44 h. ago China dominates global humanoid robot market with over 80% of installations

China accounted for more than four out of five humanoid robot installations globally in 2025, driven by domestic start-ups AgiBot and Unitree Robotics, as mass production and commercialisation accelerated, according to a report by Counterpoint Research. A total of 16,000 humanoid robots were installed globally in 2025, mainly for data collection and research, as well as in the logistics, manufacturing, and automotive sectors, according to Counterpoint data released on Wednesday. The market was...

Politics

5 d. ago Alibaba’s Qwen family hits 700 million downloads to lead global open

Alibaba Cloud’s flagship Qwen family of artificial intelligence models surpassed 700 million downloads as of January on the developer platform Hugging Face, which made it the world’s most widely used open-source AI system. According to research published on Friday by consultancy AIBase, citing data from Hugging Face, estimated Qwen downloads as of December alone exceeded the combined total of the next eight most popular models on the platform globally, including those from Meta Platforms and...

Events

6 d. ago Malaysia suspends Grok access amid global backlash on Musk’s AI

Malaysia suspended access to Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok over AI-generated pornographic content, the country’s tech regulator said on Sunday. The decision follows global backlash after it emerged that Grok’s image creation feature allowed users to sexualise pictures of women and children using simple text prompts. On Saturday, Indonesia became the first country to deny all access to the tool, which has been restricted to paying subscribers elsewhere. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia...

Politics

8 d. ago Manus’ Meta Buyout Tests the Limits of a Transferable China Tech Model for Going Global

Manus’ Meta Buyout Tests the Limits of a Transferable China Tech Model for Going Global  The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine

Politics

8 d. ago China’s yuan to strengthen to 6.85 per US dollar in first quarter of 2026: Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley has revised its outlook for the yuan, now forecasting it to strengthen to about 6.85 per US dollar in the first quarter of 2026 from a previous call of 7.05, before weakening slightly to about 7.0 by the end of the year. The bank said it expects China’s “robust” exports through 2026 to 2027 to provide “a steady tailwind to nominal yuan”, with volumes projected to grow 5 to 6 per cent as the recovery in global demand broadens beyond tech and the country’s price competitiveness...

Politics

9 d. ago Nevada eyes Chinese tech cooperation to boost economic diversification

Nevada eyes Chinese tech cooperation to boost economic diversification  China Daily - Global Edition

Economics

1 week ago China seeks ‘safe and reliable’ AI supply as global tech race heats up

China has vowed to achieve “safe and reliable supply” in key artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by 2027 as the global race for frontier technologies and applications heats up. A plan published on Wednesday by eight government agencies, led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, listed the main areas of work to reach the goal, including promoting the deep application of three to five general-purpose large AI models in the manufacturing sector. “By 2027, China’s key core...

Politics

1 week ago Singapore star JJ Lin’s girlfriend spotted filing a report at Beijing police station

Singapore star JJ Lin’s girlfriend spotted filing a report at Beijing police station  Dimsum Daily

Events

1 week ago China’s clean tech charm offensive wins Global South hearts and minds

China’s clean tech charm offensive wins Global South hearts and minds  Dialogue Earth

Science

1 week ago Singapore, Beijing land in top 10 of Savills’ inaugural Matcha Index of global tech cities

Singapore and Beijing have emerged among the world’s most liveable cities for tech workers, according to Savills’ inaugural Matcha Index, which ranks locations by buzz and by the spaces where these employees can work, connect and spark ideas over a hot – or cold – matcha drink. The index, released on Tuesday, pointed out how cafe culture has become a vital part of the social infrastructure that supports the tech ecosystem, and that matcha lattes have taken over as the “go-to” drink for young...

Science

1 week ago Singapore, Beijing land in top 10 of Savills’ Matcha Index of global tech cities

Singapore, Beijing land in top 10 of Savills’ Matcha Index of global tech cities  South China Morning Post

Science

1 week ago Shenzhen poised for bigger role in world robotics arena as firms vow to boost output

Shenzhen is positioning itself for a bigger role in the global robotics arena after the city’s tech firms pledged to accelerate the roll-out of humanoid robots in line with Premier Li Qiang’s call to bolster industrial adoption of the technology. Li, during his trip to China’s southern tech hub, urged enterprises in emerging technologies – including robotics and drones – to speed up new iterations and upgrades so that more industries and households could benefit, according to Xinhua news...

Politics

2 w. ago China’s lagging basic research demands core tech pivot as US curbs bite: economic adviser

China cannot merely chase the technological frontier – it must seize ownership of it, a prominent economist has warned, urging Beijing to accelerate basic research and master core technologies to gain leverage against Washington’s targeted restrictions. “China can no longer play follower. The US won’t let it,” said Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based governmental think tank, noting that the United States’ “small yard, high fence”...

Economics

3 w. ago Robotic vacuum maker Dreame says untapped global demand to drive next phase of growth

Despite intense competition that has pushed one US company into bankruptcy, the global robotic vacuum cleaner market has plenty of room for growth given low penetration rates, according to Meng Jia, president of Dreame Technology’s robotic vacuum division. Meng anticipates steady growth for robotic vacuum sales over the next few years, noting that market penetration remains low – less than 10 per cent in China and under 20 per cent overseas. “The robotic vacuum category hasn’t fully realised its...

Politics

3 w. ago China’s 2026 playbook: Redefining global tech, industry, and governance

China’s 2026 playbook: Redefining global tech, industry, and governance  imd.org

Politics

4 w. ago Honduras snubs China as US pressure and Beijing’s broken promises reshape Latin America

Honduras snubs China as US pressure and Beijing’s broken promises reshape Latin America  The Independent Singapore News

Events