Apple's attempt to use China's ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) as leverage against Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix has backfired. The two Korean chipmakers now hold stronger, not weaker, negotiating power over DRAM supply, according to South Korean and Chinese trade press.
The global smartphone market is approaching an unusual turning point in the second half of 2026. Artificial intelligence has become the industry's preferred growth narrative, while reports that Apple and Samsung Electronics are considering memory components from Chinese suppliers also reflect a market under mounting strain.
Mitsubishi Electric is establishing a cooling-equipment production company in Ohio, joining Daikin Industries in bringing manufacturing closer to US data center customers as delivery times, tariffs and local service become more important competitive factors.
China's State Council has launched a new recommendation program for "leader" companies in energy efficiency and carbon efficiency, with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issuing the notice on August 4, 2026. The program is designed to push heavy industry to cut energy use and emissions, as low-carbon certification increasingly becomes a key credential for future market competition.
Naver is considering an asset-light structure for a US$10 billion data center expansion under which a Brookfield-led investment vehicle would own GPUs and other infrastructure. At the same time, a Naver subsidiary would sell computing capacity and related services to customers.
SpaceX's rapid growth in AI, satellite connectivity, and space infrastructure is widening the strategic challenge for China beyond any single industry, as Musk's companies increasingly compete across sectors Beijing considers priorities. The combination of Starlink's expanding orbital footprint, SpaceX's accelerating AI business, and Tesla's manufacturing scale could give Musk an unusually integrated platform spanning technologies central to China's efforts to build competing capabilities and reduce dependence on foreign systems.
China's CXMT is preparing limited production of LPDDR6 smartphone memory around the end of 2026, narrowing a technology gap with Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron that once spanned years.
The Trump administration is preparing new restrictions on Chinese-made optical transceivers used in AI data centers, broadening Washington's efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese technology in critical digital infrastructure.
China's commercial space ambitions are entering a new phase as Beijing accelerates efforts to build an integrated space industry capable of supporting everything from satellite manufacturing and launch services to low Earth orbit (LEO) communications, according to a recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Global venture capital has rebounded on the AI boom after the pandemic freeze, with total investment in the first half of 2026 already topping full-year 2025. But the recovery is coming with a warning sign: capital is becoming highly concentrated in AI, while China is pouring money into robotics and drawing scrutiny from the US.
Samsung Electronics' latest move to scale back its smartphone retail network in China marks another milestone in a years-long restructuring. The shift has steadily reduced the company's footprint across manufacturing and consumer businesses, highlighting how changing market dynamics have reshaped the Korean technology giant's China strategy.
South Korea's planned KRW500 billion(US$349,398) research and development initiative for silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors is struggling to move beyond the planning stage because the government has not secured a major anchor company to drive demand and support commercialization, according to ETNews.
