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Friday 9 January 2026
China tests US-Japan-South Korea alliance with export controls
China is testing the extent of support US President Donald Trump would extend to Japan by imposing export controls on the country, just months after Trump boasted that he had solved the rare earth issue for the whole world. Beijing has announced a ban on exports of all dual-use items that could potentially be used for military purposes. The move could impact approximately 40% of China's exports to Japan and pose a threat to its automotive industry, which relies heavily on rare earths. Shortly following this announcement, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into dichlorosilane, a key chipmaking material originating from Japan
Friday 9 January 2026
Limited H200 access signals Beijing's calibrated approach to foreign AI technology due to security concerns
China is preparing to approve limited imports of Nvidia's H200 AI chips as early as this quarter, potentially reopening a key market for the US chipmaker while maintaining strict national security safeguards, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter
Friday 9 January 2026
How China's carmakers are pushing imported cars to the margins
China's market for imported passenger cars continues to shrink, underscoring a profound shift in consumer preferences and industrial power. According to the latest data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, cumulative passenger car imports totaled about 440,000 vehicles through November 2025. This represents a decline of 29.7% from a year earlier
Friday 9 January 2026
Samsung Foundry eyes auto chips for growth beyond data centers

Samsung Electronics is positioning its contract chipmaking business to win automotive orders, a move industry analysts view as a practical entry point into the emerging "Physical AI" market. While TSMC remains the leader in AI processors for data centers, Samsung is focusing on the specific demands of vehicles and robotics

Friday 9 January 2026
China targets 2027 self-sufficiency in core AI technologies
Amid escalating US–China technology competition, China at the start of 2026 formally unveiled new objectives for its AI industrial policy. Eight government bodies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), jointly released an implementation plan for "AI + Manufacturing." The plan sets a clear target: by 2027, China aims to secure a fully "safe and reliable" domestic supply of core AI technologies and integrate three to five general-purpose large language models (LLMs) deeply into manufacturing and other industrial sectors
Friday 9 January 2026
South Korean startup WARP Solution advances Wi-Fi-like wireless charging
South Korean startup WARP Solution is advancing the commercialization of radio frequency (RF) wireless power transfer (WPT) chips and components, via applications such as electronic shelf labels (ESL). The company has already begun collaboration and validation efforts with consumer electronics brands such as Samsung Electronics and is showcasing its products at CES 2026, aiming to expand partnerships worldwide
Thursday 8 January 2026
CES 2026: Power shift on display as TCL takes center stage while Samsung steps back
CES 2026 opened on January 6 (Pacific Time), offering not only a snapshot of technology trends but also a clear signal of shifting industry power. Ahead of the show, industry watchers had widely expected Japanese and South Korean brands to scale back. DIGITIMES on-site reporting confirms that Samsung Electronics and SK Group — both major Central Hall exhibitors in 2025 — were absent from the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) this year, with their former prime locations taken over by Chinese companies led by TCL
Thursday 8 January 2026
China's 'Neuralink rival' raises US$286 million in BCI funding
China's brain–computer interface (BCI) unicorn BrainCo has completed a funding round of about CNY2 billion (US$286 million), making it the world's second-largest single BCI financing, behind only Neuralink's US$650 million raise in mid-2025
Thursday 8 January 2026
BMW cuts prices in China as 2026 auto competition heats up

As 2026 begins, competition within China's auto market is heating up rapidly, propelled by a convergence of government policy shifts and intensifying competitive pressure. Leading the opening salvo of the new year's price war was BMW, which announced price cuts across much of its China lineup, with discounts in some cases exceeding 20%

Thursday 8 January 2026
China's price war pushes AI data center energy storage to breaking point
CES 2026 highlighted a wide range of AI applications, but the core driver remains the large-scale buildout of global AI data centers (AIDC). Energy storage systems are shifting from a policy-driven supporting role to indispensable infrastructure for the AI era. In China, extreme price competition is placing the sector under a critical test of safety and quality
Thursday 8 January 2026
China reportedly tells firms to pause Nvidia H200 orders to push domestic AI chips
Chinese authorities have reportedly asked domestic tech companies to halt orders for Nvidia's H200 AI chips, according to Reuters, signaling tighter oversight even as US export licenses near completion. The move reflects Beijing's broader push to prioritize domestic semiconductor development while managing foreign chip adoption
Thursday 8 January 2026
China launches fresh anti-dumping probe against Japanese dichlorosilane, following dual-use export curbs

China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into Japanese dichlorosilane imports, marking another trade action against Japan following recent curbs on dual-use product exports, as Tokyo's prime minister reiterated that the controls are necessary for national security and comply with international trade rules

Thursday 8 January 2026
Huawei's Ascend 950 tests South Korea's AI market
Huawei has signalled a renewed push into South Korea's AI infrastructure market, outlining plans to introduce its next-generation AI processor — widely expected to be the Ascend 950 — packaged with an end-to-end stack spanning hardware, software, networking, and storage
Thursday 8 January 2026
GAC-Huawei Terminal formalize deeper HarmonyOS and AI alliance
China's automotive and ICT sectors marked a new inflection point on January 5, 2026, as GAC Group and Huawei Terminal (Huawei Device Co.) signed a comprehensive cooperation framework agreement at GAC's Panyu headquarters in Guangzhou
Thursday 8 January 2026
RISC-V's rise: A third CPU ecosystem in 5-10 years?
Bao Yungang, vice director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Computing Technology and chief scientist at the Beijing Open Source Chip Academy, predicts RISC-V will become the world's third mainstream CPU ecosystem alongside x86 and Arm within five to ten years