China’s technology news headlines
in November 2024
Also available:
Asia’s Tech News, Weekly // Critical technologies, globally
Lowy Institute: Asia Power Index 2024 report findings
- China’s Pony AI autonomous driving giant shares open near 15% above IPO offer price, valuing the firm at $5.25BN / full item
- China: Huawei is preparing to launch its first smartphone equipped with a fully-homegrown operating system, HarmonyOS Next / full item
- China: A deep dive look at the ‘Eastern Data, Western Computing’ project, its component parts, considerations and dovetail projects / full item
- China: Gov’t moves to curb tech giant use of algorithms to influence opinions online, issuing 3-month deadline for action across a wide range of concern areas / full item
- China’s manned lunar mission, targeting a moon landing by 2030, includes a a three-day rover vehicle exploration of the moon’s surface / full item
- China: Alibaba has raised $5BN via Hong Kong-based dual-currency bonds – $2.65BN in US dollar-denominated notes and $2.35BN in offshore yuan-denominated notes / full item
- China’s SpaceSail inks MoU with Telebras, Brazil’s state-owned telecoms company, to provide its ‘Thousand Sails’ satellite internet services similar to StarLink / full item
“…foreign device makers would find a ‘simple and straightforward approval process’ if they utilize already-approved large language models (LLMs) from Chinese companies, rather than attempting to implement their own AI systems.” / full item
- China’s Huawei reportedly plans mass-production of its most advanced AI chip in Q1 2025, partly in bid to reach commercially-viable 70% functionality of chips produced / full item
- China: Ehang eVTOL developer completes 48-minute test flight of autonomous flying vehicle powered entirely by solid-state batteries / full item
- China: GAC Group and Changan Automobile, two of the nation’s largest automakers by sales volume, set sights on manufacture of solid-state batteries for electric vehicles / full item
- China: Recent Shijian-19 space mission successfully tested a small, expandable module in orbit, potentially for use in planned Tiangong space station expansion work / full item
- China: Space Transportation, aka Lingkong Tianxing Technology, targets H2 2025 for first test of Mach 4-capable Cuantianhou near-space reusable spaceplane prototype / full item
- China: Xingyun IC gains backing with alternative approach to next-gen high-performance GPU chips for AI, looking to general x86 servers rather than proprietary AI hardware / full item
Gartner: 2025 Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends
- China: Rokid augmented reality firm unveils new lightweight smart glasses driven by Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen LLMs / full item
- China Aerospace Science & Tech Corp unveils concept for fully-reusable heavy-lift rockets, targeting 100-ton delivery to low Earth orbit and 50 tons to lunar transfer orbit / full item
- China: State-owned CHN Energy now generates electricity at 1GW offshore floating solar park, capable of supplying 2.6M city residents annually / full item
- China: Beijing and state enterprises and funds are to establish a $4.6BN 12-inch wafer fabrication facility, further boosting domestic semiconductor production / full item
- China: Construction begins in Ningxia on first of 3 large-scale green hydrogen facilities, targeting 16,500 tonnes annually for transportation, green ammonia and methanol / full item
- China: Baidu search giant deepens AI tech bid with text-to-image generation, no-code app creator, and AI-supported smart glasses / full item
- China: Dongfang Electric Corp unveils 26MW offshore wind turbine, world’s largest in capacity and size with 310m blade radius at 185m in height / full item
- Japan’s Hyundai Motor has partnered China’s HaomoAI autonomous driving software firm for China-market EV, set to feature generative AI-backed DriveGPT systems / full item
China’s Geely reportedly mulls $95M stake in Germany’s Volocopter eVTOL firm, gaining 85% ownership “…the deal would slash the startup’s valuation from a peak of $1.9BN in 2022 to about $110M…” / full item
- In October, China’s CATL launched the Freevoy battery for hybrid vehicles, claiming over 400km in fully-charged range, and 280km on a 10-minute charge / full item
- China’s CAS Space commercial space launch firm launched 15 satellites into orbit including one for the Sultanate of Oman, marking the firm’s first overseas customer / full item
- China’s PepperHi venture studio gains angel backing with global markets entry services for China firms, with initial focus on Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam / full item
- Canadian gov’t has ordered TikTok social media giant to cease operations in Canada by the end of 2024, citing security concerns and TikTok’s handling of user data / full item
- China’s CAS Space, a commercial spinoff from Chinese Academy of Sciences, looks to deliver launch services to global clients in light of fierce domestic competition / full item
Huawei’s HarmonyOS Next: “At the launch event two weeks ago… the head of Huawei’s device business group dropped some more numbers. Yet these really expose the platform’s limitations.” / full item
