The 4th quarter 2022 snapshot of China’s technology-focused news headlines, gathered across October, November and December of 2022.
China’s tech news headlines in Q4 of 2022 spanned a huge range of developments – and issues – across items including TikTok and Huawei’s continuing woes, electric vehicle and autonomous taxi pilot projects, the country’s moves towards an indigenous semiconductor industry, and many more. Hit the links below to read each article, in full and online.
December 2022 | November 2022 | October 2022
Credit Suisse Research: Global effects of Asia’s aging population
December 2022: China
CSET: Chinese AI Investment in Southeast Asia
- ICYMI: In acquiring Germany’s Hamburg shipping terminal “COSCO presents national and economic security risks not through a single investment in any European port, but because of three key factors…”
- RT @tony_zy: Photo editors. Please STOP juxtaposing clear identifiable faces of protesters along headlines like “Xi faces stiffest challenges” esp. when you’re unsure abt those specific protesters’ demands. It might be a few clicks but it could be a decade difference if they’re implicated.
- China’s Aiways electric car manufacturer to build vehicle and battery assembly plant in Thailand, following large order from Phoenix EV e-mobility service provider
“After receiving an order for up to 150,000 electric cars from Thai eMobility service provider Phoenix EV a few days ago, the Chinese electric car manufacturer has now announced plans for an assembly plant in Thailand.”
- “…subscribers to the top 100 Chinese YouTube accounts at 169 million, with influencer channels accounting for 45% of that fan base. If YouTube is blocked in China, how is this possible?”
- China: Hangzhou Internet Court rules that “NFT collectibles condenses the creator’s original expression of art and has the value of related intellectual property rights”
BDA Partners: SEA FinTech Investment Landscape
- Huawei and Saudi Ministry of Comm’s and IT ink MOU with goal of a ’10GPS Society’, and with Huawei gaining at cloud computing region in the Kingdom
- China’s Enovate Motors EV firm launches JV with Saudi Arabia’s Sumou Holding to establish manufacturing and R&D base with planned annual output of 100K electric vehicles
- China: More than 30 tech firms to be added to US blacklist, including YMTC semiconductor firm found to have breached Huawei supply sanctions
- Alipay+ cross-border digital payments giant rolls out year-end promo with e-wallet partners from Hong Kong, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia
- China: Senior Automation raises $14M Series A+ funding with driverless solutions for port transport, boasting only 150 employees, 110 of whom are in R&D
- China’s Tencent Cloud partners South Korea’s Nexon global video publisher to launch Nexontown metaverse platform
“Nexontown, available in South Korea, currently houses open halls, camping sites, classrooms, and conference halls where users interact with each other using items and characters from Nexon’s online games set in the virtual world.”
- China: Botinkit raises near $10M pre-Series A with automated cooking robots, providing both hardware and software
- China: “Huawei’s inventory of smartphone chips designed by semiconductor unit HiSilicon reached zero in the third quarter, according to a Counterpoint report.”
- ICYMI: Some US gov’t officials reportedly considering calling for TikTok US unit to be sold in order to allay long-standing security concerns
- China to invest $143.6 billion in subsidizing the country’s semiconductor industry; but no longer to support ‘compound’ projects due to often-overestimated financial feasibility
- China: PonyAI autonomous vehicle firm gains driverless road test permit for 10 robotaxis to learn in challenging urban traffic scenarios across a 20KM square area in Beijing
“Pony.ai will deploy ten driverless robotaxis for testing in challenging urban traffic scenarios across a 20 square kilometer (7.7 square mile) area in the pilot zone in Yizhuang, Beijing. The autonomous vehicles will be tested without anyone in the vehicle; a safety officer will monitor the test vehicles remotely.”
- State-run China Digital Asset Trading Platform launch ceremony set for January 1st, running on the ‘China Cultural Protection Chain’ blockchain
- India: “The [Enforcement Directorate] has also charged Vivo India for money laundering, alleging more than 50% of its turnover has been transferred to China to avoid paying taxes…”
- Australia: Dep’t of Home Affairs, ASIO and ASD now scrutinising use of Hikvision and Dahua surveillance cameras, citing similar security concerns raised in recent UK and US bans
- Japan: Huawei switches focus to Japan’s smartwatch market as US limits bite, releasing devices for business users which don’t require cutting-edge semiconductors
- Taiwan bans TikTok, Douyin and Xiaohongshu from public sector devices as it has been listed as ‘a product that endangers national information and communication security’
- Taiwan: 700 private surveillance cameras containing chips made by a subsidiary of Huawei found to be transmitting online due to security vulnerabilities
“Based on information posted about the cameras on the website, the commonality in many cases is that the devices contain HiSilicon’s Hi3516 semiconductors. HiSilicon is a fabless semiconductor company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and is fully owned by Huawei.”
