World News by Wild Rose

China spent decades building a dominant position across rare-earth mining, processing and magnet manufacturing, leaving the US dependent on a foreign supply chain for materials essential to everything from vehicles and wind turbines to electronics and defense systems. MP Materials is now trying to rebuild that chain domestically, moving from its Mountain Pass mine in California into refining. But catching up will take more than finding minerals: the US still faces higher costs, limited processing capacity, opaque pricing and a Chinese lead that industry experts say took roughly 25 years to build. (Source: Bloomberg)

Two decades after stepping away from the spotlight, iconic actress Joey Wong made an unexpected return to the screen – not through a traditional production, but via artificial intelligence-powered reconstruction. In a two-minute video by NetEase this summer, Wong, one of the most well-known actresses of the 1980s and 90s, had some of her most celebrated roles recreated, including the beautiful ghost in A Chinese Ghost Story and an alluring snake demon in Green Snake. The revival is just the tip...

As global adoption of the open-source RISC-V chip architecture accelerates, US intellectual property provider MIPS is collaborating with Chinese firms at an unprecedented level, according to a senior executive, highlighting how cross-border cooperation persists despite intense tech rivalry between Washington and Beijing. MIPS, which was acquired by US chipmaker GlobalFoundries last year, was driving RISC-V standardisation “very closely with China”, chief technology officer Yankin Tanurhan said...

Chinese semiconductor plants amassed hundreds of immersion lithography machines worth billions of dollars in recent years, according to former US officials, who urged Washington and its allies to shut down further exports. Chinese-owned fabs had acquired an estimated 343 immersion deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems by early 2026, said a report published in late September by the Centre for Technology & Statecraft (CTS), a Washington research group established in August. Co-authored by...

China has set a five-year goal for the expansion of intelligent computing capacity to drive artificial intelligence (AI) that calls for a more than fourfold increase on what was in place at the end of June this year. To reach the 2030 target while being blocked by the United States from importing the most advanced Western-made AI chips will require innovation, adaptation and the application and coordination of vast resources. Judging by the 177 per cent increase in capacity achieved in the year...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese commercial reactor achieves nuclear fusion with clean hydrogen-boron fuel In a first, a Chinese company has achieved high-parameter hydrogen-boron plasma control, marking a “significant and valuable” advance in research into...

How AI is reshaping everyday life in China

Beijing has cracked down on AI chatbots that can replicate human relationships. Experts are asking if this is the right thing to do.

China’s broadcasting regulator has called for greater support for live-action dramas as the government seeks to steer the booming microdrama industry towards higher-quality production and tighter rights safeguards amid the rapid rise of AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) has created innovation and production possibilities for microdramas, while also posing challenges over content quality and rights protection, according to Wang Xiaoliang from the National Radio and Television...

US President Donald Trump discussed AI development with dozens of tech bosses at the White House.  Ahead of his "superintelligence" luncheon, Trump launched a new AI-powered website for government services vowing not to stifle the technology's growth.  He also said he didn't want to work with Chinese President Xi Jinping on AI oversight. Plus, dozens of dogs were rescued from a breeding farm in South Korea as the country prepares for a complete phaseout of the dog meat industry. 

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang and AMD chief Lisa Su have joined an influential advisory board at a prestigious Chinese university, placing the two key American AI tech leaders in a high-level forum known for connecting global executives with senior Chinese officials. Huang and Su were among three new members appointed to the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management (SEM), alongside Marc Pictet, senior managing partner of Swiss wealth and assets manager...

The US and China need to improve communication, work together more closely and more fully embrace technology to stem risks associated with artificial intelligence, the founder of Nvidia said on Monday. “We should recognise that we’re competitors, and competitors are still able to collaborate,” said Jensen Huang, head of the world’s most valuable company, with a market capitalisation of about US$5.5 trillion. “This is such an important and consequential technology. It has the incredible...

“Bloomberg: The China Show” is your definitive source for news and analysis on the world's second-biggest economy. From politics and policy to tech and trends, Yvonne Man and David Ingles give global investors unique insight, delivering in-depth discussions with the newsmakers who matter. (Source: Bloomberg)

China’s top state research body has put artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies at the heart of its new five-year plan, unveiled on Monday, as global competition in science and technology heats up. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s highest academic institution, laid out a detailed blueprint for research and technology development aligned with the country’s 15th five-year plan covering 2026 to 2030. The plan focuses on innovation in areas including artificial intelligence...

Chinese chip foundry CanSemi Technology’s Shenzhen initial public offering (IPO) is emerging as one of mainland China’s most sought-after tech listings this year, as investors bet on its push into silicon photonics and its role in domestic artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Guangzhou-based company’s retail tranche was oversubscribed by more than 2,300 times after clawback, according to a stock exchange filing late on Sunday, as investors scrambled for a piece of the domestic...

US contract chipmaker GlobalFoundries sees robust demand for Chinese optical modules amid the data centre construction boom, as the firm expands its presence in China to better serve its domestic clients. Shankaran Janardhanan, senior vice-president of the firm’s photonics and radio frequency division, told the South China Morning Post in an interview that demand in the optical networking module segment was “strong”. The surging appetite for Chinese optical modules – used to transmit data in...

Under the shadow of Beijing’s single-minded focus on artificial intelligence, China’s consumer stocks are trapped in a lost decade.

Bloomberg News Chief North Asia Correspondent Stephen Engle and ABC News State Department reporter Shannon Kingston tell Bloomberg This Weekend that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s summit highlighted efforts to establish dialogue on AI while building trust between the two countries. Speaking with hosts David Gura and Christina Ruffini, Engle and Kingston examine the significance of Xi’s state visit, China’s push to be treated as an equal to the US and the diplomatic signals surrounding the meetings. (Source: Bloomberg)

For China’s elite artificial intelligence researchers, Silicon Valley no longer holds the unrivalled appeal it once did. A growing number are opting to stay home to build their careers, helping China overtake the United States as the leading workplace for top-tier AI talent, according to a study released this week by the think tank Carnegie China. China employed 41 per cent of the world’s leading AI researchers tracked by the study last year, pulling ahead of the US at 34 per cent, according to...

China’s technology sector is facing fresh pressure in the United States as lawmakers seek to broaden the range of products that can be placed on a trade blacklist, while Lenovo Group has been drawn into a patent dispute involving memory devices. The Communications and Technology Transparency Act, unveiled by the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday, would expand the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List from “communications equipment or service” to the much...

China and the United States must prevent their AI competition from escalating into a cold war, a top Chinese policy adviser has warned, while asserting that a complete decoupling would be difficult. The remarks from Zheng Yongnian, a leading political scientist and dean of the school of public policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, come ahead of the Xi-Trump summit in Washington, where artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to be among the top items on the agenda. Chinese...

The US dominates AI spending and computing power, but China is ahead in research and closing the gap on advanced models.

Tencent Holdings on Thursday launched TenPayGo, a mobile payment app targeting foreign visitors, as the tech giant seeks to capture China’s growing inbound tourism market ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen. Developed by Tencent’s WeChat Pay team, TenPayGo allowed international travellers to make payments at tens of millions of shops, restaurants and attractions across the WeChat Pay network by linking their credit cards or their home-country digital wallets...

The US and China are vying for AI supremacy while seeking to keep it under human control.

Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to agree to only limited cooperation on AI safety at summit.

A South Korean dating reality show exploring human-AI romance has triggered curiosity and attention in China over how artificial intelligence could reshape people’s understanding of intimacy and love. In August, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) launched My AI Partner: Strange Love, the country’s first dating reality show focused on human-AI relationships. The programme follows three participants – a cartoonist, a television host and an actress – as they form emotional connections with AI...

China’s industry minister is set to lead Anhui province, a key semiconductor hub, in the latest personnel reshuffle within the Communist Party. Li Lecheng, 61, has served as minister of industry and information technology since April 2025. State news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday that Li had been appointed the party secretary of Anhui and a member of its standing committee, taking over both roles from Liang Yanshun. Liang, Anhui party chief since June 2024, retains his role as party...

China has just taken a quiet but critical step in space-based electronic warfare. A Lijian-1 Y18 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northern China at noon on Sunday, carrying nine satellites. Among them were three Diting-01 satellites, which successfully entered their planned orbit. The trio is named after Diting, a beast from Chinese mythology that crouches beneath the desk of Ksitigarbha, the bodhisattva of the underworld, and can identify all things simply by...

The BBC visits Inner Mongolia, where Beijing's AI infrastructure is progressing at "China speed", says one worker.

The BBC is in Inner Mongolia where dozen of Chinese data centres are being constructed, as the country aims to lead the world in artificial intelligence.