Chinese AI firms play it smart amid US tech curbs
Digital AI glasses are the focus at a Rokid booth at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai. Photo: AFP
China's artificial intelligence companies have announced two new industry alliances, aiming to develop a domestic ecosystem to reduce dependence on foreign tech as they seek to cope with US export restrictions on advanced Nvidia chipsets.
The announcements were timed to coincide with the three-day World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai ending on Monday and came on the same day that the Financial Times reported that the United States has paused curbs on tech exports to China to avoid disrupting trade talks with Beijing and support President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping this year.
The conference also showcased a slew of new products, such as an AI computing system from Huawei that experts believe rivals Nvidia's most advanced offering, as well as consumer-friendly products such as several kinds of digital AI glasses.
The "Model-Chip Ecosystem Innovation Alliance" brings together Chinese developers of large language models (LLMs) and AI chip manufacturers.
"This is an innovative ecosystem that connects the complete technology chain from chips to models to infrastructure," said Zhao Lidong, CEO of Enflame, one of the participating chipmakers.
Other manufacturers of graphics processing units (GPUs) in the alliance include Huawei, Biren, and Moore Threads, which have been hit by US sanctions that block them from purchasing advanced tech made with US know-how. The alliance was announced by StepFun, an LLM developer.
A second alliance, the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce AI Committee, aims to "promote the deep integration of AI technology and industrial transformation".
Participants include SenseTime, also sanctioned by the US and which has pivoted from facial recognition technology to LLMs. Others are StepFun and another LLM developer, MiniMax, as well as chipmakers Metax and Iluvatar CoreX.
One of the most talked about products at the conference was Huawei's CloudMatrix 384 which incorporates 384 of its latest 910C chips and outperforms Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 on some metrics, according to US research firm SemiAnalysis.
Huawei's system design capabilities have meant that it has been able to use more chips and system-level innovations to compensate for weaker individual chip performance, SemiAnalysis said.
At least six other Chinese computing firms showcased similar "clustering" chip technology. Metax demonstrated an AI supernode featuring 128 C550 chips designed to support large-scale liquid-cooled data centre requirements.
Other events included Tencent's unveiling of its open-source Hunyuan3D World Model 1.0, which the company said enables users to generate interactive 3D environments through text or image prompts.
Baidu announced what it said was next-generation "digital human" technology that helps businesses to create virtual livestreamers. It features "cloning technology" that can replicate a human's voice, tone and body language from just 10 minutes of sample footage.
Alibaba was among those announcing AI glasses. Its Quark AI Glasses are powered by its Qwen AI model and are due to be released in China by the end of 2025. They will allow users to access the tech giant's map service for easy navigating and to use Alipay by scanning QR codes with voice commands. (Reuters)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
3 hours ago
- HKFP
Chinese leaders take aim at ‘pointless' meetings and ‘bureaucratism'
China's top lawmakers are telling officials across the country to hold fewer meetings and give shorter speeches in a bid to root out 'pointless formalities', state media reported on Wednesday. Streamlining meetings and capping documents at 5,000 words were among suggestions in a detailed government notice issued to 'free grassroots officials from bureaucratism and pointless formalities', state news agency Xinhua said. Cutting out unnecessary paperwork and having fewer meetings would 'reduce burdens' on cadres and help them 'devote more energy to implementation', according to a government notice uploaded by state news agency Xinhua. The 21-point directive on 'rectifying formalism' is more than 4,000 words long, according to an AFP count. All regions were to strictly implement the rules, it said. The notice — jointly issued by the Communist Party's Central Committee and the State Council — follows refreshed rules against lavish spending and vanity projects. In May, the two lawmaking bodies updated regulations set in 2013 targeting excessive spending within government ranks, including a ban on serving alcohol at work meals and restrictions on travel. Officials were also prohibited from having flowers or backdrops at work meetings, according to the directive. Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a relentless campaign against official corruption since coming to power more than a decade ago. Hundreds of thousands of officials have faced disciplinary action, according to China's top anti-graft body, with some executed for 'serious violations of the law' — a euphemism for corruption. Supporters say the anti-corruption drive promotes clean governance, but critics say it serves as a tool for Xi to oust political opponents.
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump penalises India with additional 25% tariff, escalating tensions over Russian oil
Published: 10:35pm, 6 Aug 2025 Updated: 10:39pm, 6 Aug 2025 US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an order to impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil, a key revenue source for Moscow's war in Ukraine. The tariff is set to take effect in three weeks and would be added on top of a separate 25 per cent tariff entering into force on Thursday. It maintains exemptions for items targeted by separate sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminium, and categories that could be hit like pharmaceuticals. More to follow ...
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Will TSMC tech leak and Trump's demands threaten Taiwan's top chipmaker status?
The unprecedented leak of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC)'s most advanced technology in a major commercial espionage case has sparked concern on the island over whether the incident could undermine its global standing in chipmaking. Advertisement Adding to the company's growing headache, pressure is mounting from US demands, including US President Donald Trump's claim on Tuesday that the firm would invest US$300 billion in the United States in exchange for better tariff terms for Taiwan, according to observers. The dual blows have intensified worries over Taiwan's shrinking leverage in global 'semiconductor diplomacy' and the vulnerability of its most prized company – whose cutting-edge fabrication capabilities sit at the heart of global supply chains, national security strategies, and the escalating US-China tech rivalry. Taiwanese prosecutors on Tuesday confirmed they had arrested six engineers late last month suspected of stealing trade secrets related to TSMC's two-nanometre (2nm) process – a technology not yet in mass production and widely regarded as the most advanced in the world. According to the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, after searching the homes of the six and questioning them, they detained three suspects – two current and one former employee – alleging they accessed sensitive files remotely using a company-issued laptop while working from home. Advertisement The former employee, whose surname is Chen, is accused of photographing the confidential documents with his mobile phone while the two others accessed the files.
