China’s technology news headlines in May 2023 covered a wide range of technologies, issues and developments: China’s digital yuan in supply chain finance; space and satellite tech developments; the consolidation of China’s blockchains under a single, centralized chain; the country’s ongoing semiconductor industry challenges; WeChat’s palm-print payments tech; and many more.
Hit the links below – behind each China tech news headline listed is the article, available to read in full.
Asia’s tech news daily & weekly newsletters >
WEF: Green hydrogen in China – A roadmap for progress
- China: Galaxy Space preps military applications, aiming for broadband connectivity for satellite constellations to assist hypersonic weapons program
- State-run China Telecom joins generative AI stampede with CTYun cloud unit’s forthcoming release of LLM service
- ICYMI: Canada’s University of Waterloo to end Huawei partnership, citing desire to safeguard scientific research and IP, and with concerns over espionage and foreign interference
- BNP Paribas to partner Bank of China, linking corporate client accounts to digital yuan wallets to integrate in smart contracts, supply chain finance, cross-border payments and more
“…IPv6+ and its forerunner New IP are part of an explicitly political strategy formulated in 2017 by the Ministry of Industry & Info Tech… One focus of the…campaign are African countries.”
- “Only 6 million of 260 million registered users actively paid with the digital [yuan] currency at the end of 2021 – a fraction of the billion devotees that transacted with Wechat and Alipay.”
- China gave 190 chip firms $1.75BN in subsidies in 2022 in move toward self-sufficiency in semiconductor supply, with leading foundry SMIC receiving the largest share at $282M
- China: Reusable uncrewed space vehicle returned to Earth after 276 days in orbit, with complete absence of pictures and technical data raising questions over intentions
- ICYMI: European Union proposes sanctions on companies from China and Hong Kong selling equipment that could be used in weapons to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- China: Supreme Court releases crypto-related dispute guidelines, stating that settling a debt using a small amount of digital assets would be considered legal if both parties agree
World Economic Forum: Quantum Readiness Toolkit
- China: Baidu’s Xiaodu unit to launch a smartphone, possibly featuring AI-driven Ernie Bot
- China: Preparations underway for launch next year of Queqiao 2 satellite to relay communications to and from the moon, supporting Chang’e 6, 7 and 8 robotic lunar missions
- China: Long March 7 rocket with upgraded robotic Tianzhou 6 cargo freighter lifts off from Hainan Island, heading for Tiangong space station on resupply mission
- China: Tongchuan rocket engine ‘test stand’ unveiled in Shaanxi, Asia’s largest for testing liquid-propellant engines and constructed in a cut in a hillside and featuring water deluge cooling
- China’s CellX and South Korea’s The PlantEat among 6 finalists for XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a competition focused on alternative proteins
World Economic Forum: Social implications of the Metaverse
- China: Alibaba Cloud unveils CloudVerse ‘metaverse launchpad’, end-to-end platform for companies to customize and maintain metaverse spaces, building on Avalanche smart contracts-focused blockchain
- China: Oppo smartphone maker to close down Zeku chip design division, abandoning internal System-on-Chip design aspirations, citing global smartphone sales slump
- China: Alibaba cancels CTO role, resulting in business groups including cloud, Taobao-Tmall, logistics, global digital commerce may have to apply for or purchase spun-off services
- China: National blockchain research centre launches, with gov’t aiming to train 500K professionals and to connect China’s existing blockchains under a single network
- China Nat’l Space Administration to establish organization to oversee and coordinate construction of a China-led International Lunar Research Station on the moon
World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report 2023
- China: Baidu’s experience editing search results to gov’t regulations prompts confidence AI-driven Ernie Bot will navigate ‘important and sensitive topics’
- A brief intro to the 7 startups partnered by Visa Accelerator Program, focusing on Asia Pacific payments
