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Monday 18 May 2026
AMEC-SMIC: China's chip-equipment push moves from trials to scale
China's semiconductor equipment localization campaign is entering a more demanding phase, shifting from proving that domestic alternatives can work to showing they can meet the reliability, throughput, and yield requirements of production-scale manufacturing
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Tuesday 19 May 2026
Samsung, SK Hynix face chipmaking chemical squeeze as China feedstock costs surge
Prices for semiconductor-grade hydrogen fluoride supplied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are expected to rise sharply between late June and July, as higher costs for a key China-sourced raw material ripple through South Korea's chip supply chain, according to industry sources cited by The Elec
Tuesday 19 May 2026
Commentary: Sanctions reshaped China's foundry sector — just not in the way markets expected
China's foundry sector is charting a different course as the global semiconductor market remains focused on AI GPUs, the 2nm process node, and advanced packaging. Led by Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) and Hua Hong Semiconductor, domestic Chinese foundries have not stalled under US sanctions; instead, they are accelerating efforts to build a China-specific foundry ecosystem amid the AI boom, recovering demand for mature nodes, and a push for supply-chain self-reliance
Monday 18 May 2026
South Korea's A2Z bets on autonomous buses as Waymo, Baidu's Apollo Go dominate robotaxi race

As Waymo in the US and Baidu's Apollo Go in China expand robotaxi services on public roads, South Korea's autonomous-driving industry is under pressure to find a viable route of its own

Monday 18 May 2026
China's car market enters a brutal shakeout
China's auto market is entering a far more difficult phase. Domestic demand has slowed sharply, and for many carmakers the industry increasingly resembles a road with no visible end. Yet from the perspective of the automotive supply chain, two very different stories are unfolding inside the same market
Monday 18 May 2026
Samsung reportedly boosts 1b DRAM yields as Korean memory rivalry heats up
Samsung Electronics has significantly improved yields for its latest DRAM technologies used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), according to IT Chosun, underscoring the intensifying race among memory makers to secure leadership in AI-related semiconductors
Monday 18 May 2026
Asus leverages manufacturing expertise and memory supply edge to grow its South Korean server business
Asus is accelerating its push into the server market in South Korea, leveraging its manufacturing prowess, long-term ties with major memory makers, and flexible design and supply strategies to take advantage of mass procurements in South Korea's government-led sovereign AI infrastructure initiative and GPU server roll-outs at Hyundai Motor, telecom operators, and financial institutions in the country
Monday 18 May 2026
Memory crunch opens IPO window for China’s CXMT
China's top DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies is entering its Shanghai IPO push with a much stronger story for investors, as a global memory shortage turns years of losses into sharply higher revenue and profit
Monday 18 May 2026
China cracks down on illegal drone flight-control hacks after multiple cases uncovered
China's Ministry of Public Security announced on May 18 that authorities had uncovered nearly 10 cases nationwide involving illegal modification of drone flight-control systems that removed no-fly zone restrictions, bypassed maximum altitude limits, and altered payload parameters. The agency said the actions created potential public-safety, civil aviation, and military-control risks and pledged continued high-pressure enforcement against illegal decryption and unauthorized flights
Monday 18 May 2026
China's disposable car model reshapes global supply chains
At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, China's shift toward "disposable cars" carries global repercussions: faster refresh cycles could reshape vehicle lifespans, aftermarket ecosystems, and supply-chain standards worldwide. International automakers and suppliers, notably in Taiwan, may face new demands as cars are increasingly designed to iterate like consumer electronics rather than endure as durable assets
Sunday 17 May 2026
Silicon-carbon batteries become latest front in US-China tech rivalry
As American battery startups continue working to commercialize next-generation silicon-carbon batteries, Chinese manufacturers are already deploying the technology at scale and now pushing it into aviation-grade territory
Sunday 17 May 2026
Taiwan chipmakers quietly fill gaps left by Korea's HBM push
Taiwan's semiconductor ecosystem is getting an unexpected lift from the AI server investment boom. Supply pressure that began in high-bandwidth memory and leading-edge process technology is now rippling into legacy memory, packaging, and testing
Saturday 16 May 2026
China's memory push accelerates as YMTC and CXMT expand DRAM ambitions
China's memory semiconductor industry is entering a new phase of expansion as leading domestic players ramp up investments in both NAND flash and DRAM technologies, amid an AI-driven global memory boom and tightening supply conditions
Saturday 16 May 2026
Column: Orbit are now battlefields—how the world's powers are militarizing space
In April 2024, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) executed one of the most significant overhauls of its military architecture in decades. The former Strategic Support Force was disbanded and reorganized into three distinct branches: the Military Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, and the Information Support Force. Together with the existing Joint Logistics Support Force, these constitute a new four-branch support structure — one designed not merely to support terrestrial warfare, but to dominate the space domain itself
Friday 15 May 2026
Samsung shields chip lines as union sticks to strike plan

Samsung Electronics has reportedly begun pre-emptive production adjustments at its semiconductor facilities as its labor union sticks to a planned 18-day strike despite the company's latest offer to resume talks without conditions

Friday 15 May 2026
Maserati turns to Huawei as China's EV power expands into luxury cars
In a move that underscores both the desperation of legacy luxury brands and the growing confidence of China's electric-vehicle (EV) industry, Huawei is reportedly in advanced talks with Maserati and JAC Motors to jointly develop a new generation of high-end EVs aimed at Europe's premium auto market