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Friday 9 January 2026
China tightens export controls on rare earths, alarming Japan and South Korea
China has stepped up export controls affecting military and civilian sectors, with potential restrictions on rare earth products to Japan causing significant unease. Japanese industries, particularly automotive and electronics, are evaluating the possible consequences amid uncertainties about the scope of the new Chinese measures
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Friday 9 January 2026
Iluvatar CoreX IPO highlights China's race to scale general-purpose GPUs

Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor, a Chinese general-purpose GPU developer, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Main Board on January 8, 2025. Shares were priced at HKD144.6 (US$18.5), raising about HKD3.7 billion (US$474 million). The stock jumped 31.5% at the open to HKD190.2, lifting its debut valuation above HKD47.5 billion, signalling investor demand for China's domestic compute hardware

Friday 9 January 2026
AMIES Technology acquires SMEE affiliate in US$32m deal, clarifying China's lithography split
China's domestic lithography sector is entering another phase of internal restructuring, with AMIES Technology consolidating industrial assets originally spun out from Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (Group) Co., Ltd. (SMEE). Corporate filings and Shanghai Securities News show that AMIES has acquired 100% of Shanghai Weiyao Industrial Co. for CNY228.5 million (US$32.5 million), replacing SMEE as the sole shareholder. The transaction completes SMEE's exit from Weiyao while keeping the asset within the SMEE-origin corporate structure
Friday 9 January 2026
China turns to rare earths in escalating Japan dispute
China said on January 6, 2026, that it would tighten export controls on so-called "dual-use" goods bound for Japan, a move that state media suggested could extend to rare earth materials, intensifying concerns about supply disruptions across Asia's industrial supply chains
Friday 9 January 2026
Commentary: China's DCS probe against Japan shows where substitution is viable
China's Ministry of Commerce said on January 7, 2026, that it has launched an anti-dumping investigation into Japanese-origin dichlorosilane (DCS). While framed as a routine trade-remedy case under existing rules, the decision reflects a more specific reality in the semiconductor materials supply chain: China now has domestic fallback capacity in this critical process material, allowing policymakers to act selectively at a sensitive juncture
Friday 9 January 2026
Carmakers circumvent Beijing's pricing ban with creative discounts
Barely a month after China's top market regulator moved to clamp down on price wars, the policy's resolve is already showing signs of strain
Friday 9 January 2026
Limited H200 access signals Beijing's calibrated approach to foreign AI technology due to security concerns
China is preparing to approve limited imports of Nvidia's H200 AI chips as early as this quarter, potentially reopening a key market for the US chipmaker while maintaining strict national security safeguards, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter
Friday 9 January 2026
How China's carmakers are pushing imported cars to the margins
China's market for imported passenger cars continues to shrink, underscoring a profound shift in consumer preferences and industrial power. According to the latest data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, cumulative passenger car imports totaled about 440,000 vehicles through November 2025. This represents a decline of 29.7% from a year earlier
Friday 9 January 2026
Samsung Foundry eyes auto chips for growth beyond data centers

Samsung Electronics is positioning its contract chipmaking business to win automotive orders, a move industry analysts view as a practical entry point into the emerging "Physical AI" market. While TSMC remains the leader in AI processors for data centers, Samsung is focusing on the specific demands of vehicles and robotics

Friday 9 January 2026
China targets 2027 self-sufficiency in core AI technologies
Amid escalating US–China technology competition, China at the start of 2026 formally unveiled new objectives for its AI industrial policy. Eight government bodies, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), jointly released an implementation plan for "AI + Manufacturing." The plan sets a clear target: by 2027, China aims to secure a fully "safe and reliable" domestic supply of core AI technologies and integrate three to five general-purpose large language models (LLMs) deeply into manufacturing and other industrial sectors
Friday 9 January 2026
South Korean startup WARP Solution advances Wi-Fi-like wireless charging
South Korean startup WARP Solution is advancing the commercialization of radio frequency (RF) wireless power transfer (WPT) chips and components, via applications such as electronic shelf labels (ESL). The company has already begun collaboration and validation efforts with consumer electronics brands such as Samsung Electronics and is showcasing its products at CES 2026, aiming to expand partnerships worldwide
Thursday 8 January 2026
CES 2026: Power shift on display as TCL takes center stage while Samsung steps back
CES 2026 opened on January 6 (Pacific Time), offering not only a snapshot of technology trends but also a clear signal of shifting industry power. Ahead of the show, industry watchers had widely expected Japanese and South Korean brands to scale back. DIGITIMES on-site reporting confirms that Samsung Electronics and SK Group — both major Central Hall exhibitors in 2025 — were absent from the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) this year, with their former prime locations taken over by Chinese companies led by TCL
Thursday 8 January 2026
China's 'Neuralink rival' raises US$286 million in BCI funding
China's brain–computer interface (BCI) unicorn BrainCo has completed a funding round of about CNY2 billion (US$286 million), making it the world's second-largest single BCI financing, behind only Neuralink's US$650 million raise in mid-2025
Thursday 8 January 2026
BMW cuts prices in China as 2026 auto competition heats up

As 2026 begins, competition within China's auto market is heating up rapidly, propelled by a convergence of government policy shifts and intensifying competitive pressure. Leading the opening salvo of the new year's price war was BMW, which announced price cuts across much of its China lineup, with discounts in some cases exceeding 20%

Thursday 8 January 2026
China's price war pushes AI data center energy storage to breaking point
CES 2026 highlighted a wide range of AI applications, but the core driver remains the large-scale buildout of global AI data centers (AIDC). Energy storage systems are shifting from a policy-driven supporting role to indispensable infrastructure for the AI era. In China, extreme price competition is placing the sector under a critical test of safety and quality
Thursday 8 January 2026
China reportedly tells firms to pause Nvidia H200 orders to push domestic AI chips
Chinese authorities have reportedly asked domestic tech companies to halt orders for Nvidia's H200 AI chips, according to Reuters, signaling tighter oversight even as US export licenses near completion. The move reflects Beijing's broader push to prioritize domestic semiconductor development while managing foreign chip adoption