 2023 touched on a huge range of issues, areas and – increasingly important – partnerships: Huawei’s inroads in the United Arab Emirates; autonomous driving tech developments and road trials; China’s digital yuan initiative; space, satellite and rocket technology developments; electric vehicles and battery tech; and many more.
And, obviously, much of this quarter’s coverage of China’s tech space is concerned with semiconductors, and artificial intelligence, with questions arising around supply chains, risks, competitiveness, and access to the technologies and physical components required to run these technologies in the longer-term.
January 2023 | February 2023 | March 2023
We also deliver a weekly email newsletter, capturing the week’s tech news headlines from across Asia Pac and the Indo-Pacific.
Artificial intelligence as systemic risk in a polycrisis
tech news: March 2023
- “Ernie, what is censorship? China’s chatbots face additional challenges.”
- US congressional panel forms to examine the role of private equity, venture capital and Wall Street firms in China, building on a forthcoming screening mechanism for outbound investment
- China: PLA paper sets aim to quickly launch 13K satellites to prevent SpaceX from taking ‘low-orbit resources’, providing ‘net service but also to spy and carry out anti-Starlink missions
- Huawei and du, fast-growing UAE telecoms operator, ink MoU on 5.5G cooperation
- China: Realme smartphone maker launches GT3 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, claiming full-charge in under 10 minutes
RAND Corp: The political geography of the South China Sea
- Sequoia China Seed Fund’s Fund III raised $480M last year and now enters the investment period, now managing nearly $2.16 billion
- Germany to commence steps towards cutting reliance on China-run telecoms equipment, following on from recent block on Chinese investors buying a German chips plant
- China: MiraclePlus – formerly Y Combinator China – early-stage startup accelerator applications for the Fall 2023 batch are now open to founders globally
- China’s Momenta, GM-backed autonomous driving startup, reportedly looking at either Hong Kong or US IPO, potentially raising up to $1BN
- China: U Power automotive startup unveils mass-producible ‘skateboard chassis-by-wire’, set to allow smart electric vehicle customization at a lower cost
- Concerns over Silicon Valley Bank collapse spread to China, given SVB’s popularity as an option for China-based startups fundraising in USD, and for some China-focused USD venture capital firms
“When China was still new to venture capital in the late 1990s, SVB was among the first financial institutions to start serving the country’s startups, while traditional, risk-averse banks avoided them. Over time, the bank has become a popular option for China-based startups fundraising in USD as well as some China-focused USD venture capital firms.”
- China: QBoson quantum computing startup raised $14.4M, with state-owned telco China Mobile set to adopt the platform’s applications
- China’s e-CNY challenge: “…at another shop in the mall…the frequency of customers using e-CNY was about ‘once a month’ since their establishment started accepting it last year.”
- TikTok vs Douyin: “…a lot of the measures that ByteDance is now starting to introduce outside China with TikTok have already been tested aggressively [in China] with Douyin.”
Recorded Future: Chinese Cybercrime in Neighboring Countries
- China: Shenzhen Stock Exchange seeks intelligence tech firm help to detect fraud and vet listings as part of anti-corruption bid, with regulator having uncovered near 100 accounting scams last year
- Russia, China & open-source: “…concerns over cyberattacks fuel increasing reluctance among developers to incorporate [open source] software components created in China…”
- China’s LiangDao lidar system supplier inks cooperation with Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, focusing on smart city data management with cloud-based smart traffic counting and monitoring solutions
- China: Ensound raises $14.5M with acoustic AI tech, allowing customers to detect abnormal sounds as a way to identify faulty mechanical equipment
SVB & China: “The crown jewel of its global operations was China, where [SVB] served more than 2,000 clients and advised government regulators eager to make their banking system more innovation-friendly.”
- “China’s integrated circuit output dropped 17% in the first two months of 2023, as the country’s semiconductor industry grappled with economic headwinds and escalating US trade sanctions..”
