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Xinhua: AI Becomes Core Growth Driver in 2024 Financial Reports of Chinese Tech Giants

Chinese internet companies recently released their 2024 financial reports. Xinhua News, the official state news agency of the People’s Republic of China, reported that AI technology stood out as a key driver of growth.

  • Tencent has accelerated AI integration across its businesses, using a “self-developed + open-source” strategy to boost products like Tencent Yuanbao and Tencent Docs.
  • Baidu’s Smart Cloud drove core business growth, with Q4 2024 revenue up 26 percent year-over-year.
  • Alibaba Cloud’s external commercial revenue rose 11 percent in Q4 2024, and its AI product revenue has seen triple-digit growth for six consecutive quarters.
  • Meituan invested 21.1 billion yuan (US$ 2.9 billion) in 2024 under its “Retail + Technology” strategy. JD.com has invested nearly 140 billion yuan in R&D since 2017, focusing on AI to improve supply chain and warehousing efficiency.

According to Li Mingtao of the China International E-commerce Center, Chinese companies are expanding AI development and application across areas like search, media editing, health, customer service, and supply chain. AI is also driving upgrades in industrial internet, with applications in production planning, inventory, remote control, and personalized services becoming the norm.

Source: Xinhua, April 30, 2025
http://www3.xinhuanet.com/tech/20250430/ce3d2ae7b1934cd4a55065d00bc1c516/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology

People’s Daily Quotes Xi Jinping on Artificial Intelligence Direction for China

People’s Daily has published an article featuring several quotes from Xi Jinping on the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

  • Facing the rapid evolution of AI technologies, it is essential to fully leverage the advantages of the “whole nation” system, adhere to self-reliance and self-improvement, emphasize application-oriented development, and promote the healthy and orderly development of AI in China in a beneficial, safe, and fair direction.
  • We must face the gaps and redouble our efforts, comprehensively advancing AI technological innovation, industrial development, and empowering applications. We need to improve the AI regulatory system and mechanisms, and firmly grasp the initiative in AI development and governance.
  • We should promote the deep integration of AI technological innovation and industrial innovation, build a collaborative innovation system led by enterprises, integrating industry, academia, research, and applications, assisting in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and opening up new pathways for the development of strategic emerging industries and future industries.
  • AI can be regarded as an international public good that benefits humanity. It is crucial to widely engage in international AI cooperation, assist the global south in strengthening their technological capabilities, and play China’s proper role in bridging the global intelligence gap.

Source: People’s Daily, April 27, 2025
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2025/0427/c1001-40469401.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology

LTN: TSMC 2-nm Technology Aims for Mass Production in the Second Half of This Year

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that TSMC’s deputy general manager indicated the world-leading 2nm process is scheduled for mass production in the second half of this year.

TSMC’s 2-nanometer process is currently the world’s most advanced semiconductor technology in terms of density and energy efficiency. Compared with the 3-nanometer process, the 2nm process will result in a 10-15 percent increase in performance and a 25-30 percent reduction in power consumption. TSMC expects that, after 5 years of mass production, the technology will drive the value of end products of about US$2.5 trillion worldwide.

TSMC also revealed that its next generation “A14” technology, based on significant improvements on top of its 2nm technology, will improve performance by an additional 15 percent at the same power consumption level, or the power consumption will be reduced by an additional 30 percent at the same performance level – all while the logic density will increase by more than 20 percent.

Source: LTN, April 26, 2025
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/5024403

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China Times: TSMC U.S. Branch Flooded by Orders

Major Taiwanese newspaper China Times recently reported that the importance of U.S.-based chip manufacturing has greatly increased as a result of U.S. President Trump’s stated intention to bring manufacturing back to the United States and with his hard-line tariff policies. Although TSMC factories in the United States do not have the most advanced technology, the company has already won orders from leading tech companies like Nvidia and Apple. Before recent tariff policies went into effect, most U.S. companies were not willing to place orders for completion by TSMC’s US-based fabs due to high production costs.

TSMC has increased the price of its U.S.-made chips by 30 percent, yet it is still receiving a lot of orders from American customers. Industrial analysts expect that the Trump administration will soon apply separate tariffs on the semiconductor and electronic products category. This will likely lead to TSMC factories in the US becoming increasingly important, with possible price inflation forecasted for US-based chip fabrication.

Source: China Times, April 17, 2025
https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20250417001346-260410?chdtv

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Information/Technology

LTN: Major Chinese Apple Supplier Luxshare Plans to Build Production Lines in U.S.

Major Taiwanese news network Liberty Times Network (LTN) recently reported that Luxshare, a Chinese electronic components manufacturer and a major Apple supplier, held an online press conference not long ago saying that the new U.S. tariffs will not have a major impact on the company. However, Laichun Wang, Luxshare’s chairman of the board, said in an internal teleconference that the company is moving more production lines outside China and has plans to do some manufacturing inside the United States.

