Xiaomi, the Chinese tech giant best known for smartphones, is diving headfirst into the electric vehicle (EV) market with its first SUV. The company’s stock is soaring, hitting near-record highs and even surpassing BYD—China’s top EV maker—in market value at $187 billion. This move signals Xiaomi’s ambitious bet on the booming EV sector in the world’s largest car market.

Editor’s Note: Xiaomi isn’t just sticking to gadgets anymore—it’s making a serious play for the auto industry. If successful, this could shake up China’s already competitive EV market, where tech companies are increasingly challenging traditional carmakers. For consumers, more competition could mean better, more affordable EVs. For investors, it’s a sign that Xiaomi’s growth story isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

The CEO of Unitree, a leading Chinese humanoid robotics startup, says China is gearing up to be a major player in the next wave of AI and robotics. With annual revenue now topping $139 million, Unitree highlights China's advantages—like a solid data infrastructure, a well-oiled supply chain, and a huge domestic market—as key drivers for growth. Experts and entrepreneurs agree that growing industry buzz, rising demand, and strong support are setting the stage for Chinese firms to take the lead.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just about one company’s success—it’s a sign of China’s broader push to dominate cutting-edge tech. With big infrastructure and market muscle, China could shape the future of AI and robotics, impacting everything from global competition to how these technologies evolve worldwide. For anyone watching tech trends, this is a big signal of where things might be headed.

China's top economic officials have unveiled their first major report on a tech-focused growth strategy dubbed "new quality productive forces," highlighting plans to boost homegrown AI (like large language models) and lure more foreign investment. The report, presented to lawmakers, claims solid progress in shifting toward this innovation-driven model—a key priority under President Xi's vision for economic modernization.

Editor’s Note: This isn't just another bureaucratic update—it's a signal of how hard China's pushing to reinvent its economy amid tech rivalry with the West. By doubling down on domestic AI and foreign capital, Beijing's betting big on high-tech self-sufficiency while trying to reassure global investors. Whether it works could shape everything from China's job market to global supply chains.

A top US Space Force general, Stephen Whiting, has warned that China is advancing at an "breathtakingly fast" pace in military space tech, posing serious strategic risks to the US. He singled out Beijing’s progress in areas like space-based targeting systems—part of what the Pentagon calls a "kill chain"—as particularly alarming. The comments highlight growing tensions over the militarization of space.

Editor’s Note: Space isn’t just about exploration anymore—it’s the next frontier for military competition. With China rapidly closing the gap in space warfare tech, the US is sounding the alarm about potential vulnerabilities. This isn’t just saber-rattling; it reflects real fears over who might control critical orbital assets in a future conflict. For everyday folks, it’s a reminder that geopolitical rivalries are now playing out far above our heads.

Up-and-coming Chinese pharmaceutical companies are turning to AI to speed up drug discovery, aiming to cut costs and fast-track promising treatments from the lab to the market. One standout, Nanjing-based Genscript Biotech, is leveraging its own AI tools—like enzyme prediction databases and gene-editing algorithms—to pinpoint and refine potential drug candidates more efficiently.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just about keeping up with global rivals—it’s a sign of how AI is reshaping drug development everywhere. Faster, cheaper discoveries could mean quicker access to life-saving treatments, and China’s push into this space could shake up the industry. For patients, that’s a win. For Big Pharma, it’s a nudge to innovate faster.

Supercell, the Finnish studio behind hit mobile games like Clash Royale and Brawl Stars, is bringing its games to WeChat as mini games—no downloads required. This move taps into WeChat’s massive audience in China, where the app (called Weixin locally) is a one-stop platform for everything from messaging to payments. Brawl Stars is already live, and Clash Royale is coming in September.

Editor’s Note: This is a smart play by Supercell (owned by Tencent) to expand its reach in China, where WeChat’s billion-plus users can now play these games without the hassle of app stores. For gamers, it means instant access to popular titles; for Tencent, it’s another way to keep users glued to its ecosystem. It’s also a sign of how mini-games are becoming a bigger deal in mobile gaming—low friction, high engagement.

At the "Summer Davos" forum in Tianjin, business leaders argued that Chinese firms need to do more than just assemble products overseas—they should move entire manufacturing ecosystems abroad to truly succeed in global markets. With trade tensions rising under a potential second Trump term, companies are looking to build factories in new markets to make their supply chains more resilient, whether for export or local sales.

Editor’s Note: This isn’t just about shifting a few factories—it’s a sign that Chinese companies are rethinking how deeply they embed themselves overseas. If they pull it off, it could reshape global supply chains and reduce reliance on any single market. But it’s also a risky, expensive move, especially with trade politics heating up. Worth watching.