Hong Kong to launch 2 AI forums aimed at bridging China and the world amid US tech war
HKIC on Wednesday said it was organising an International Young Scientist Forum on Artificial Intelligence as part of its push to facilitate interactions and knowledge-sharing between technology companies and local primary and secondary school pupils.
The event will be hosted with the support of the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence. Also known as the Zhiyuan Institute, the non-profit organisation promotes nationwide AI research collaboration and was visited by Chinese Premier Li Qiang last year.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who unveiled his latest fiscal plan on the same day, said the forum sought to "promote research of AI technology and its development as an industry, including open-source technology, in particular, the design and application of the open‑source chip architecture RISC‑V".
China has doubled down on RISC-V to cut reliance on foreign technologies, as the US tightens semiconductor-related export restrictions to curb AI advancement by its geopolitical rival.
A robot dog seen at an exhibition in Hong Kong. Photo: Jelly Tse alt=A robot dog seen at an exhibition in Hong Kong. Photo: Jelly Tse>
HKIC is also set to launch an International Conference on Embodied AI Robot, which aims to bring together leading technology companies, academic institutions and investors to showcase research outcomes and potential application scenarios.
Embodied AI refers to the application of AI in physical systems, such as robots, that can perceive and interact with the environment through sensors.
The AI and robotics forums would help enhance Hong Kong's international influence in AI applications and relevant areas, and facilitate traditional industries to explore how to leverage technology more broadly to enhance productivity and launch new services, HKIC said.
HKIC did not immediately respond to a request for further details about the forums on Thursday.
As tensions grow between Beijing and Washington, Hong Kong is shifting towards a technology-driven economy to align with national strategic goals, with major investments planned for AI.
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, left, and Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui attend a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: Sam Tsang alt=Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, left, and Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui attend a press conference on Wednesday. Photo: Sam Tsang>
Recent breakthroughs achieved by mainland Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek have also renewed hopes that the country could change its fate in spite of US hostilities.
"Hong Kong has been a key point for engagement between the global and Chinese AI ecosystems," said Choi Joon-nak, an adjunct associate professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who studies the intersection of business and technology.
"Such events create rare opportunities for local, mainland and international leaders in AI to discuss key issues such as AI governance with each other, which is important because these issues potentially extend beyond the borders of any one country."
Hong Kong, which is struggling with an estimated deficit of HK$87 billion in the 2024-25 financial year, announced it had set aside HK$1 billion to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute. The institute is slated to open by the 2026-27 financial year, according to a source.
Technology development and applications would not only drive economic growth, but also "provide increased support to the long-term development of AI, benefiting the public and society directly", said Clara Chan Ka-chai, chief executive at HKIC.
HKIC was established following the 2022 policy address by the city's leader John Lee Ka-chiu. One of its goals is to encourage technology companies to use Hong Kong as their development base. The team has identified three key investment themes, with hardware technologies such as AI and semiconductors, including RISC-V, being one of them.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Walmart raises guidance despite EPS miss, tariffs weighing
Walmart still managed to sprint past nearly everyone else despite profits falling this quarter and a rare miss on earnings-per-share, snapping a 12-quarter winning streak. But revenue rose, guidance climbed, and the retail giant once again reminded Wall Street that it's better at surviving storms than celebrating streaks. Adjusted earnings came in at 68 cents, short of the 73 cents analysts expected, sending the stock down about 3% in premarket trading. But revenue jumped nearly 5% to $177.4 billion, U.S. comparable sales rose 4.6%, and Walmart raised its full-year forecast for both sales and profit. The picture was less a stumble than a reminder of what makes the company hard to knock over: When profit is pressured by tariffs, labor costs, or insurance claims, Walmart has multiple levers to pull — and it's not shy about using them. CEO Doug McMillon acknowledged that tariffs are steadily increasing costs and that the cumulative effect of higher costs is beginning to impact shopping patterns. He said, 'As we replenish inventory at post-tariff price levels, we've continued to see our costs increase each week, which we expect will continue into the third and fourth quarters.' But if tariffs were the headwind, Walmart's answer was the same tailwind it has relied on for decades: everyday low prices. 'With regard to our U.S. pricing decisions, given tariff-related cost pressures, we're doing what we said we would do,' McMillon told investors. 'We're keeping our prices as low as we can for as long as we can.' This quarter, his answer — and the company's — was to lean into the brand's oldest promise: low prices. In practice, that meant 7,400 'Rollback' discounts during the quarter, a not-so-subtle reminder to shoppers that Walmart intends to be the last place inflation shows up. 