China’s tech news headlines in October 2023 spanned – of course – a huge range of issues, developments, applications and outcomes. These included: China’s fast-growing moves into generative artificial intelligence; the country’s burgeoning space and satellites technology industries; autonomous driving developments, in-country and overseas; and many more.
So, for an understanding of tech news from, or relating to, China in October 2023, hit the headlines below; each links to the China tech news item or article behind it, in full.
And, for other editions, take a look at Asia’s tech news, daily, delivered via LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter/X, and our Indo-Pacific tech newsletters for a weekly email on Asia’s tech scene.
Turquoise Roof Bulletin: Impacts of lithium mining on Tibet and Tibetans
- China: Central bank Shenzhen Branch joins Shanghai Gold Exchange to explore CBDC-tied gold recycling; recycled gold amounted to 20% of domestic supply in 2018
- China: ‘Super SIM’ cards moves add digital yuan wallets, smartcards, ID cards, NFC tech and more, alongside option to manually fit on to existing ID cards
- China: Alibaba logistics arm, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, heads for Hong Kong IPO, reportedly aiming to raise $1BN-$2BN
- ICYMI: Telegram moves towards WeChat-style super app and mini-app ecosystem with cloud infrastructure provided by WeChat’s owner, Tencent
- China to expand Tiāngōng space station from 3 to 6 modules whilst expanding operational lifetime from 10 years to beyond 15, with sights on ISS retirement in 2030
World Economic Forum: Space Applications in Agriculture
- Spain plans $527M to grow 5G networks in rural areas with suppliers considered ‘high risk’ to be excluded; Huawei objects, claiming the move is politically motivated
- European Union to open anti-subsidy investigations on Chinese steelmakers, building on EV investigations announced last month, with both actions citing China’s gov’t-subsidized competitive practices
- China: Huawei digs into open-source via KubeCon China 2023 with sights on Linux-based CAMARA and ONAP open source projects in telecoms, APIs, network mgmt and more
- “With advancements in AI, several Chinese companies are now venturing into the world of ‘griefbots’ and digital avatars, which help reconnect with lost loved ones. But experts warn of…”
- Self-driving truck firm, Plus, splits China and US arms in bid to insulate operations from US-PRC tensions and tightening regulatory oversight in China
Achilles: Q2 2023 Supply Chain Resilience Index
- China: HaomoAI, autonomous drive-tech firm backed by Great Wall Motor, unveils low-cost Advanced Driver Assistance System kits to enable autonomous driving on highways
- China: Public-facing generative AI model training data regulation proposed, with data sources containing ‘more than 5% of illegal and harmful information’ to be blacklisted
- China: Ofilm camera modules firm, previously an Apple supplier but dropped due to tech blacklisting, takes tech skills to Huawei Mate 60 as a contractor
- China: Baichuan AI firm from Sogou search engine founder raised $300M from backers including Alibaba and Tencent
- ICYMI: Five Eyes network officials – US, UK, Canada, Australia & NZ – raise range of tech threats, attacks and manipulations arising from China during Silicon Valley visit
BryceTech: Small Satellites in 2023
- China: CGST satellite firm claims 10GB per second data transfer from space to ground station via laser; now with sights on 40-100Gbps and multiple ground stations
- China: Jianghui Automobile Group, key contract automaker supplier for major Nio EV firm, to sell 2 factories
- China’s BeyonCa electric vehicle battery firm, backed by Renault and state-owned Dongfeng, inks stake sale agreement with Saudi Al Faisaliah Group, with sights on Middle East EV market
- China: Geely and Baidu launch AI-powered 01 ROBOCAR EV, featuring Baidu’s full Apollo suite of Level 4 autonomous driving solutions
- China’s PonyAI autonomous driving firm gains $100M from Saudi Arabia’s NEOM, adding to JV plans around advanced vehicles and infrastructure in NEOM and MENA markets
The Outlaw Ocean Project: Human rights, overfishing, environment…
- South Korea: Gov’t forms task force on online manipulation of public opinion following Asian Games soccer match support mimicking Korean users in support of opposing team
- Malaysia: Automotive High-Technology Valley project formalised with agreement inked between Malaysia’s DRB-Hicom conglomerate and China’s Geely automaker
- Kazakhstan: TikTok CEO makes inroads with Kazakh President at Digital Bridge Forum, aiming to build company presence on foundation of TikTok StartUp Academy project
- Bangladesh: Huawei adds to country presence with second edition of Huawei ICT Competition for undergrad students, further growing the competition’s global footprint
- HK Science & Tech Park inks MOU with China’s J2 Semiconductor, aiming for R&D hub for 3rd-gen semiconductors and silicon carbide 8-inch advanced wafer production
- Myanmar: Coup leaders seek China input for biometric ID system, building on collection of fingerprints, iris, face biometrics and other personal info from citizens 10 years and older
McKinsey: The economic potential of artificial intelligence
- Taiwan’s Foxconn hit with economic coercion via tax audits and land use probes in China, likely in response to Foxconn founder standing for election in Taiwan
- Philippines’ National Coast Watch Center inks agreement with Canada’s satellite-based Dark Vessel Detection System to monitor China’s maritime militia activities in PH waters
- “Rever Automotive’s exclusive distribution rights for BYD represent a formidable challenge for Japanese and South Korean automakers in the Thai electric vehicle market…”
- ICYMI: Nicosia, capital of Cyprus, rolls out Huawei and PROBOTEK solution for early fire detection using 5G, AI and drones
- Kazakhstan’s Science Fund partners Singapore/China Quest Ventures to boost research commercialization and startup growth
NBR: China’s Emerging Capabilities – Cyber, space, autonomous systems
Indo-Pacific TECH news
All-day tech news updates from across the broad – and increasingly strategically and technologically important – Indo-Pacific region, and across South and Southeast Asia:
- Indo-Pacific tech daily on Twitter
- Indo-Pacific tech daily on Facebook
- Indo-Pacific tech news on LinkedIn
Our mobile app is currently offline, due to the ongoing devolution of what was Twitter, now X.
We aim to have the app back online with a much-improved interface and broader functionality late in 2023.
October 2023: Semiconductors, critical minerals, space tech & satellites
Indo-Pacific TECH newsletter
Our weekly e-newsletters go out via Substack and LinkedIn, giving a one-glance grasp of the week’s technology news from the Indo-Pacific and South & Southeast Asia.