- China: Xiaoice, AI chatbot brand formerly run by Microsoft, opens applications for 300 individuals to be ‘digitally cloned’ in AI trial, with clones to be operational in July
- China: Dongfang Jingyuan Electron semiconductor software firm mulls 2024 China-based IPO; same firm that may have infringed on Netherlands’ ASML IP and whose chairman faces arrest in the US
- ICYMI: US state of Montana bans use of TikTok, with US$10K fines for entities permitting download of the app, citing need to protect ‘personal and private data from being harvested by the Chinese Communist party’
KPMG Venture Pulse Report Q2 2023 – Asia findings
- China Telecom and Conflux Network public blockchain unveil Blockchain SIM mobile user identification card
- Former Apple engineer charged with theft of confidential self-drive tech, believed to have accepted offer from Baidu-owned EV firm developing similar tech 4 months before leaving Apple
- China: Nio electric vehicle firm reportedly invests in nuclear fusion tech company, now named Neo Fusion, with 50% control for government-owned energy firms and investment arms
- China: Cyberspace Admin rules Micron US chip-maker presents ‘security risks caused by hidden product problems’, instructing critical info infrastructure firms to cease using Micron products
- China: A snapshot overview of 5 of the country’s highest-performing electric car firms – BYD, Nio, Wuling, Xpeng and Zeekr
TeleGeography Submarine Cable Map
- China: Tencent launches WeChat Pay palm-recognition payment in Beijing, allowing rail users to pay by placing hand on scanner which reads palm prints and vein structure
- China: Deepfake scam surfaced in Inner Mongolia in which perpetrator used AI-driven face-swap tech during video call to impersonate victim’s friend, duping a transfer of $622K
- ICYMI: Following China ban on Micron chip-maker, US House of Reps committee chair proposes trade curbs on Changxin Memory Technologies, China’s main Micron competitor
- China: Gotion High Tech battery firm unveils L600 lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate battery, claiming ability to power a range of 1000 kilometers on a single charge
- China: HaomoAI self-driving car firm launches latest generation of low-priced autonomous delivery bot, following April launch of AI-backed DriveGPT
RadWare Live Cyber Threats Map
- China: State-sponsored Volt Typhoon hacking group identified by Microsoft as engaged in activities aimed at disrupting critical infrastructure organizations in the US
- China: Jiangsu to permit digital yuan for education-related payments in public school tuition and accommodation fees, on-campus vendors, and exam registration fees
- China’s Shein online fashion giant reportedly looking to Mexico for manufacturing hub, facing increased US lawmaker scrutiny
- China: Gov’t of Zhengzhou in Henan Province unveil policy proposals to support metaverse firms, including plans for $1.42BN fund
- Singapore: Network for Electronic Transfers payments group partners China’s Alipay+, integrating payment option into SGQR system available to 11000 merchants
“Taiwanese authorities have estimated there are 20 to 40 million attempted cyberattacks every month from Beijing…”
- Malaysia’s proposed revision of nation-wide 5G provision: “Allowing untrusted suppliers in any part of the network also subjects Malaysia’s infrastructure to national security risks.”
- South Korea: SK Hynix chip maker rolls back plans to upgrade memory chip-making tech at China facility in Jiangsu province over sanctions concerns
- India: High Court maintains crime agency seizure of $676M from Xiaomi, seeing evidence of years of remittance payments to foreign entities
- ICYMI: US Commerce Dept opens applications for cities to $500M funding to boost technologies development, part of the $10BN authorization from CHIPS and Science Act
- Thailand: China’s Alipay+ cross-border payments giant announces integration of 4 mobile wallets in Thailand, from Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and mainland China
CSIS: Pulling back the curtain on China’s maritime militia
Asia’s tech news: Daily & weekly
Get regular updates on tech news headlines from across Asia and the Indo-Pacific:
- Asia’s tech news, today:
On Twitter / On Facebook / On LinkedIn / Mobile app - Asia tech newsletters:
Substack newsletter / LinkedIn newsletter
