Chinese

neighborhoods with more Chinese than Japanese

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At the beginning of 2025 there was any clue in various enclaves of Japan. It is true that the nation is going through a tourist period as is not remembered in the country, and that the Lunar New Year had increased the volume of travelers a little more, but among the hordes, one flag stood out from the rest: China. And not only because of the number that arrives in Japan, but because of the number that is staying, in principle, forever. A life without Japanese in Japan. It Nikkei counted. Japan is experiencing a demographic transformation and notable cultural development with the proliferation of new neighborhoods with a strong Chinese presence, in which migrants are the majority and can live, work and socialize practically without need to speak japanese. One of the epicenters of this phenomenon is the area northwest of Ikebukuroin Tokyo, where a kind of “New Chinatown” which has supermarkets, restaurants, technology stores, pharmacies and services designed especially for the Chinese community. Over there, residents like Tangan editor who has lived in Tokyo for three years, claim that they can do everything from their mobile phone with the help of compatriots, without facing linguistic or bureaucratic barriers. This environment, which some call the “Chinese economic zone” within Japan, allows migrants to maintain cultural and social ties without disconnecting from its origin. From the center to the suburbs. The phenomenon is not limited to the center of the Japanese capital. Communities like that of Kawaguchiin the saitama prefectureshow how this network has expanded to the suburbs. In the housing complex Kawaguchi Shibazono Danchihalf of the 2,454 units are inhabited by chinese families. The surrounding area has been transformed into an environment completely adapted to the needs of this population: with children’s schools, shops, restaurants and drugstores operated by Chinese, all labeled in their language. In this regard, residents as Zhang Min and Wang Youkun They highlight how the growing presence of compatriots has made mastery of Japanese unnecessary, making daily life easier and fostering roots. Even former residents, like Liu Baocai, who started in these complexes, are acquiring single-family homes in the same city, a sign that many migrants are choosing to settle permanently in Japan. Demographic replacement and aging. One of the nation’s current problems is we have been counting for months: the aging population. Therefore, the social reconfiguration we are talking about is being especially notable in areas where the Japanese population has decreased due to this aging and low birth rate. In Kawaguchi, once-full schools have closed, and the remaining, mostly elderly, Japanese residents watch their neighborhoods transform in Chinese communities. He Tetsuya Mashimo casean 86-year-old man who has lived in the complex since it opened in 1978, illustrates this transition: he says that his neighborhood “has completely become a Chinese housing complex.” Still, the city faces a growing tension between Japanese residents and foreigners, related to non-compliance with coexistence rules, lack of knowledge of the language and precarious housing conditions that make it difficult for official notifications to reach their recipients. Mihama and Warabi: new “Chinese”. Other areas such as Mihamain Chiba, and Warabihave also seen a notable increase in their Chinese population, driven by accessibility to central Tokyo and the low cost of living. In Warabi, the Chinese already represent 8% of the total populationthe highest percentage in the country. Mihama, with about 5,700 Chinese residentshas large housing complexes such as Takasu Daiichi Danchi and Saiwai-cho Danchi, both managed by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR), which actively promotes the arrival of foreigners with incentives such as the elimination of guarantees, renewal fees or key money. National phenomenon: China in almost all of Japan. At the national level, the phenomenon has spread overwhelmingly. According to one Nikkei researchChinese citizens today reside in 1,603 of the 1,741 municipalities of Japan, which is equivalent at 92%. There are 128 municipalities where their number exceeds a thousand inhabitants, concentrated mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but also in rural areas. In Shimukappu (Central Hokkaido), the Chinese represent 5% of the 1,600 residentsmany attracted by ski tourism. In Sarufutsunorth of Hokkaido, 3.4% are training technicians working in scallop processing. Similar cases are recorded in Tobishima (Aichi) and Kawakami (Nagano), where they integrate into local agricultural and industrial sectors. Permanent residence in 2025. It is the other leg that explains the phenomenon and that we discussed recently. Japan is currently home to about 930,000 Chinese citizensand the sustained increase in those with permanent residence began a year ago (in addition, had become more flexible): almost 350,000 in 2025an increase of 100,000 in just eight years. In addition, Japan has surpassed 4 million total foreign residents for the first time, registering 4,125,395 by the end of 2025, representing an increase of 9.5% over the previous year and marking the fourth consecutive year of record numbers. This change not only reflects numerical expansion, but also a clear trend toward long-term settlement. New generations are being born, growing and building their future in Japan, consolidating a silent but profound integration process. Changes in 2026. Yes, because the political context has taken a radical turn. Since April 1 of this year, they have come into force new evaluation criteria for naturalization that, without formally modifying the Nationality Law, substantially change its practical application: the required residence time goes from five years to approximately ten years. In addition, the Japanese authorities have extended the tax review period: if previously it was enough to prove the payment of taxes for the last year, now it will be necessary to present certificates for the last five years. This represents the opposite change to what the article pointed out. New demographic milestone. Plus: for the first time in nearly 50 years, the number of foreigners of Chinese origin who obtained Japanese nationality exceeded those from South Koreamarking a turning point in the demographic and migratory evolution of Japan. Specifically, more than 3,000 people of Chinese origin obtained Japanese citizenship, topping the list for the first time, … Read more

