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Monday 9 March 2026
China's new Five-Year Plan pairs tech push with consumption pivot
China's draft 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026–2030 signals that Beijing is seeking to rebalance its economic model while keeping technological development at the center of national strategy
LATEST STORIES
Tuesday 10 March 2026
LGES reportedly drops LG Chem cathodes, taps L&F for Tesla battery supply
LG Energy Solution (LGES) is reportedly preparing to replace cathode materials supplied by its parent company, LG Chem, in batteries destined for Tesla, opting instead for products from South Korean battery materials maker L&F to better meet Tesla's specifications
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Commentary: China's AI focus shifts from DeepSeek V4 to OpenClaw AI agents

Sentiment in China's AI developer ecosystem is shifting. Attention that had focused on the upcoming release of the large AI model DeepSeek V4 is now moving to another topic: OpenClaw and the developer practice known as "raising the lobster," which has triggered wide discussion across AI communities

Tuesday 10 March 2026
Nvidia to restart RTX 3060 with Samsung amid China curbs, Korean report says
Nvidia is preparing to resume production of its GeForce RTX 3060 graphics processing unit (GPU) through Samsung Electronics' foundry business, according to reports from the Korea Economic Daily and Wccftech
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Samsung union plans 18-day strike, adding risk to HBM supply chain
Samsung Electronics' labor union recently announced that employees who do not participate in a planned 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7, 2026, will face penalties, sparking widespread concern and controversy across South Korea. The vote on whether to proceed with the strike began March 9 and runs through March 18
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Taiwan-US memory, foundry, and packaging expansions surge; Malaysia and India reportedly face delays
The global semiconductor industry is rapidly expanding production capacity, with Taiwan, the US, and China accelerating memory, advanced packaging, and wafer foundry construction plans. Supply chain sources report a sharp order increase for 2026, driven not only by TSMC's large-scale expansions in Taiwan and the US but also by accelerated memory fab projects from Nanya Technology and Micron, alongside continuous growth in China's semiconductor output
Tuesday 10 March 2026
China's EV charging war: BYD strikes back at CATL
China's electric vehicle industry is shifting its competitive focus from driving range to charging speed, as automakers and battery suppliers race to cut recharging times and improve energy replenishment efficiency
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Japan targets JPY40 trillion in domestic semiconductor sales by 2040
Japan plans to boost domestic semiconductor sales to JPY40 trillion (approx. US$253.5 billion) by 2040, a sharp increase from current levels, as the government intensifies efforts to rebuild its chip industry and capture growing demand from AI and data center applications, according to Nikkei
Tuesday 10 March 2026
BOE capex slowdown raises concerns for Korean display equipment suppliers
Chinese display maker BOE has signaled that its capital spending will decline in the coming years, raising concerns among South Korean display equipment suppliers that have relied heavily on Chinese demand for growth
Tuesday 10 March 2026
AI short drama 'Huo Qubing' goes viral, Seedance 2.0 cuts video generation cost below US$0.14/sec
AI-generated video technology is rapidly disrupting the film and television industry. The recent AI-generated Chinese short drama Huo Qubing has gone viral on social media, sparking discussions with its near-realistic visuals and extremely low production costs
Monday 9 March 2026
Tungsten prices surge nearly 6x amid China export controls and geopolitical tensions with Japan
Geopolitical strains between China and Japan have intensified following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on "Taiwan contingencies," impacting Japanese firms' access to high-purity tungsten powder. Although companies maintain inventories, urgent material needs from advanced semiconductor process gases and PCB drill bits face price pressure, prompting some major PCB drill manufacturers to consider price hikes
Sunday 8 March 2026
Defense chips, satellite systems now "100% localized," Chinese academics say

As conflict in the Middle East intensifies and geopolitical risks rise, governments worldwide are paying closer attention to the resilience of defense supply chains and semiconductor self-sufficiency. Against this backdrop, and as China convenes its annual "Two Sessions," an article jointly authored by several Chinese academicians and published in the state-backed journal Science & Technology Review has drawn attention

Saturday 7 March 2026
Qwen shake-up sparks AI talent war with Z.ai and DeepMind
According to TechWeb, on March 5, 2026, Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu formally approved Alibaba's core Qwen team member Jun-Yang Lin's resignation in an internal letter to Tongyi Lab, announcing the creation of a "foundation model support group" to coordinate resources and strengthen future LLM development
Friday 6 March 2026
Toyota Group's Denso bids up to US$8 billion to acquire Rohm

Japanese auto parts supplier Denso has made a takeover proposal for Kyoto-based chipmaker Rohm in a deal that could reach about JPY1.3 trillion (approx. US$8.3 billion), according to reports from Nikkei and Reuters

Friday 6 March 2026
Alibaba faces questions over Qwen continuity after sudden departures and structural shift
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s core team behind its Qwen large language model faced renewed turbulence after the abrupt resignation of its original technical lead prompted an emergency all-hands meeting on March 4. CEO Eddie Wu addressed the Qwen team in person as management sought to steady internal concerns
Friday 6 March 2026
South Korean Academia: NAND scaling nears ceiling; China seen closing gap
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is driving strong growth in the memory market. Compared with DRAM, which still has room for structural innovation, NAND flash has largely relied on vertical stacking for years and is now approaching the limits of its current architecture, according to South Korean academics. As a result, the segment faces increasing risk of being caught up by Chinese manufacturers