- China Manned Space Engineering Office has selected two low-cost cargo transportation systems to serve the Tiangong space station, each capable of delivering at least 1800kg to orbit / full item
- International Air Transport Association, IATA, to offer digital currencies in financial settlement systems it operates for the aviation industry. / full item
- China: Alibaba Group is reportedly scaling down metaverse operations, joining other tech firms in pulling back from the much-hyped sector / full item
- China: Zhejiang Cross-Border E-commerce Comprehensive Service Platform launches, aiming to provide a streamlined one-stop source of solutions for all scales of e-business / full item
Multilateralism Index 2024
- China: Xiaomi, best known as smartphone leader, hits EV milestone with delivery of over 20,000 SU7 electric vehicles in October, targeting production pace of 100,000 units by end-November / full item
- China: Apple has established research labs in Beijing, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Shanghai, in supply chain diversification and cost-cutting move, with Korean firms losing out / full item
- China: Cosmoleap launch secured $14M for Yueqian reusable rocket, and vehicle recovery system inspired by SpaceX, likely targeting mega-constellation sats delivery / full item
- Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, Nio, MG-owner SAIC, Great Wall and Chery are building more advanced electric cars with costs 30% lower than those of European carmakers… / full item
- Temu is now also facing EU Digital Services Act investigation over potential sale of illegal products, alongside an examination of alleged ‘addictive’ services design / full item
- China: Space Transportation, aka Lingkong Tianxing Technology, claims successful prototype engine test for future Yunxing hypersonic passenger airplane / full item
- China: GDS data centers firm raises $1BN in round predominantly led by US investors, looking to further develop data center capacity outside China and SEA / full item
- Australia’s All G biotech firm becomes the first globally to land regulator approval for sale of animal-free lactoferrin protein in China / full item
- China’s Baidu is to trial Apollo Go robotaxis in Hong Kong as soon as year-end / full item
- China Mobile is in talks to acquire HKBN, a major Hong Kong fibre and enterprise connectivity provider / full item
- Australia: Nourish Ingredients partners China’s Cabio Biotech to produce and distribute precision-fermented ‘designer fat’ alternatives in China / full item
- Visa and China’s Tencent partner to trial pay-by-palm tech in Singapore, with Visa cardholders from banks including DBS, OCBC, and UOB eligible for the pilot programme / full item
Indo-Pacific Studies Centre: Emerging Leaders Forum 2025
- Samsung now reportedly to curb supply of chips 7nm and smaller to China firms, aligning with US limitations on tech access, with Intel likely next to cut supply / full item
- Indonesia’s GoTo Group, and China’s Tencent and Alibaba Cloud deepen partnership with Tencent committing $500M to a third data center, cloud services and talent development / full item
- Vietnam: Gov’t states that online retailers Shein and Temu must formally register before end-November or face having web domains and apps blocked in the country / full item
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co notified Chinese chip design firms it is halting production for them of chips at 7 nanometres or smaller, aligning with US sanctions / full item
- China’s Oppo smartphone giant and Hong Kong Polytechnic University are to launch a joint AI and imaging research centre, with Oppo pledging US$4.2M over 5 years / full item
- Temu shopping platform meets heightened government scrutiny in Vietnam, in line with wider SEA concerns over the platform’s impact on domestic businesses / full item
- AI Safety Institutes, or AISIs, are one of the most important new structures to emerge in international AI policy… / full item
- ‘Semiconductor back-end manufacturing, less capital-intensive than strategic front-end chipmaking, is dominated by China and Taiwan, but Vietnam is among the fastest-growing countries’ / full item
Taiwan’s Rising Space Program: Building Industry & National Security
Asia’s Tech News, Weekly: November 2024
- 30th November: LinkedIn and Substack
- 23rd November: LinkedIn and Substack
- 16th November: LinkedIn and Substack
- 9th November: LinkedIn and Substack
- 2nd November: LinkedIn and Substack
Critical technologies: November
- Gogo in-flight internet connectivity firm recently acquired rival Satcom Direct to counter rising competition from SpaceX Starlink in providing Wi-Fi to business jets…
- Japan and Peru are set to ink collaboration agreement on minerals mining, with Japan providing development and tech expertise to resource-rich Peru…
- Amazon partners Switzerland’s Unbound Potential for battery system featuring no critical raw materials, longer shelf life and lower costs for stationary applications…
Full report: Critical technologies, November 2024 >