Europe’s first autonomous taxi is in Zagreb and has Chinese brains

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One of the “attractions” if you travel to the United States or China is to take a ride in a robotaxi because until now Europe was a mere spectator. And although Madrid plans to start testing At the end of the years, a Balkan country has advanced in the old continent and it is not Germany (the Teutonic giant It is the engine of Europe in automobile industry): it is Croatia. Zagreb has become in the first European city to have a commercial robotaxis service that anyone can use, because although they are in an initial phase, it is not experimental or a closed test. Zagreb’s new robotaxis. The milestone is led by Verne, a Croatian startup that emerged from the Rimac Group ecosystem and that for this adventure has teamed up with the Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai and Uber. The service opera with 10 Arcfox Alpha T5 electric vehicles from the Chinese manufacturer BAIC equipped with Pony.ai’s seventh-generation autonomous driving system. Each unit incorporates 34 sensors, including 14 cameras, nine LiDARs and four radars, a combo that allows them to detect objects in a radius of up to 650 meters and adapt in real time to urban traffic. The idea is the following: you request the trip from the Verne app, which manages the reservation, payment and tracking (later it will also be implemented in the Uber app). The vehicle arrives autonomously and you unlock the door from your phone, get in and arrive at your destination without a human driver at the wheel. The autonomous fleet covers the center of Zagreb, the Novi Zagreb neighborhood and the airport, from 07:00 to 21:00, although the idea is to expand coverage to the entire city. Why is it important. This launch breaks a barrier that Europe has had to cross for years. While the United States has Waymo operating in several cities and China operates fleets of hundreds of robotaxis in Shanghai and Guangzhou, the old continent was entangled in fragmented regulatory frameworks, heterogeneous infrastructures and a conservative regulatory position towards autonomous cars. Zagreb just changed it. That Zagreb goes down in history as the first European city is symbolic and is also just the beginning: Verne is immersed in talks and permits with 11 cities in the EU, the United Kingdom and the Middle East and has another 30 locations under study on the table. If the service proves to be secure and scalable in Zagreb, it will likely become the regulatory and operational benchmark for the rest of the continent. Of course, there is something that should be taken into account: the core of the technology is Chinese. Context. Autonomous driving has been in the development and deployment phase for more than a decade, although the rates are very different depending on the location. Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is the most advanced benchmark with operations in several American cities and expansion plans to London by the end of 2026. In Europe there have been several lukewarm initiatives, such as autonomous buses WeRide in Leuven (Belgium), taxis Volkswagen MOIA Level 4 in Berlin or more recently, Norway has dared to withdraw your supervisor in his autonomous bus. Croatia has gone further: it has dared to take the step with a taxi open to the general public. Verne was born in 2019 within Rimac Group with the aim of developing an urban mobility ecosystem based on autonomous electric taxis. After receive almost 180 million euros through Croatia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan and years of work with the authorities to create a favorable regulatory framework, the project is now a reality. How have they done it. The operating model It is built on three pillars: Pony.ai provides autonomous technology, one of the most mature systems in the world, with thousands of kilometers tested in Asia. Verne operates and manages the fleet as a local player with direct knowledge of the Croatian regulatory environment. Uber provides distribution and customer access from day one. Simply put, everyone focuses on what they do best. In parallel, Verne is building its own factory in Lučko, near Zagreb, where it will produce its own autonomous two-seater vehicle designed specifically for driverless urban transport, so it will have no steering wheel or pedals. This move has strategic implications for both Verne and Europe since it would mean eventually stopping depending on Chinese hardware to have its own technology and production process. Yes, but. Zagreb may be the first city with robotaxis in Europe open for commercial use and Verne may be Croatian, but the technology is Chinese and that means relying on an external player: Pony.ai supplies the driving system and BAIC manufactures the vehicles. In its favor, this pattern is not exclusive to Verne: other initiatives from the old continent follow the same trend with the exception of Wayve (Cambridge) or Mobileye (owned by Intel, born in Israel). But as the saying goes: evil of many… The second point of friction is regulation. In this initial phase of the deployment, the cars circulate with a safety operator on board who does not touch the steering wheel: his role is not to drive, but to intervene only if the system fails. The elimination of the driver depends on the European authorities giving the green light, for which there are no defined deadlines. Verne has declared that he will do it “as soon as possible.” In Xataka | Autonomous cars are beginning to change a paradigm: we no longer need four seats in a taxi In Xataka | No more greeting the driver: Norway launches the first bus where there is not a single human in control Cover | Verne