- Hong Kong: Gov’t attempted to pressure Google to remove ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ protest anthem from search results; Google refused.
- Thailand: Huawei, Ministry of Commerce and Office of Commercial Affairs launch digital training through ‘Digital Bus’ to boost ICT knowledge in local gov’t and community
- Australia & TikTok: “…Chinese law stipulates that domestic organisations must ‘support, assist and co-operate with the state intelligence work’
- Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry, subsidiary of Foxconn, to sell off minority stake in Tsinghua Unigroup, China’s semiconductor giant
- Taiwan: Foxconn may face fine over ‘unauthorised’ investment in China-based chipmaking firm, Tsinghua Unigroup
- Taiwan: Gov’t launches investigation into TikTok over allegations that the platform is operating illegally on the island via an affiliate company
Lowy Institute: Asia Power Index, 2023 edition
November 2022: China
US & China: Mid-Decade Challenges to National Competitiveness
- China: Huawei’s woes set to grow as Ireland mulls ban on telcos in Ireland using Huawei equipment in their infrastructure networks over concerns networks could be accessed by the Chinese state as a result
- China’s TuSimple self-driving truck firm under FBI, SEC, CFI investigation over relationship with China-backed Hydron and suspected breach of intellectual property sharing laws
“They are also trying to find out whether TuSimple shared intellectual property developed in the United States with Hydron and whether that action defrauded TuSimple investors by sending valuable technology to an overseas adversary, the newspaper said.”
- China pushes ambitious 5-Ministry plan to deliver 25M VR headsets by 2026, aiming to cultivate 100 domestic companies in its own VR industry
- China: Tencent’s WeChat app giant launches mini-program enabling payments using palm prints, opening a new front in biometric data collection
- China’s supposed crypto trading & mining crackdown: “…China recorded more than US$220 billion in total transactions between June 2021 and July 2022 to remain East Asia’s top cryptocurrency market…”
China Retail Digitalization Whitepaper / McKinsey & Co (pdf download)
- China’s app data: “The number of apps that operated in China last year decreased by 930,000, which is equivalent to about 2,500 apps disappearing each day, according to the [Ministry].”
- China: Alibaba Cloud launches open-source Model-as-a-Service platform with over 300 ready-to-use AI models, looking to developer and researcher adoption as a corporate services door-opening move
- China: Microsoft raises concerns of state-backed hackers using new vulnerability disclosure requirements for military purposes including exploiting zero-day issues before reporting them
“But in a 114-page security report released on Friday, Microsoft openly accused the Chinese government of abusing the new rules and outlines how state-aligned groups have increasingly exploited vulnerabilities globally since they were implemented.”
- China: Nvidia offers alternative GPU chip tailored for Chinese market, maintaining compliance with US export regulations with lower-powered processor
- The Guardian on TikTok: “Harvesting data is the norm for social media apps, but the question that many have is where it goes and who has access to it…”
Frontier influencers: the new face of China’s propaganda
- ICYMI: German gov’t blocks sale of semiconductor firm to Chinese-owned firm, tightening protection of its domestic technology and easing supply chain dependence on China
- China: Activision Blizzard and NetEase end 14-year deal, with China’s gamers to no longer be able to play titles including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and Overwatch
- ICYMI: ‘Digital currencies, monetary sovereignty, and US–China power competition’
- China’s Tencent and Alibaba lead $40M investment in Sweden’s Yahaha and drag-and-drop metaverse creation tools, and existing userbase of over 100,000 games content creators
- State-level hacking: “…defenders will have to contend with masses of nameless civil servants, each specializing in any one particular skillset, managed by a bureaucracy that has matured over the last decade.”
