China's silicon carbide (SiC) supply chain is finding a new growth engine as AI strains data-center power systems, extending a market long driven by electric vehicles.
ChangXin Memory Technologies has signed a long-term DRAM supply agreement with Tencent Holdings valued at more than CNY20 billion (approx. US$2.94 billion), three people with knowledge of the deal told Reuters, as the Hefei-based chipmaker prepares for one of China's largest stock listings in years.
The US government's move to add Chinese panel makers BOE and Tianma to a military-related list is raising concerns that Washington's tech restrictions are spilling beyond semiconductors into the display supply chain. South Korean panel makers are now watching to see whether tighter curbs on China could create a new opening for them.
China is accelerating its push into fourth-generation semiconductors, with the country's first fully integrated industrial project for ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor materials set to be built in Zhengzhou. The project aims to strengthen domestic capabilities in diamond-based semiconductor materials for AI chips, advanced communications and electric vehicles, while expanding China's presence beyond silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN).
Chinese 3D vision sensor maker Orbbec is expanding its global manufacturing network with a new production base in Vietnam, as robotics suppliers increase overseas capacity to strengthen supply chain resilience and serve international customers.
China has imposed new export control measures on 40 Japanese entities, placing 20 organizations on its export control list and another 20 on a separate watchlist, citing national security concerns and the need to strengthen oversight of exports of dual-use items.
Generative AI is driving a sharp rise in electricity demand from data centers and AI computing infrastructure, prompting China to release its 15th Five-Year Plan for the Construction of a New Energy System (2026–2030). The plan incorporates AI power demand into China's national energy strategy for the first time, calling for closer coordination between electricity supply and computing capacity to support AI, advanced manufacturing, and other strategic industries.
Chinese artificial intelligence developer Zhipu AI, also known as Z.ai, is narrowing the performance gap with leading US AI companies in cybersecurity-focused models, underscoring intensifying technological competition as Washington tightens oversight of advanced AI systems.
South Korea's government is preparing to designate Physical AI, the convergence of robotics and artificial intelligence, as a new national strategic industry, positioning robotics as a potential growth engine after semiconductors, according to Newsis.
