Sign in Subscribe

Dora Zhang

Editor covering China's business and technology, focused on AI, electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and robotics, tracking industry developments, innovation, and market dynamics.

SMIC Raises Full-Year Outlook as Domestic Orders Drive Q2 Guidance Well Above Consensus

China's largest foundry is accelerating into mid-2026, with a second-quarter revenue forecast that outpaces its own prior guidance by a wide margin — a signal that domestic semiconductor self-sufficiency spending is translating into hard backlog. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of

China’s $15.7 Billion Robotics Export Surge Maps a Post-EV Globalization Playbook

China’s robotics sector exported a record RMB 113.2 billion (US$15.72 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, executing a global expansion strategy that deliberately avoids the margin-crushing price wars and tariff vulnerabilities currently plaguing the country's electric vehicle industry. Customs data reveals a

China’s Big Tech Fractures Over AI Monetization Timelines in Q1 2026

China's technology giants are pursuing sharply divergent artificial intelligence strategies in 2026, creating a divide between companies prioritizing AI scale and those focused on protecting profitability as they search for sustainable monetization paths. First-quarter earnings reveal a stark turning point in capital allocation: Alibaba is draining its

ChinaBiz Briefing: Alibaba's 95% Profit Wipeout, Tencent's AI Firewall, and China's EV Triumvirate

Today's developments expose the stark financial realities of China's artificial intelligence arms race and the maturing aggression of its electric vehicle sector. Tech giants are reallocating capital aggressively toward generative AI investments, resulting in drastically divergent market reactions. Simultaneously, China's leading EV makers are

Kuaishou's AI Spinoff Raises Questions as Unit Nears Two-Thirds of Parent's Value

Kuaishou Technology is engineering a spinoff of its AI video-generation unit Kling AI at a $20 billion target valuation, a move that has exposed a structural paradox: a subsidiary generating less than 1% of group revenue is being priced at roughly two-thirds of its parent company's

China's EV Triumvirate Storms the Premium SUV Segment With Back-to-Back Flagship Launches

Three vehicles. Twelve days. A direct challenge to global luxury incumbents. In an unprecedented show of force, NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto — China's three most closely watched pure-play EV makers — are launching their respective flagship six-seat SUVs in rapid succession across the final two weeks of

Tencent Isolates AI Costs in Q1 2026, Revealing Resilient Core Bankrolling Generative Pivot

Tencent redefined its earnings narrative for the first quarter of 2026 by isolating artificial intelligence expenditures, revealing a highly profitable legacy business that is single-handedly financing its generative AI ambitions. The Shenzhen-based technology giant reported total revenue of RMB 196.46 billion (US$27.28 billion), representing a

Alibaba’s 95% Profit Wipeout Exposes the Brutal Cost of China’s AI Arms Race

Alibaba reported a near-total erasure of its quarterly profit, laying bare the severe financial toll of its aggressive pivot toward artificial intelligence and the widening bleed in its peripheral businesses. For the fiscal fourth quarter of 2026 ended March 31, the Chinese tech conglomerate saw its non-GAAP net

Pop Mart Faces Diverging Signals as Q1 Revenue Surge Meets US Data Drop

A stark divergence between blowout first-quarter earnings and deteriorating high-frequency data is creating a complex outlook for Pop Mart. While the Chinese toymaker posted a 75% to 80% revenue increase in the first quarter, a sharp 43% year-over-year decline in April US credit card transactions is

Unitree's 3.9 Million Yuan Mech Suit: Engineering Spectacle or Viable Business?

Unitree Robotics has unveiled what it calls the world's first mass-produced rideable transforming mech, the GD01, priced at RMB 3.9 million yuan (approximately US$537,000) — a product that sits at the intersection of cutting-edge robotics and high-end luxury goods, and arrives less than