more than ever, it must be the Chinese Google

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For more than two decades, Baidu did very well with a very clear strategy: to be “the Chinese Google.” He was born alone a year after Google and, while the American company ate up the world market, Baidu did the same in its giant domestic market. However, just as Google no longer cares By being just a search engine, Baidu has had to adapt to a market in which giants like TikTok have eaten its toast. AI is that wave that Baidu needed and with their latest financial results they have realized something important. Now yes they have to be like Google. Desperately, too. Green shoots of AI. Last Monday, the Beijing-based company presented first quarter results. It is something that we are seeing in all listed companies and it is interesting not to see the amount of money they move but to try to intuit how the business is going and where it can go depending on what they present. For example, with SMIC (the large foundry in China) we see that things are going well due to the component crisis and the need for chips for AI, and with Baidu this boost in artificial intelligence is also being noticed. According to the results, revenue driven by Baidu Core AI (the company’s AI arm) rose 49% year-on-year. It is a real outrage that is also reflected in the robotics branch such as Apollo Go and its ‘robotaxis’, whose activity increased by 120% year-on-year. The most interesting thing about this growth in the AI ​​segment is that this branch is now responsible for 52% of Baidu’s total business. And this is good… and bad at the same time. BUT. These good results for the AI ​​segment come at a delicate time for the company. Baidu is realizing that search advertising revenue is no longer sufficient due to a traditional business that is running out of steam. Because, overall, the company has seen a 2% decrease in its total revenue. They have eaten the market. The reason is that the company has been falling behind. It’s curious, but Baidu was one of the first in the world to launch its own chatbot. Ernie He was born in March 2023 and in September he was already available to all audiences. It was a strange approach (a closed and paid chatbot) while the industry trend was beginning to be different (free use and open source licenses), but it was not the only thing. Baidu as a search engine also did not have the monopoly it once enjoyed. At an alarming rate (for them), its relevance as a search engine was fading because young Chinese were no longer using traditional search engines. In fact, they didn’t know how to use it well and They went to other apps as TikTok or Instagram to find what they were looking for. Transformation. This painted a not very encouraging picture for a Baidu that seemed like a dinosaur immobile before the meteorite not only of AI, but of new applications that, as we say, were eating its toast on its own ground. There were two options: continue as before, and things were not going well, or find a remedy. In the middle of last year, and after 2025 in which Chinese language models appeared even under the stones With a rock-bottom price and plenty of power for day-to-day consultations, Baidu presented Ernie X1.1, its new IAG model that was still closed, but seemed compete head to head against the main rivals. It also has another open source model and it is evident that they have seen the wolf’s ears. Monetize AI. Because these quarterly results show that things have changed, that there is fierce competition in China and that Baidu has to play its cards to remain relevant. He doesn’t have a TikTok or a WeChatbut it has something fundamental: infrastructure. And, precisely, there is support to monetize artificial intelligence not through software, but through hardware. At a global level we are seeing that, due to the component crisis and what it costs to set up a data centerthere are companies that rent their GPUs and AI platforms for others to use in the cloud. These companies are raising the price of their rents (a lot) and have reported that Baidu is doing precisely that. The company is increasing the price of its cloud computing services for AI by between 5% and 30% and the cloud file storage service by up to 30%. This increase is attributed, in part, to the company’s investment in infrastructure, something that also puts pressure on margins. Because, again, the competitors were running over it and the Chinese Google has the technical and server muscle to do the same transformation as Google itself in the era of AI and savage capitalism: putting its infrastructure at the service of those who need it and cannot pay for their own equipment. In short, less search engine and more AI infrastructure In Xataka | China has banned another AI startup from exporting talent and research: little by little, it is “nationalizing” AI

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz chokes the Chinese economy. Its only energy solution is a historic pact with Putin

