Asia

One year after DeepSeek, Chinese AI firms from Alibaba to Moonshot race to release new models
28Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China, World

One year after DeepSeek, Chinese AI firms from Alibaba to Moonshot race to release new models

Chinese companies are accelerating the rollout of new artificial intelligence models as competition with U.S.-based rivals OpenAI, Anthropic and Google intensifies. Just over a year ago, China-made DeepSeek rocked global markets with the release of an AI chatbot that undercut OpenAI’s ChatGPT on usage fees and production costs, raising questions about the efficacy of U.S. tech restrictions on China. On Tuesday, Beijing-based startup Moonshot AI revealed Kimi K2.5, which claimed to have video-generation and agentic capabilities that outperformed all three of the leading U.S. AI models. Agentic AI broadly refers to AI systems capable of carrying out tasks on behalf of people. The ultimate goal is to have sophisticated agents that work autonomously with minimal user interaction. ...
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China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway Financing Loan Signed 
28Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China

China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway Financing Loan Signed 

CKU Railway Company LLC, a joint venture formed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan and a syndicate of PRC banks, signed a loan agreement to finance the  $4.7 billion China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) railway construction project on December 16 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Times of Central Asia, December 17, 2025). Under the deal, the PRC will provide $2.3 billion, approximately half of the project’s cost, as a 35-year loan to be repaid by the joint venture company. The remaining amount will be provided by the three countries, with the PRC contributing 51 percent and Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan each contributing 24.5 percent. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Bakyt Torobayev said, “This achievement ...
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House Seeks Say Over AI Chip Sales After Nvidia’s China Win
22Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China, World

House Seeks Say Over AI Chip Sales After Nvidia’s China Win

Congress is one step closer to gaining the authority to review artificial intelligence chip sales to China, a move likely to open a rift with the Trump administration over plans to let Nvidia Corp. sell its powerful H200 processors to the world’s second-largest economy. A House committee focused on foreign affairs approved bipartisan legislation Wednesday that calls for arms-sale style congressional oversight of advanced AI chip exports. Beyond oversight, the text endorsed by the panel’s Republicans and Democrats would outright ban sales of Nvidia’s more advanced Blackwell chips to China for at least two years, codifying existing export controls into law. The bill marks a response to President Donald Trump’s decision last month to ease longstanding export controls on China, a mo...
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Exclusive: Britain, China to revive ‘Golden Era’ business dialogue during Starmer visit, sources say
22Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China

Exclusive: Britain, China to revive ‘Golden Era’ business dialogue during Starmer visit, sources say

Britain and China will aim to revive a "golden era" business dialogue when Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Beijing next week, three sources familiar with the initiative said, with top company executives from both sides invited to participate. AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab, BP (BP.L), opens new tab, HSBC (HSBA.L), opens new tab, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG.L), opens new tab, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce (RR.L), opens new tab, Schroders (SDR.L), opens new tab and Standard Chartered (STAN.L), opens new tab, are among the British firms set to join a revamped "UK-China CEO Council," said the sources, who are both Chinese and British. The council was originally conceived by then-Prime Minister Theresa May and then-Premier Li Keqiang in 2018, during a period of ties bo...
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Southeast Asia fintech funding fell 21% in 2025
13Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

Southeast Asia fintech funding fell 21% in 2025

This is despite Airwallex and Superbank doing well in their fund raising and IPO. Southeast Asia’s financial technology (fintech) sector saw funding decline 21% year-on-year (YoY) in 2025, data from Tracxn showed. Despite the decline, the fintech sector remained one of the top performing sectors in Southeast Asia in regard to funding activity. Airwallex was one of the companies who raised funding above $100m during the year, raising $330m in its funding round. Indonesia’s Superbank was one of 15 SEA tech IPOs in 2025. Enterprise infrastructure was the top performing tech sector in 2025, raising $2.3b in 2025, a 70% YoY increase compared to 2024. Enterprise applications, meanwhile, attracted $1.42b in funding in 2025, 38% YoY lower than a year earlier.
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Japan firms seen ‘stockpiling’ rare earths as Tokyo looks to G7 in face of China controls
12Jan mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
Asia, China

