Artificial Intelligence

[Video] China’s robots are getting faster, stronger and more human

The second World Humanoid Robot Games saw humanoids breaking human running records and executing complex dance moves and precise hand tasks. What a difference a year makes. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina finds out more.

Yi Jina

28 Aug 2026

China tech firms drive AI data centre boom in Southeast Asia

China is powering Southeast Asia’s data centre boom. But as demand surges and resources tighten, Chinese companies are localising their operations and reshaping the region’s digital infrastructure.

Caixin Global

28 Aug 2026

China’s AI idol craze: Fad or future?

China’s virtual idols are moving beyond entertainment, winning followers, landing brand deals and taking on roles once reserved for real people. As AI gives these digital characters voices, memories and agency, is China witnessing a passing craze — or the start of a new kind of celebrity? Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Christine Li Yage dives into the matter.

Christine Li Yage

27 Aug 2026

How Guangzhou and Shenzhen weathered Trump’s tariff storm

Guangzhou and Shenzhen, manufacturing and technology engines of Guangdong province, were hard-hit by Trump 2.0 tariffs, but they managed to bounce back or even hold steady with resilience under pressure. Economics professor Jiang Kun gives her analysis in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Jiang Kun

26 Aug 2026

How did Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou become the world’s number one tech hub?

The Global Innovation Index published by the World Intellectual Property Office puts the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster in first place. The tech hub’s unique combination of strengths has allowed it to surpass the usual suspects in Silicon Valley, observes academic Erik Baark in ThinkChina’s Eye on Guangdong series.

Erik Baark

25 Aug 2026

[Big read] China’s AI catch-up is forcing Silicon Valley to cut prices

China’s AI catch-up is challenging US dominance as cheaper, open-weight models spread. As both sides compete for the frontier and mass market, the lines between their AI ecosystems are hardening. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Sha finds out.

Liu Sha

25 Aug 2026

Chatting alone? What AI companions reveal about human relationships

How do you manage a relationship with a machine that is not as emotionally invested as you and may learn to read you over time as a friend would? Navigating the AI companions landscape depends not just on regulation but on how these products are designed to handle emotional responsibility, says US researcher Hong Shen.

Hong Shen

21 Aug 2026

Game studios have bought into AI, but players still aren’t sold

AI is flooding gaming with cheaper, faster content — but not necessarily better games. As China embraces AI-native play and world models, the industry faces a harder test: can AI deliver real innovation without drowning players in clones?

Caixin Global

21 Aug 2026

China bans AI companions from pleasing you too much. Should Singapore?

Millions in China lost their AI confidants overnight. Days later in Singapore, chatbots were asked to introduce themselves. Behind the two responses lies a question kings once faced: what do you do about a servant who never disagrees with you? Academic Ashton Ng ponders the question.

Ashton Ng

20 Aug 2026

AI micro-dramas do not understand people. Are we starting not to either?

The gliches in AI micro-dramas may have been fixed, but not their indifference to human nature. As we consume ever more predictable stories, are we also losing our patience for complexity — and our respect for what’s real? Han Yong May, deputy editor-in-chief of SPH’s Chinese Media Group, ponders the question.

Han Yong May

20 Aug 2026

China bans AI lovers, but loneliness remains

When man bonds with a machine, depends on it and feels affirmed by it, is a void filled? But what if the mirage disappears or the relationship is taken to extremes? Researcher Renwen Zhang contemplates the psyche behind the rise of AI companions.

Renwen Zhang

14 Aug 2026

How China is funding its AI ambitions without US capital

China’s hard tech sector once relied heavily on US and other overseas capital. As geopolitical tensions closed that funding channel, Beijing built a multi-tier domestic capital system that is now reshaping how Chinese AI and semiconductor companies grow, exit and attract private investment, opines technology specialist Yin Ruizhi.

Yin Ruizhi

13 Aug 2026