- China: Huawei CEO reveals firm redesigned 4K circuit boards, sourcing 13K components domestically, in response to sanctions, boosting use of HarmonyOS and other systems
- China: BYD automaker moves to diversify globally via technological capabilities with investment in Kunlunxin, previously Baidu’s Smart Chip and Architecture Department
“…new robot installations in the Chinese automotive industry almost doubled to 61,598 units in 2021- accounting for 52% of the total 119,405 units installed in factories around the world.”
- Google App Store suspends China’s Pinduoduo shopping app after malware is found in some versions of the app
- ICYMI: Marvell US semiconductor firm to cut global workforce amid industry slowdown, resulting in layoff of entire China R&D team
- TikTok: “…the Chinese government views TikTok’s technology as sensitive and has taken steps since 2020 to ensure it can veto any sale by its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance.”
- China-affiliated hacking groups found to be targeting ‘net-facing security tools including those from VMware and Citrix, targeting products before network propagation
Uncomfortable questions for Baidu’s Ernie Bot: “One influencer posted several AI-generated images, asking if Baidu simply translated the Chinese into English and used foreign image generators…”
- China: Huawei claims breakthroughs in electronic design automation tools for chips at and above 14-nanometre levels as part of localization efforts
- Belgium’s State Security Service reportedly scrutinizing Huawei over espionage concerns relating to EU and NATO headquarters in Brussels
- India: Foxconn iPhone maker reportedly to establish $1BN 300-acre mega-facility near Bengaluru International Airport as part of diversification bid in response to China issues
Wading Murky Waters: Subsea Communications Cables and Responsible State Behaviour
- Malaysia: Huawei lobbies for a consistent, possibly developing, role in Malaysia, with new gov’t to review its predecessor’s 5G plans, despite this likely leading to higher consumer costs
- Taiwan: Matsu islands’ internet cables cut, with China the primary suspect
- TikTok’s US woes continue: Former Trust & Safety Division employee tells investigators “…a truly leakproof arrangement for Americans’ data would require a ‘complete re-engineering’ of how TikTok is run.”
- China’s Hozon electric vehicle maker breaks ground at its first overseas car plant in Thailand, seeing SEA opportunities while dealing with increased competition and weakening demand in China
“Hong Kong’s campaign to become a regional crypto hub has attracted a steady stream of business executives from China looking to explore opportunities in the sector despite Beijing’s crackdown….”
- Taiwan’s Foxconn looks at cooperation in India in new areas including electric vehicles and chips, looking to boost India production to 25% from current 5-7%
- India: Taiwan’s Foxconn to construct manufacturing facility in Telangana in H2 2023 focusing on Apple AirPods, with sights on production by end of 2024
Deloitte: 2023 Semiconductor Industry Outlook
tech news: February 2023
- China: Little Red Book’s 200 million users now able to display NFTs minted on Conflux on their profiles, building on Shanghai gov’t $5M grant to Conflux in 2021
- China’s Spacety research institute hit with sanctions for providing satellite imagery of Ukraine to Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group for use in combat operations
- China: Recent reports of a state-owned ride-hailing launch turn out to be more likely a transport aggregation mini-app project by a Ministry of Transport body
- China’s JD e-commerce major to end services in Thailand and Indonesia, with online shopping sites in both countries to stop taking orders from mid-February
‘High-altitude balloons can also be “trucks for any number of platforms, whether it be communication and data link nodes, ISR, tracking air and missile threats – and without the predictable orbits of satellites“‘
- China may face additional sanctions over the more than doubled supply of China-made surveillance equipment to Iran in 2022 as citizen protests swept the country
- China: Wuxi city unveils country’s first regional guidelines for ‘internet of vehicle’ tech, alongside requiring officials apply the tech in public transport, traffic monitoring, logistics and deliveries
- China: Country’s first cultivated meat pilot plant to be constructed by CellX ‘cellular agriculture’ firm and Tofflon food manufacturing specialists
- China: Dalian Wanzhongyuncang to open warehouse store in China, selling goods from Japan and beyond, seeing renewed market for physical products, and offering lower, cross-border pricing
CSET: Chinese AI Investment in Southeast Asia
- China: National Blockchain Tech Innovation Centre approved for launch to develop software, hardware and theory
- ICYMI: Nostr’s Damus app banned from the China app store because of ‘Information Services with Attribute of Public Opinions or Capable of Social Mobilization’
- China: E-commerce giant JD to launch ‘industrial version’ of ChatGPT-like product for retail and finance, aiming to leverage expertise in e-commerce, logistics and payments
- ICYMI: China’s Fujian province to establish 2 industrial zones to draw in ethnic Chinese-owned businesses from Indonesia and the Philippines
- ICYMI: China’s Alibaba and VC fund backed by Saudi Public Investment Fund nears completion of $1BN fundraise to back tech startups in Asia and the Middle East
“Founded in 2019, the fund raised US$400 million for deals that year. It has already invested in 16 companies and plans to list three of them on the Saudi stock exchange and two in the US next year, Li said.”
