2 h. ago ‘Important step’: fatal crashes prompt Malaysia to curb speeding lorries, buses

Malaysia will require owners of lorries and buses to install a device that prevents vehicles from going faster than 90km/h, after a spate of fatal road accidents, including a bus crash on Monday that killed 15 university students. Malaysia’s roads are among some of the world’s most dangerous, with one person dying every two hours according to government statistics between March 2024 and March 2025. Lorries and buses routinely flout the speed limit of 90km/h, and high-speed collisions are common...

Events

9 h. ago TikTok’s sister app Douyin courts merchants with lower deposit fees

TikTok owner ByteDance, whose Douyin short video app has emerged as a popular e-commerce shopping platform in China, will cut the guarantee deposit payable by merchants, in a move designed to keep existing sellers and lure new ones amid fierce competition. The deposit, held by the platform on behalf of sellers to cover potential costs such as refunds or penalties, would be capped at 5,000 yuan (US$695), a fraction of the previous maximum of 500,000 yuan. As a result, the deposit payable by...

Events

10 h. ago Hong Kong Bets the Future on a Vast Tech Zone by China’s Border

Hong Kong Bets the Future on a Vast Tech Zone by China’s Border  Bloomberg.com

Politics

11 h. ago Trump cannot hope to solve a China ‘problem’ he has misdiagnosed

Amid a US-China trade truce, negotiators in London reached a “framework” agreement to activate the Geneva deal, raising hopes for an immediate alleviation of the trade conflict, including potentially a US commitment to revoke some of its tech embargoes in return for China’s relaxation of rare earth export restrictions. The full details of the London agreement are expected to be available after both US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping have approved it. The two-day London...

Politics

11 h. ago Trump’s fundamental mistake is in seeing China as America’s problem

Amid a US-China trade truce, negotiators in London reached a “framework” agreement to activate the Geneva deal, raising hopes for an immediate alleviation of the trade conflict, including potentially a US commitment to revoke some of its tech embargoes in return for China’s relaxation of rare earth export restrictions. The full details of the London agreement are expected to be available after both US President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping have approved it. The two-day London...

Politics

12 h. ago China, Japan: Close Encounter in the Air as Beijing Shows Off Naval Capabilities

China, Japan: Close Encounter in the Air as Beijing Shows Off Naval Capabilities  Stratfor: The World's Leading Geopolitical Intelligence Platform

Politics

13 h. ago Toyota is teaming up with China’s biggest tech giants to gain an edge in EVs

Toyota is teaming up with China’s biggest tech giants to gain an edge in EVs  Electrek

Politics

18 h. ago World's first embodied intelligent robot 4S store set to open in Beijing E

World's first embodied intelligent robot 4S store set to open in Beijing E-Town in August  Global Times

Events

18 h. ago China’s AI race heats up as SenseTime, ByteDance unveil model updates

China’s artificial intelligence (AI) market sees heightened competition, as various model providers – from SenseTime to ByteDance – step up efforts to enhance their services. Hong Kong-listed SenseTime has upgraded its Cantonese-speaking chatbot, Sensechat, with a comprehensive set of new features that include real-time audio and video-interaction capabilities, according to the company’s announcement on Thursday. Other enhancements include visual reasoning capabilities, which allow Sensechat to...

Culture

18 h. ago Nvidia CEO says Huawei has everyone ‘covered’ if US chip ban on China stays

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said his company’s technology remained a generation ahead of those developed by China, but warned that Huawei Technologies was in a position to expand its semiconductor business should US chip export curbs stay in place. In an interview with US broadcaster CNBC on Thursday, Huang appeared to echo recent published remarks made by Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, who said the Chinese company’s Ascend artificial intelligence (AI) processors lagged behind...

Politics

20 h. ago China’s PLA Daily slams US Golden Dome plan, warns of space arms race

China’s military newspaper has condemned America’s planned “Golden Dome” space-based missile defence system, warning that it may threaten global strategic stability and trigger an arms race in space. “The development of the Golden Dome system and the US Space Force’s rapid expansion have further militarised outer space,” a commentary in the PLA Daily warned on Thursday, adding that such moves could potentially intensify great power rivalry and challenge international arms control norms. The...

Events

21 h. ago ByteDance helps jewellery firm Lao Feng Xiang push AI glasses to China’s elderly

Social media giant ByteDance is helping the 177-year-old Chinese jewellery company Lao Feng Xiang develop a new generation of smart glasses, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), that feature real-time voice navigation and translation functions. Lao Feng Xiang debuted their initial line of wearable gadgets at Wednesday’s opening of the International Exhibition of Senior Care, Rehabilitation Medicine and Healthcare, the world’s biggest senior care expo, that is being held in the company’s home...

Politics

22 h. ago World's First Humanoid Robot Dealership to Open in Beijing in August

World's First Humanoid Robot Dealership to Open in Beijing in August  Yicai Global

Politics

22 h. ago China to remove tariffs on nearly all goods from Africa as both criticise US

Twenty more African countries, mostly from the continent’s middle-income nations, are set to gain access to the world’s largest consumer market duty-free as Beijing plans to remove tariffs for all products from every African nation except eSwatini. The measure was announced as African ministers joined Beijing at a meeting in central China affiliated with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Amid the tariff war, representatives from China and African nations accused the United States of...

Politics

23 h. ago China’s Ant International to seek stablecoin licence in Hong Kong

Fintech firm Ant International, the global affiliate of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, said it would apply for a stablecoin issuer licence in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies comes into effect in August. “We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International said in a statement on Thursday. “We plan to apply for the fiat-referenced stablecoins issuer’s...

Politics

23 h. ago Ant International and Ant Digital to seek stablecoin licences in Hong Kong

Singapore-based Ant International and the Hangzhou-based Ant Digital, two affiliates of Chinese tech giant Ant Group, have announced plans to apply for stablecoin issuer licences in Hong Kong once the new ordinance governing fiat-backed cryptocurrencies takes effect in August. “We welcome the passage of the Stablecoins Bill and hope to contribute more to the city’s vision as a global hub for next-gen finance,” Ant International, a spin-off of Ant’s global operations, said in a statement on...

Politics

24 h. ago Nvidia bets on European AI push amid shrinking China revenue

Nvidia is trying to woo European markets with new partnerships and a pledge to build 20 new artificial intelligence (AI) factories across the continent, as the US chip giant grapples with declining sales in China amid Washington’s tightening export controls. CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at the annual VivaTech conference in Paris on Wednesday, said the company was building the world’s first “industrial artificial intelligence cloud” for European manufacturers. The Germany-based facility, a key part...

Politics

24 h. ago Beijing to open world's first '4S store' for embodied AI robots

Beijing to open world's first '4S store' for embodied AI robots  China Daily

Events

25 h. ago The world's first embodied intelligent robot 4S store set to open in Beijing E

The world's first embodied intelligent robot 4S store set to open in Beijing E-Town in August  Global Times

Events

25 h. ago Massed drone deployments part of military modernisation: China’s PLA Daily

China’s military mouthpiece has called for the large-scale and centralised deployment of unmanned combat forces at key locations to fully realise their potential in any future intelligent warfare, amid rising tensions with the US in the Indo-Pacific. In an article published on Tuesday, the PLA Daily urged “innovative” organisation and applications of unmanned systems, highlighting their “decisive and dominant” role in future conflicts, including the capability to conduct close-range precision...

Events