Japan firms seen ‘stockpiling’ rare earths as Tokyo looks to G7 in face of China controls

Fears of China choking off exports of critical minerals to Japan amid a deepening political dispute have set off industry alarms and prompted Tokyo to elevate the issue at a G7 gathering of finance ministers this week, despite Beijing’s assurances that civilian trade would be spared. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said last week that she would attend the Group of Seven event in Washington on Monday with the “risk of a rare-earth-supply interruption from China in mind”, the Tokyo-based Jiji Press reported. Officials from Canada, the United States and Australia were also expected to participate. The inclusion of rare earths on the G7 agenda reflects heightened concern in Japan over China controlling exports of 17 rare earth elements that are crucial for Japan’s massive...
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It’s time to revive plans for an Asian Monetary Fund
8Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia

It’s time to revive plans for an Asian Monetary Fund

In 2025, with the United States’ tariff policy targeting trade deficits with many of its Asian trading partners, headlines focused on how trade flows would be diverted out of Asia. Yet, we should pay more attention to how investors’ jitters could also destabilize Asia’s financial systems, sending aftershocks through regional markets. Couple that with soaring global debt and an unsustainable AI-fueled stock market bubble, it’s not a question of if, but when, the global economy reaches a breaking point. Emerging Asia is uniquely susceptible to global headwinds. Without a strong domestic consumption base, many countries are highly integrated into global value chains and rely heavily on exports to boost their economies. Asia has also attracted significant amounts of foreign inves...
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China, Pakistan vow closer ties in trade, finance, security: Xinhua
7Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China

China, Pakistan vow closer ties in trade, finance, security: Xinhua

China and Pakistan have agreed to ⁠deepen cooperation in industry, agriculture and mining, and ‌expand ‌collaboration in trade and ‌investment, information technology and cybersecurity, according to a joint statement released by Chinese state media. The two countries also ‌pledged ‍to strengthen ‍cooperation in the financial and banking ‌sectors and to support each other on regional and international multilateral financial platforms, Xinhua news ‍agency reported. They called for more "visible ‍and ⁠verifiable" ⁠actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist organisations entrenched in Afghanistan, the statement said.
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European factory activity ends 2025 in deeper contraction but Asia shines on improved demand
2Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, World

European factory activity ends 2025 in deeper contraction but Asia shines on improved demand

Euro zone manufacturing activity shrank further in December but Asia's factory powerhouses closed 2025 on a firmer footing backed by a rebound in export orders and growing demand for artificial intelligence, private surveys showed.Factory activity in the common currency bloc slid into deeper contraction last month as production decreased for the first time in 10 months on further declines in new orders. The HCOB Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, fell to 48.8 in December from 49.6 in November. It was the lowest reading in nine months and below the 50 level that separates growth from contraction for the second straight month.Surveys highlighted a broad-based decline in activity in the 20-nation euro zone.Germany, the bloc's largest e...
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Meta to Buy Chinese-Founded AI Startup Seen as ‘Next DeepSeek’
31Dec mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
Asia, China, World

Meta to Buy Chinese-Founded AI Startup Seen as ‘Next DeepSeek’

US tech giant Meta has announced plans to takeover Manus, a Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup hailed earlier this year as “the next DeepSeek”. The news on Monday (US time) comes as Meta ramps up moves to integrate advanced AI across its platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook and more. Financial terms of its transaction with Manus were not revealed, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter said the deal values the Singapore-based firm at between $2 billion and $3 billion. Meta has said Manus will cut ties with China after it has been acquired, according to Nikkei. So, China’s response to the takeover may be interesting, given Beijing’s desire to bolster its tech and artificial intelligence capacity. Manus did not immediately reply to a request for ...
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