'Shoppers for the past few years have spent somewhat cautiously, leaning toward needs over wants, but tariff-related price increases have caused middle- and low-income shoppers to rein in their spending even more,' McMillon told analysts. The pattern is clear: smaller baskets, sharper focus on value, and a consumer leaning harder into Walmart's core strengths. Most retailers would see that as a warning flare. Walmart is treating it as a competitive weapon. Its scale allows it to swallow some of the added costs and still plaster those 'Rollback' tags across aisles, daring rivals to keep up. Groceries, memberships, and ads buffer margins, letting Walmart absorb blows others can't. Ahead of the earnings report, Jefferies' Corey Tarlowe described those share gains as 'durable momentum,' pointing out that tariffs may nick profits but also accelerate the company's ability to pull traffic away from mid-tier competitors. But those rollbacks weren't a magic trick. Groceries and health products carried the quarter, providing steady traffic while more discretionary categories lagged. Membership income climbed more than 5%, helping pad recurring revenue. E-commerce surged 26% in the U.S. and 25% globally, with store-fulfilled delivery now accounting for nearly half of the company's growth. Advertising revenue — the kind of high-margin side hustle that most retailers dream about — jumped 46% worldwide. Chief financial officer John Rainey described the quarter as one of quiet share gains. 'We have seen growth across all income cohorts in the quarter,' he said, stressing that inventory levels remain healthy enough to keep the company nimble in a shifting economy. Analysts largely sided with management's framing. JPMorgan said the report doesn't fundamentally change its positive outlook on the stock. Wall Street wants to know how long Walmart can keep absorbing costs before it feels the pinch, yet the stock largely remains rated a 'Buy.' With analysts calling out its pricing power, Walmart has turned tariffs into both a moat and a marketing message; higher costs may be a storm, but it's one the company seems built to weather better than anyone else. The quarter may have ended Walmart's EPS streak, but it didn't change the story. The contrast with rivals only sharpens that point. Target, once seen as Walmart's trendier twin, has been struggling with slower foot traffic and tariff exposure in apparel and home goods. Home Depot and Lowe's are contending with stalled home-improvement spending . Even Costco, whose membership model is its shield, has seen sales growth flatten as households stretch their budgets. What ties the sector together is a pivot to more resilient revenue streams: loyalty programs, advertising, and delivery services. But where others are experimenting, Walmart is scaling. With more than 90% of U.S. households shopping at its stores each year, the company has a platform that can turn side bets into profit engines. Its ad business now looks less like a pilot project and more like a media arm. Its e-commerce growth suggests it's no longer just chasing Amazon but carving out a different model, with stores doubling as fulfillment hubs and groceries anchoring digital loyalty. That's why the market's fixation on the earnings miss may seem out of step with the substance of the quarter. Profits slipped. But sales rose, forecasts climbed, customers kept coming, and Walmart kept widening the gap with peers. For most retailers, a 3% dip in premarket trading would sting. For Walmart, it was almost comic relief — a reminder that even when it trips, it keeps outpacing the field. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US consumer watchdog kicks off redo of 'open banking' rules on customer data
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday kicked off a do-over of its "open banking" regulations governing consumer control over the sharing of personal data between banks and the burgeoning financial technology sector as the two industries feud over proper controls and access. The decision marked an about-face amid public pressure from fintech firms and crypto entrepreneurs whose fortunes have soared since President Donald Trump returned to the White House this year. The watchdog asked numerous questions on how best to implement the consumer data rules -- now 15 years in the making and prescribed as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation -- requiring that banks give consumers access to their own financial data, including account information, transactions, usage and fees "upon request." The regulations were previously completed by the Biden administration, earning a legal challenge from the banking industry who opposed that version, citing risks to consumer data security. Former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in October that the regulations would let consumers switch banks with the same ease as switching telephone companies, allowing comparison shopping for mortgages and accounts - with data shared free of charge. The Trump administration initially told a court it supported banking industry calls to strike down the Biden regulations but in late July reversed course, saying that due to unnamed "recent events in the marketplace," it would replace the regulations with a version more to the administration's liking. The backpedaling came after politically connected crypto entrepreneurs, including Tyler Winkelvoss and Donald Trump Jr., took to social media to denounce JPMorgan Chase over a Bloomberg report that the bank had informed fintech firms they would in fact have to pay potentially hefty fees for access to depositors' data, even though the pending Biden-era regulations still prevented this. In an earnings call in mid-July, JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon said securely sharing customer data was costly.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cameco (CCJ) Extends Losses on Higher Uranium Production Expectations
We recently published . Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) is one of Wednesday's worst performers. Cameco Corp. extended losses to a second day on Wednesday, shedding 4.54 percent to close at $70.47 apiece, as investors appeared to be in a wait-and-see mode for updates on the geopolitical front, alongside macroeconomic uncertainties surrounding the uranium industry. Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) dropped alongside its counterparts as investors unloaded positions while waiting for developments on the Russia-Ukraine potential ceasefire that could stamp out the possibility of sanctions on the latter's strategic nuclear sector. Image by Markus Distelrath from Pixabay Without such sanctions, US uranium producers would remain in cut-throat competition with Russian suppliers. Earlier this week, uranium stocks also took a beating from news that Kazakhstan—the world's largest uranium producer—is ramping up production of uranium products. Through KATKO, a joint venture with France's Orano Mining, Kazakhstan is planning to scale production back up to 4,000 metric tons per year, a level it last touched in 2021 after slashing output by 2,000 tons between 2017 and 2024 due to declining uranium prices. The higher production is expected to begin as early as next year. While we acknowledge the potential of CCJ as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the .
