Artificial Intelligence

Manus quagmire: The long arm of China’s cross-border strategic reach

For the US and China, once technology has national security consequences, private deals become government business. Looking at the Manus case, academic Daryl Lim notes that while companies can leave the mainland, they cannot easily escape China’s strategic orbit.

Daryl Lim

China tightens control over AI experts at private firms — will this backfire?

The global AI race is heating up as China makes a surprising move to keep top AI talents from leaving the country. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei finds out the implications.

Sim Tze Wei

[Big read] The returnees: Inside China’s AI talent reversal

From Silicon Valley to Beijing and Shenzhen, a growing number of AI researchers are returning to China, reshaping careers, companies and the global balance of tech talent. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Sha examines this high-stakes return and what drives it.

Liu Sha

Trump’s China trip opens doors for US business

Trump’s Beijing visit showed that despite years of rivalry, many top US firms still see China as vital to future growth, supply chains and AI ambitions.

Caixin Global

Can US-China economic ties regain stability despite rivalry?

The US-China summit underscored efforts to stabilise strained economic ties. Despite rivalry, both sides are exploring ways to reduce uncertainty across trade, investment and strategic sectors. EAI senior research fellow Bo Chen gives his take on what he calls a managed relationship.

Bo Chen

Mythos vs DeepSeek: Why cheap AI could tip the US-China tech race

While US AI platforms such as Claude may be more sophisticated or advanced than Chinese products such as DeepSeek, perhaps one key advantage of Chinese technology is that it is much cheaper, which may make all the difference in the long term. Technology expert Yin Ruizhi weighs in.

Yin Ruizhi

[Video] US–China tech ties revealed at Xi’s power banquet

A carefully curated guest list at the high-profile state banquet during the Trump-Xi summit placed American and Chinese tech titans side by side, revealing not just diplomatic optics, but a supply chain that remains deeply intertwined despite rising geopolitical tension. ThinkChina’s Yi Jina finds out more.

Yi Jina

How AI is mining worker data to reshape the labour market

China’s AI boom is entering the office: companies are increasingly turning employees’ habits, decisions and workflows into digital workers — fuelling fears that staff are quietly training their own replacements.

Caixin Global

Beijing’s new red line: Offshore firms can’t ‘de-China’

Chinese regulators are aggressively expanding its oversight on Chinese companies, moving beyond capital controls to prevent technology, data and talent from fleeing overseas. By scrutinising offshore “red-chip” structures and blocking high-profile acquisitions like Meta’s bid for Manus, authorities are signalling that corporate re-domiciliation can no longer bypass China’s tightening national security and tax net. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Liu Sha explains.

Liu Sha

AI drives markets as valuations race ahead of earnings

From Wall Street to Shanghai, stock markets are hitting record highs as investors crowd into a narrowband of AI and semiconductor giants, turning the rally into a concentrated surge rather than a broad advance. But with gains increasingly reliant on a handful of megacap companies, is the AI boom an overstretched bubble?

Caixin Global

[Vox pop] How do Chinese people see AI?

In recent years, China has become one of the fastest-moving players in the global AI race. AI is now becoming part of everyday life for many Chinese people. And now, amid the sweeping changes triggered by this technological wave, ThinkChina’s Lu Lingming and Yi Jina speak with some Chinese to hear what they really think about AI today.

Lu Lingming

Ahead of Xi-Trump talks: Middle East, trade, Taiwan loom large ​

While the battle for the Strait of Hormuz takes centre stage, it is merely a pawn in the intensifying China-US rivalry. The upcoming Xi-Trump summit looms as a decisive arena where the Taiwan issue, energy security, trade sanctions and the AI race will clash. Lianhe Zaobao associate China news editor Sim Tze Wei tells us more.

Sim Tze Wei