“Existing investors in the first fund will be major contributors in the second funding round along with other international investors, he said. The firm will likely raise new funding every two years as it already has a large pipeline of potential deals.“
- Available to download: ‘Chinese AI Investment and Commercial Activity in Southeast Asia’ from the Center for Security and Emerging Technology
- China’s VSPO esports firm gains $265M backing from Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, seen as part of Kingdom’s bid to become a global esports and gaming hub
- China: Cambricon chip firm gains approval to issue $244M in A-shares to specific target investors for chips in AI-generated content concept and applications like ChatGPT
- China’s gaming industry: “The market grossed 265.9 billion yuan ($39 billion) from video gaming sales in 2022, a 10.33% drop year-over-year…”
- China: State-owned China Telecom partners Conflux Network for blockchain-based SIM cards, aiming for BSIM pilot program in Hong Kong later this year
- China: A quick overview of the growth of ChatGPT-like AI services in China
Deloitte: 2023 Semiconductor Industry Outlook
- “Regulators have told major Chinese tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services to the public amid growing alarm in Beijing over the AI-powered chatbot’s uncensored replies to user queries…”
- ICYMI: European Commission bans TikTok from employee phones, and employees’ personal phones if they have an EU app on it, citing cybersecurity concerns
- China: Nio electric vehicles maker to build 1000 battery-swap stations countrywide this year, focusing on tier 3 and 4 cities, upping total to 2300
- China: Regulators block access to ChatGPT, in part over lack of ability to censor references to Xinjiang human rights violations, Taiwan issues and more
- China: Alibaba reportedly reduced its workforce by 19K across a Covid-challenged 2022, although it remains one of the largest private employers
Semiconductors: “The former employee, who was based in China, was identified as having potential ties to a Chinese state-sponsored entity and stealing the data on its behalf…”
- China: Price war emerges as business segments overlap, with JD e-commerce giant rising to Pinduoduo challenge, and Douyin’s (TikTok) challenge to Meituan and Alibaba
- ICYMI: “…US is launching a series of ambitious technology, space and defence initiatives with India…designed to counter China in the Indo-Pacific and wean New Delhi off its reliance on Russia for weapons…”
- ICYMI: A round-up of the semiconductor space’s funding news from January 2023, with 138 startups raising over $2 billion
- Japan: Government to restrict exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, most likely primarily impacting China, following amendment to foreign exchange law
- Australia: Defense Department to remove surveillance cameras made by China’s Hikvision and Dahua from gov’t buildings, firms already sanctioned
CSET: An examination of China’s cyber ranges
- Japan’s NTT Docomo and Rakuten Mobile set for R&D information-sharing on Open RAN with UK enterprises and institutions
- Nat’l Bank of Cambodia preps to join China’s RMB Cross-border Interbank Payment System, CIPS, looking at int’l payments and more via yuan-denominated transactions
- Australia: China’s Alipay+ preps for activation in 8000 retailers using Australia’s epay, boosting cross-border mobile payments with global wallets
- Australia: Vic gov’t now conducting audit of all security cameras at gov’t-owned sites to identify China state-owned companies, with likely replacement required due to espionage concerns
- New issue of the Hong Kong Media Bulletin is out! It includes updates on the trial of 47 pro-democracy advocates, tech self-censorship by firms like Apple and Disney, but also notable pushback like this new documentary by Acton Institute
Recorded Future: Chinese Cybercrime in Neighboring Countries
tech news: January 2023
CSET: Chinese AI Investment in Southeast Asia
- State-run China Digital Asset Trading Platform launch ceremony set for January 1st, running on the ‘China Cultural Protection Chain’ blockchain