Chinese Cybercrime in Neighboring Countries / Report
- China’s SinoSynergy hydrogen fuel cell firm makes IPO listing application to Hong Kong Stock Exchange, building on lead position in production and national standards development
- China: Tiangong space station reportedly to join 1km-wide space-based project to collect solar power from space and send it to Earth in a high-energy microwave beam
“Operating in the geostationary orbit, the space power station could direct the beam to almost any location, making it an ideal candidate to power military equipment or remote outposts, the team said. However, some researchers have also speculated that the beam could be used as a weapon.”
- UK gov’t departments advised not to connect China-made camera equipment to core networks, and to consider removal ahead of scheduled replacement time frames; and including from non-sensitive locations
- China: State-run television edits out maskless fans from World Cup coverage in bid to prevent comparisons of China’s zero-COVID policy with the outside world’s pandemic response
Shen Yun: 5000 Years of Chinese Civilization
- “A comprehensive supply chain strategy would look not only at new, leading-edge chips but also at legacy, trailing-edge chips, which are still used widely.”
- ICYMI: A deep dive into September’s microchip and semiconductor startup funding, spanning chips, facilities, and end-use focus areas
- ICYMI: October’s month-end round-up of microchip and semiconductor news headlines
- The election that saved the internet: “Open-internet advocates are breathing a sigh of relief after a recent election for the International Telecommunications Union’s top leadership.”
- ICYMI: TikTok ban in the US edges nearer with proposed legislation from Marco Rubio
Taiwan’s Role in the U.S. Semiconductor Supply Chain Network
October 2022: China
2022 China Retail Digitalization Whitepaper / McKinsey & Co
- China: Henan province, home of world’s largest iPhone manufacturing compound, sets the metaverse as its next central industry, with sights on a possible $14BN industry by 2025
- China: Alipay mobile payment giant cut from Shanghai high-tech company listing over failure to meet gov’t-set R&D spending requirements, likely losing certain tax benefits in the process
- UK Business Secretary restricts access that Chinese state owners of Electricity North West have to UK power grid details, seeing 35pc China stake as national security risk
- US gov’t publishes heavily-expanded export controls, including cuts to China’s access to some semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US tools
- China: Chip supplier flags concerns over supply to sanctioned Huawei – “Supposedly owned by the Shenzhen government, Shenzen Pengxin Micro has a former Huawei executive as its CEO.”
China: Fintech, Cryptocurrencies & CBDC
- China: 12 months on from ban, regulators shut 13 crypto-trading apps, 23 crypto media sites, 440 online promoter accounts, 2 bank accounts offering crypto over-the-counter transactions, and more
- China: Sewingtech raises more than $1.39M in angel funding with robotics-driven automation in garment production
- “Beijing’s move to banish cryptocurrency trading and mining…seemed poised to snuff out the entire domestic industry…Instead, what’s emerged is a mix of companies that hew to the Communist Party agenda…”
- China: “Computer-generated avatars are considered a safer option by companies as Beijing cracks down on human celebrities deemed politically outspoken or with questionable morals.”
- China’s Oppo, world’s 4th-largest smartphone firm, loses legal case brought by Nokia over patents in Germany, resulting in Oppo smartphone sales ban
- ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, enters talks with music labels to expand music streaming service into over a dozen markets, directly in competition with Spotify
Doing Business In China 2022 / Baker McKenzie (pdf download)
- National security-related ban likely forthcoming for China’s Huawei and ZTE on all new device sales in the US, alongside ban on surveillance equipment from 3 other Chinese firms
- China: Judicial blockchain platform has stored over 2.6BN items of evidence, an increase of 18% since May this year
- China: A dive into TikTok’s bid for livestream e-commerce dominance o’seas, building on huge mainland success of programs like TikTok Shop Partners. Will this translate to the US market ? @semafor takes a look.
- “…leaders of the world’s biggest trading bloc discussed ways to reduce their dependence on China for tech equipment and the raw minerals used to make items such as microchips, batteries and solar panels.”
- China, Russia & microchips: Since sanctions were imposed on Russia “…40% of chips imported from China have been defective, while the rate before March was just 2%, Kommersant reported…”
- China’s new Politburo through the lens of the ‘technocrat’ component, those coming from a background in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
- Satellites data: “…with China where they’re just simply not sharing information. And we cannot safely operate in space if a major space participant isn’t actively engaged and sharing information in a way that enhances safety for all.”
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co suspends advanced silicon production for China’s Biren Technology, a graphics competitor to Nvidia and AMD, in order to ensure compliance with US regulations
Credit Suisse Research: The global effects of Asia’s aging population
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