China to boost protection of trade secrets against foreign entities
China plans new measures against foreign entities that infringe on local trade secrets, a boost to its legal defences in a technology race with the United States. New rules will cover any infringement that harms or “poses a real threat to China’s national sovereignty, security and developmental interests”, according to proposals released by the commerce ministry on Monday. The window for public comment is open until November 24. The draft rules toughen China’s intellectual property protection by...
Beijing pushes for UN-led governance of artificial intelligence at global forum
China is pitching open-source artificial intelligence and a greater voice for the Global South as cornerstones for future tech regulations, ramping up efforts to challenge US dominance in setting rules for the rapidly evolving sector. The push was laid out in Global Governance: Xiong’an Vision, a consensus document released on Sunday at the close of a three-day forum in Xiong’an New Area, a “city of the future” west of Beijing established under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s directive. The event...
Moonshot apologises after Kimi K3.1 Pro roll-out stumbles as promotional scrutiny widens
Chinese artificial intelligence start-up Moonshot AI, developer of the popular Kimi series, apologised on Monday for limiting customers’ use of its latest model in a botched roll-out that has also invited scrutiny over its promotional practices and cybersecurity measures. “We’re sorry for the rate limits and unnecessary quota consumption on the K3.1 Pro subscription plan,” Moonshot said in a post on social media. In a separate Chinese-language notice, it said it took responsibility for the...
ZTE up 7% after AI pivot, computing surge drive massive increase in third-quarter profit
Shares in ZTE rose more than 7 per cent in Hong Kong on Tuesday after the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker posted a nearly fivefold jump in third-quarter profit, driven by rapid expansion in its computing infrastructure and overseas operations. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 1.31 billion yuan (US$196.3 million) for the three months ended September 30, up 395 per cent from a year earlier, according to an exchange filing released on Monday evening. Revenue climbed 34 per...
Apple iPhone Duo price premiums evaporate in China’s scalper market
Scalpers in mainland China are slashing prices on Apple’s newly released iPhone Duo after the US tech giant’s first foldable smartphone drew mixed early consumer reviews over durability and software glitches. In Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics market, a vendor surnamed Shen on Monday cut the premium on a black iPhone Duo with 1 terabyte of memory – one of the most popular models – by 2,800 yuan (US$420), bringing the asking price down to 24,300 yuan from more than 25,000 yuan when the device...
Europe can still shape the rules of AI
In October, two technology executives offered Europe similar advice. In Turin, Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai urged European companies to use open-source models and their proprietary industrial data to build AI capabilities. In Berlin, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang pressed German manufacturers to apply AI to factories, robotics and other physical industries. Both see opportunity in Europe’s engineering strengths, while their companies stand to benefit from supplying the technology. Recent...
In a global first, Hong Kong opens secondary trading for tokenised public funds
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Monday approved the world’s first-ever secondary trading of tokenised public funds, reinforcing the city’s push to build the region’s leading ecosystem for tokenised finance. Investors can now trade two tokenised money market funds – the Hong Kong dollar and US dollar versions of the ChinaAMC Digital Money Market Fund – on an SFC-licensed virtual asset trading platform (VATP). “For retail investors, this marks a vital upgrade in time...
China’s AI race needs data fuel. Can a new state-owned giant deliver?
Beijing is making an ambitious bid to turn China’s vast ocean of data into fuel for artificial intelligence and economic growth with the launch of a centralised national data group, though experts warn its success will depend on tearing down entrenched data-sharing barriers. The venture – established on October 20 as a centrally managed state-owned enterprise headquartered in Xiongan New Area, Hebei province – signals Beijing’s intent to translate its digital trove into competitive...
Could new US investment curbs complicate China’s biotech licensing surge?
Chinese biotech firms face fresh headwinds in their global expansion as Washington’s proposed outbound investment restrictions threaten to disrupt deal structures, even though drug licensing agreements remain untouched for now, analysts say. The US Treasury Department’s draft rules released last week would “make it much harder for Chinese biotech firms to attract direct US investment or enter joint ventures”, according to David Zhang, an analyst at policy research firm Trivium China. US Treasury...
Chinese video AI models beat US rivals in visual quality, but lag on safeguards: HKU study
Chinese AI video-generation models have surpassed leading US rivals in visual quality, but several fall behind in safety precautions, according to researchers at the University of Hong Kong. ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 Pro took top spot in a ranking of 12 leading artificial intelligence video-generation models, scoring 3.84 out of 5 for visual quality. It outperformed Google DeepMind’s Veo 3.1, which scored 3.47, and OpenAI’s Sora 2 Pro, on 3.27, in a study led by Zhenhui Jack Jiang, professor of...