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Lilian Zhang
Reporter, China Tech
Lilian Zhang is a Shanghai-based technology reporter. Prior to joining SCMP, she worked for non-government organisations, media outlets and in corporate communications.
Speculation has ramped up over the role of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, mainland China’s top contract chip maker, in producing an advanced 5G chip for Huawei amid US trade sanctions.
Beijing’s move to ‘safeguard national security’ was seen as retaliation against US and its allies for imposing chip restrictions on China, and led to stockpiling.
Alibaba’s chip unit T-Head, VeriSilicon and seven other firms announced the formation of the patent alliance at a RISC-V industry forum in Shanghai.
Zhou Zhihua has been elected as the latest president of the Board of Trustees at the IJCAI, a non-profit organisation focused on scientific and educational activities relating to AI.
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The new rules, which will take effect on January 1, mark Beijing’s latest initiative to advance the development of the nation’s digital economy.
While there is currently no timeline for the roll-out of local ChatGPT-like services in mainland China, Baidu chief executive Robin Li said the country’s artificial intelligence trend was ‘very promising’.
TikTok owner ByteDance said it will shut down a cloud album app it launched nearly eight years ago, leaving users rushing to download years of photos and videos.
Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall unit is looking to fill 2,000 entry-level positions, while Tencent says it will offer a large number of job openings from AI to cloud computing.
Xin An Electrical employs hundreds in Shenzhen and according to a notice has been hit by economic headwinds and lower orders.
The slower IC output trend in July comes as the domestic chip market struggles with weak consumer demand and high inventories.
The 100 patents cover multiple AI application scenarios, including image processing, video technology and 3D visualisation.
Net income dropped 21.7 per cent year on year to US$402.76 million in the second quarter, as demand for electronic products is ‘below expectation’ while inventory remains high, co-CEO says.
China’s drone makers say privately that the new export rules targeting military use have little impact on their civilian drones, but strict enforcement could cover a wide swath of products.
Cambricon Technologies, one of China’s top artificial intelligence chip developers, has laid off nearly half the workers at its self-driving chip unit as the company struggles to break even.
China’s imports of Japanese chip-making gear rose more than 40 per cent in June from a month earlier, as local semiconductor firms rushed to stock up ahead of Tokyo’s new export restrictions.
China has long used state-level financing to boost major industries, an effort that has become more urgent amid intensifying rivalry with the US.
Baidu remains Trip.com’s largest shareholder with a 10.7 per cent stake, although Li has turned his gaze from the travel sector to large AI models.
The CSIA warned that any further US restrictions would undermine the globalisation of the semiconductor industry and risk integrity of global market.
The world’s No 2 computer maker said it remains committed to its 20,000 square metre facility in Chongqing, as China is an important part of its supply chain.
Since Beijing quashed Ant Group’s IPO in November 2020, a Big Tech crackdown spanning more than two years has left no big industry player unscathed.
Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger concluded a low-key trip to China this week, his second to the country in three months, as the US chip giant doubles down on the Chinese market despite an intensifying US-China tech war.
The high-profile recognition marks a sharp contrast to Beijing’s previous crackdown on the internet industry.
The Chinese unit of US semiconductor wafer maker AXT faces fresh obstacles in its pursuit of an IPO in Shanghai after China imposed export control measures on critical chip-making materials.
China aims to build a complete artificial intelligence value chain, from ‘smart chips and algorithm frameworks to industry-specific large language models’, according to a senior government official.
China has a quasi-monopoly over extraction of raw gallium, but Chinese companies are more exposed when it comes to processing the rare metal.
Samsung’s conspicuous absence for unknown reasons at MWC Shanghai marks the first time the company has not taken part in this annual regional trade show since at least 2017.
YMTC chairman Chen Nanxiang said ‘significant uncertainties’ lie ahead, as the chip industry’s industrial harmony and balance have been disrupted by geopolitical tensions.
MWC Shanghai, the regional edition of the world’s largest mobile communications industry trade show, marks its first decade in China this year.
China needs to increase ‘openness’ and ‘cooperation’ in its chip industry to overcome US tech restrictions and sanctions, leading Chinese semiconductor industry expert Wei Shaojun said.
By 2025, Shanghai plans to build ‘world industry clusters’ for its three leading industries: integrated circuits, biomedicine and AI.
