China’s tech news headlines and coverage in April 2023 touched on a huge range of issues and developments, whether covering Huawei’s moves into Africa and the Middle East, or looking at China’s moves into regulating artificial intelligence in the wake of ChatGPT‘s international launch.
Adding to this, China’s tech news also covered the country’s semiconductor industry’s struggles in the face of international restrictions, alongside China’s Changan Auto commencing EV production in Thailand.
To read the articles behind these, and other, tech news headlines from China, hit the links below.
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Mapping semiconductor supply chains – importance of the Indo-Pacific
- China: Cainiao, Alibaba’s $20BN logistics arm, sets sights on Hong Kong IPO, the first of Alibaba’s 6 recently-calved business units to go public
- “Binance hid substantial links to China for several years, contradicting executives’ claims that the crypto exchange left the country after a clampdown…in late 2017, according to…company documents…”
- China opens new front in US-China tech confrontation with cybersec review of imports from Micron, America’s largest memory-chip maker
- Huawei Cloud Startup Programme launches during Huawei Cloud Summit Middle East & Africa 2023 in Dubai, focusing on SMEs in these emerging markets
The Escalating Global Risk Environment for Submarine Cables
- China: Pinduoduo e-shopping app found to bypass user cell phone security to monitor activities in other apps, check notifications, read private messages and change settings without approval
- “If the yield rate of high-end mobile phones produced in India and Vietnam is now about 50 or 60 per cent, it has to be increased by 200 per cent to approach the current yield rate of Chinese factories…”
- “…companies that have a massive presence in China are going have to deal with the fact that some form of selective economic decoupling is inevitable…”
“New research…found that public charging posts in China are used on average about once a day. Some connectors along highway routes…average utilisation rate of 1%…”
- China: State-owned firms map out $500M Europe-Middle East-Asia subsea cable network in standalone bid following block over concerns re data security, surveillance, sanctioned entity involvement and more
- ICYMI: “China and Russia are in advanced secret talks with Iran to replenish the Islamic Republic’s supply of a key chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles…a clear violation of UN sanctions…”
- An overview of the many security challenges – and new risks – that arise from a poorly-implemented TikTok ban
- ICYMI: Saudi Aramco to build a $10BN refining and petrochemical complex in China within 3 years, set to process 300K barrels of crude daily, with Aramco supplying 201K of these barrels
Australian Strategic Policy Institute: Critical Technology Tracker
- ICYMI: “…more than half of Putin’s team participating in the first round of formal talks with Xi were officials directly involved in Russia’s weapons and space programs.”
- China: ‘Net regulator releases draft artificial intelligence rules including requirement that ‘generative AI should reflect the core values of socialism’
- BlueFocus marketing agency – China’s top, and 11th globally – to replace 3rd-party copywriters and designers with ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence-driven tech
- China: US-China Economic and Security Review Commission report finds China-based platforms presenting possible data risks, Xinjiang sourcing violations and IP infringements
- China: Cainiao likely to be first Alibaba unit to IPO due to e-commerce logistics firm’s critical importance, locally and globally
- ICYMI: Ukraine places China’s Xiaomi smartphone giant and key executives on ‘international war sponsors’ list over business in Russia
RAND Corp: Political geography of the South China Sea disputes
- China: Guangdong province plans launch of 2nd phase of semiconductor fund of $4.37BN, aiming to develop chips and equipment alongside IPO plans for firms backed
- State-run China Mobile reportedly considering purchase of Hong Kong Broadband Network, HK’s largest telco
- China: Huawei replaces software management systems sourced from US vendors with own MetaERP system, potentially a new product line eventually competing with Oracle and SAP
- TikTok’s wild data collection: “…increased what location information it collects to include altitude, which could tell it what floor of a building a user is on.”
- China: Baidu partners Black Sesame to combine smart driving solutions with Black Sesame system-on-chips to create integrated driving and advisory system, aiming for launch late 2023
World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report 2023
- China: Guangdong province doubles down on semiconductor industry expansion with 40 new projects valued at $74BN
- China: Tech sector regulation set to deepen further with trial project to add chips to delivery e-bikes, aiming in part to address dangerous driving and traffic violations
- China: Changshu city public sector workers to be paid *entirely* in ‘digital yuan’, with every subsequent transaction recorded and traceable in blockchain-based digital ledger
- China: NIO EV firm’s investment arm backs long-established Qingchun Semiconductor silicon carbide chip-maker in bid to secure supply chains
Huawei’s EV issues:
“High-definition maps are very expensive…collecting data in Shanghai for 1 or 2 years, but we still have not been able to cover all 9000 kilometers of the city’s roads.”
- China: WeChat extends central bank ‘digital yuan’ use to payments via its short video and mini-app platforms, from individuals to large-scale brands
- China: Orienspace private space launch firm preps for first launch from mobile sea-based platform, with capability of delivering 6500 kilograms of payload to low Earth orbit
- China: Coal mining automation grows with, for instance, Huawei 5G to reduce underground worker numbers, replacing them with machines directed from ‘virtual mines’ run from the surface
- Japan: Alibaba Cloud to open blockchain ‘laboratory’ in Shibuya to focus on Japanese game developers working in Web3
- Singapore: SMRT Strides, arm of the largest public transport operator, inks MOU with China’s WeRide to test autonomous driving solutions in Singapore
CheckPoint Live Cyber Threat Map
- Japan to restrict exports of 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, aligning with US advanced chip controls
- Vietnam joins list of countries scrutinizing TikTok, with communications ministry to inspect the firm’s approach to harmful content
- Taiwan: Foxconn’s billionaire founder announces intention to seek presidential nomination with Kuomintang, running in opposition to current president Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party
- “But Russia has continued to acquire chips through circuitous routes, with a large portion flowing through small traders in Hong Kong and mainland China.”
“Taiwan…chipmaking machine exports to the US [rose] 42.6% in March from a year earlier, reaching a new high of $71.3M…Exports to China…plummeted 33.7%, marking the 9th straight month of decline.”
- Australia to move up critical minerals value chain with new metals processing facility planned for WA, building on existing supply of near half of world lithium supply
- Hong Kong and Hangzhou ink MOUs around cooperation in and promotion of digital trade and Web3 technologies
- Australian Defence Force found to be using DJI drones, a company sanctioned by the US, leading to calls for government-wide policy on use of tech from suppliers deemed to be high-risk
- ICYMI: “Officials from Rome’s industry ministry discussed…cooperation on the production and export of semiconductors during recent meetings in Taipei…that Italy may scrap its participation in China’s Belt and Road…”
In Australia: “Everything that we fear about what TikTok may become already is occurring on WeChat…narratives are managed, information is managed, dissenting views are demoted or eliminated…”
- Thailand: China’s Changan Auto to commence EV production in Thailand, its first outside China, with initial $285M investment in facilities and plans for additional $581M over 4 years
- India: Gov’t Enforcement Directorate investigates Odaclass online education firm over illegal for-ex transfers, finding ownership via ‘entities having ultimate controlling company in Cayman Islands’
WEF: Green hydrogen in China – A roadmap for progress
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