In a hour-long internal discussion, Wang said the company only has a small number of finished products directly shipped to the United States, yet the company still needs to increase its overseas investment. More importantly, some domestic investment plans have to be paused for the time being. The company is in the middle of discussions with its U.S. customers about moving more production lines to the United States. Regarding whether the tariffs will be absorbed jointly by the suppliers, the product companies and the final consumers or not, Wang said, “So far, no hardware suppliers have assumed the charges for tariffs or logistics. This has never happened before.”

Luxshare is one of the primary Apple suppliers, headquartered in Baoan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. It’s Foxconn’s largest iPhone OEM rival. The company also designs and manufactures electronic equipment such as routers, wireless charging modules and video conference equipment. Luxshare currently has production bases and research centers in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico and the United States.

Neither Luxshare nor Apple responded to requests for comment from LTN.

Source: LTN, April 9, 2025
https://ec.ltn.com.tw/article/breakingnews/5007082

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Study Finds Abnormally High Lithium Levels in Pregnant Women and Infants in Beijing

A March 5 report from the South China Morning Post revealed that lithium concentrations in the bodies of pregnant women and infants in Beijing are abnormally high – 20 times higher than in other industrial cities in China.

Professor Hu Ligang, an environmental chemist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, monitored lithium concentrations in maternal and umbilical cord blood in Beijing and Changsha. The study found that in 2023, the average lithium concentration in the blood of pregnant women in Changsha, Hunan Province, was 0.61 micrograms per liter (mcg/L), but in Beijing, the number was 27.31 mcg/L.

In Changsha, the lithium found in infants’ umbilical cord blood mainly came from grains, vegetables, and drinking water. However, in Beijing, 96% of the lithium intake by mothers could not be traced to known sources such as food, water, or air. This suggests there might exist a stable, unidentified source of lithium exposure in Beijing.

Excessive lithium levels in the human body can lead to lithium poisoning, which affects all major organs, particularly the kidneys, thyroid, and nervous system.

Source: Radio France International, March 17, 2025
https://www.rfi.fr/cn/专栏检索/环境与发展/20250317-研究显示-北京孕妇脐带血锂浓度超高而暴露源不明

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Information/Technology Social Stability

People’s Daily: Humanoid Robot Innovation Will Come From the Orient

CCP mouthpiece People’s Daily recently published an article saying that China is a leading force in the innovation of the humanoid robots:

“According to data from Morgan Stanley’s report Humanoid Robot 100: Mapping the Humanoid Robot Value Chain, China has led the world in humanoid robot-related patent applications over the past five years, with a total of 5,688 patents. The United States, Japan, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) each recorded over 1,000 applications, with 1,483, 1,195, and 1,123 patents, respectively.

“The report also highlights that among the 100 publicly listed companies involved in humanoid robot manufacturing, 73 percent are based in Asia, with China alone accounting for 56 percent.

“Chinese humanoid robot companies follow a development strategy of ‘whole-machine integration and in-house research and development of key components,’ enabling rapid product iteration and industry growth. As a result, new products are emerging rapidly, and there is no significant generational gap in technology compared to foreign counterparts.

“In November 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the Guiding Opinions on Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots, outlining clear development goals. By 2025, the country aims to establish a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots, achieve breakthroughs in key technologies, and ensure the secure and effective supply of core components. The plan also includes fostering 2–3 globally influential ecosystem enterprises and a group of specialized small and medium-sized enterprises while creating 2–3 industrial clusters. By 2027, China aims to significantly enhance its humanoid robot technology innovation capabilities, establish a secure and reliable industrial supply chain, and build an internationally competitive industrial ecosystem, reaching an advanced global level in overall strength.”

Source: People’s Daily, March 19, 2025
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2025/0319/c1002-40442021.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

UDN: Mysterious Chinese Chip Equipment Manufacturer Plans to Release New Products

United Daily News (UDN), one of the primary Taiwanese news groups, recently reported that SiCarrier, a Chinese manufacturer of semiconductor equipment, will debut a new product at an exhibition very soon. SiCarrier is not well known; the company is closely affiliated with tech giant Huawei. The public is curious about whether the company will exhibit 5-nanometer equipment.

SiCarrier is expected to launch a variety of new products, including its epitaxial wafers (EPI), an etching System (ETCH), a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) product, and an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) tool. Although technology jointly patented by SiCarrier and Huawei last year has attracted attention, the company has not yet solved the problem of integrating supply chains to achieve mass production capacity. The SiCarrier patent helps reduce dependency on high-end exposure machines and may help Huawei and its partners to produce 5-nanometer chips without ASML’s ultraviolet (EUV) exposure equipment.

SiCarrier, established in 2021, has been keeping a low profile. Its official website only mentions that the company belongs to the state-owned Shenzhen Critical Industrial Investment Group. The company describes itself as a “core semiconductor equipment supplier” and states that the company is committed to the development and manufacturing of “advanced semiconductor equipment.”

Source: UDN, March 22, 2025
https://udn.com/news/story/7333/8625644?from=udn_ch2cate6640sub7333_pulldownmenu_v2

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology