The US can no longer close its artificial-intelligence talent gap with China through visa curbs or export controls alone, a new Hoover Institution and Stanford study argues, because China is now producing frontier-model researchers who never trained, worked, or published abroad, even as it also reclaims talent that spent years in American institutions.
The US National Science Foundation will prohibit the researchers it funds from collaborating with organizations on Washington's restricted-party lists, a roster heavily populated by Chinese firms and institutions, under a Dear Colleague Letter dated July 8, 2026. The agency said it intends to implement the prohibition in fiscal 2027.
Shanghai AtomIC Technology has launched what it describes as the world's first 8-inch pilot line for two-dimensional semiconductors, marking a shift from laboratory research to engineering validation, small-batch tape-outs and early industrialisation.
China Life Insurance Company Limited plans to invest CNY4.999 billion (US$697 million) in a new CNY5 billion semiconductor private equity fund, extending Beijing's effort to direct long-term insurance capital into strategic chip technologies.
China is tying its climate agenda more closely to industrial policy. The State Council's newly released Action Plan for Carbon Peaking in the 15th Five-Year Plan sets ambitious targets that could further accelerate domestic new energy vehicle (NEV) adoption while intensifying pressure on foreign automakers.
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won said the South Korean conglomerate is preparing a US investment plan that would far exceed US$35 billion—the amount he said the group is already putting into the country—though he did not disclose the plan's size, timing or components.
Huawei is reportedly partnering with Chinese DRAM maker Shenzhen Shengweixu Technology (SwaySure) and the Chinese government to build a state-backed 12-inch memory fabrication plant in Shenzhen, a move aimed at easing DRAM shortages while reducing reliance on overseas suppliers amid continued US export controls.
China is preparing to allow a limited number of Nvidia H200 AI accelerators into the country, giving Alibaba, ByteDance, and DeepSeek access to advanced computing power while preserving Beijing's broader campaign for semiconductor self-reliance.