- China: TechCrunch takes a look at how the country’s tech firms are developing competitors to Stable Diffusion and DALL-E 2, and the difficulties and challenges they face
- ICYMI: Huawei inaugurated the first edition of the Huawei Cloud Startup Program, building on recent Saudi Arabia MOU
- China: BYD electric car major has ordered its own auto transport ships, potentially to become a fully-fledged shipping logistics services provider
- China: Dell computer giant signals intent to stop using China-made chips by 2024, telling suppliers to significantly reduce amount of other ‘made in China’ components
- China: Haomo unveils Mana Oasia, the country’s largest self-driving computing center to date, in partnership with Volcano Engine cloud service platform owned by ByteDance
- China: Galactic Energy rocket startup launched 5 satellites into orbit for ‘telecommunication, weather forecasts and scientific research for government agencies’, with sights on being China’s SpaceX
TikTok’s baseline advantage: “…1000 impressions from video advertising on TikTok is almost half the price of Instagram Reels, a third cheaper than Twitter and 62% cheaper than advertising on Snapchat.”
- China: Alibaba-owned Alipay partners Splitit Payments for BNPL ‘Pay After Delivery’ option for European AliExpress marketplace shoppers
- Need To Know Now, Jan 17th: Population, tech, currency, data & influence
- China: Gov’t is to launch its own transportation platform offering ride-hailing and flight services, seen as part of increasing moves to tighten control on the country’s tech sector
- China: Digital Yuan reportedly used to buy securities for the first time
- China: Central Bank enables offline payments for digital yuan, allowing Android users to make payments even if the device has no power or internet connection
- China: Tianjin Port Group and Huawei deepen cooperation with digital twin project to boost automation and digitization in global top-10 shipping port
- China’s Geely planning investment in maker of London’s iconic black taxis, aiming for all-electric brand spanning range of commercial and passenger vehicles
“Telegram markets itself as secure messenger app to communicate outside of authoritarian regime surveillance. The results that some data is being sent to Huawei makes us question Telegram as a safe application…”
- Porsche China unveils first digital collectibles series, the 911-Dreamer collection, in a limited run of 996 pieces
- China: Voice Health Tech AI firm partners researchers around speech analysis in depression screening, using 30 seconds of speech submitted via smartphone
- US gov’t ceases providing US firms with licences to export to China’s Huawei, moving closer to a total ban on the sale of US technology to the Chinese telecom equipment giant
- Safe City Malta project apparently discontinued with Huawei contract expiry, and Maltese state-owned implementation firm dissolved
- China: Researchers’ paper claiming to have found a way to break encryption using quantum computers? Debunked.
TikTok’s woes continue: “… only took 75 minutes of scrolling — with no interaction or cues about her interests — for the platform to serve Alice videos featuring Nazi content…”
- Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology to commence operation of Thailand Tokamak-1 in March, the country’s first experimental fusion energy machine, provided by China
- Australia: Recharge Industries plans Au$300M factory to build lithium-ion batteries, aiming for production in late 2024, in bid to provide a supply free of China supply chain risks
- Philippines: BillEase consumer finance app partners China’s Alipay+ for ‘buy now, pay later’ options in online shopping
- Japan: Toyota supplier, Denso, looks to Taiwanese partners in move to reshape auto supply chains, seeing the need to limit dependence on Chinese components
- Need To Know Now — Need To Know Now, Jan 28th: Fertilizer, Myanmar, AI, EVs and cyberwarfare
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: Critical Technology Tracker
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