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“一日不见，如隔三秋” (A day without seeing you is like three autumns). Using the Russian translation of this ancient Chinese proverb, President Vladimir Putin wanted to begin his meeting with Xi Jinping. The gesture of extreme closeness was not accidental. Tiananmen Square was dressed up with a 21-gun salute, a military band and dozens of children waving flags to welcome the Russian president. On the face of it, Beijing displayed the same diplomatic theatrics and pageantry it had offered to US President Donald Trump just days earlier, as detailed Bloomberg. However, the background was diametrically opposite: if with Trump the red carpet sought to appease and choreograph stability with a volatile rival, with Putin the authority and support for a cornered partner was staged. The Chinese leader addressed his counterpart as an “old friend,” a term unusually reserved in the Party bureaucracy for highly regarded foreigners. The visit, which marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the friendship treaty between both countries and represents Putin’s 25th trip to China, represents a vital alliance at the most critical moment of the decade. Behind the walks through the imperial gardens and the closed-door meetings, there is a suffocating urgency. The global board is burning due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz derived from the war between the United States and Iran, a blockade that has cut off Asia’s energy arteries and has turned this summit into a geopolitical lifeline. The Siberian lifeguard. The response to the crisis has a clear name on the agenda of both leaders: the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. According to the estimatesOnce completed, this colossal 2,600-kilometer-long infrastructure will transport up to 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year from the Russian Arctic fields of Yamal to northern China, passing through Mongolia. Moscow and Beijing have already reached a “general understanding” on the project, encompassing consensus on the layout and construction methods, as stated Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov told journalists and spokesman Dmitri Peskov confirmed. Additionally, both governments have signed a legally binding supply memorandum to boost construction. But all that glitters is not gold. As newspapers such as he Financial Times and CNBCthe agreement has been stumbling over the same rock for years: the price, financing and delivery schedule. China, aware of its position of strength, demands that the rate for the new gas pipeline be equal to the price of the heavily subsidized Russian domestic market (between $120 and $130 per 1,000 cubic meters), conditions that would drastically reduce the profit margins for the Russian state giant Gazprom. Furthermore, secrecy and caution reign in Beijing: as pointed out Reuterswhen Gazprom announced the memorandum last September, China did not issue any official statement on the matter. And even if the agreement is closed now, Russian salvation will not be immediate; from the research unit of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) has already has warned that gas projects of this magnitude require at least eight to ten years for their construction. The Hormuz factor: a geopolitical accelerator. If the gas pipeline had been on the drawing board for years, the Third Gulf War has stepped on the accelerator. The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a real cataclysm in the Indo-Pacific region. This maritime blockade has suddenly interrupted the arrival of half of China’s oil imports and almost a third of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply. The consequences they have been immediate: The Asian giant has already reported a rebound in inflation and an abrupt weakening of its domestic economic activity during the month of April. Faced with maritime vulnerability, securing a land supply route is vital for Beijing’s survival. As experts in German Welleinstability in the Gulf has triggered China’s desire for a pipelined energy flow that is immune to Western sanctions or American naval blockades. Still, China faces this crisis with homework done. Far from improvising, Beijing took advantage of the previous years to buy heavily sanctioned crude oil from countries such as Russia, Venezuela and Iran. Thanks to this, China today has colossal strategic reserves, also supported by a fleet of Iranian oil tankers that function as a floating warehouse off its coasts. A deeply strained and asymmetrical relationship. Although official statements speak of “mutual respect” and a “limitless” partnership, economic reality depicts a deeply unequal relationship. President Putin himself has declared that Russia and China want to be equal partners, but the gap is evident: the Chinese economy is almost eight times larger and much more technologically advanced. Without China’s money and technology, the very survival of the Russian regime would be in question. The data is devastating. According to him Financial TimesRussia has suffered a 38% year-on-year drop in its energy export revenues. To survive Western isolation, Moscow has turned China into its lifeline. At the end of last year, more than 99% of bilateral trade was settled in rubles and yuan to circumvent the SWIFT system, and Beijing currently supplies 90% of imports of sanctioned Russian technology, including semiconductors, microelectronics and dual-use goods, essential for its war machine. For his part, Xi Jinping carries out a delicate diplomatic balancing act. His meeting with Putin comes just days after his summit with Donald Trump. This synchronicity allows Russia a key tactical move: as reported EuronewsPutin’s trip serves to receive direct information and exchange views with Beijing on recent negotiations with Washington. Simultaneously, China does not hesitate to invoke its “Blocking Rules” to order its domestic refiners to ignore US sanctions and continue buying Iranian crude. But at the same time, as the newspaper highlights Asahi Shimbunthe Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed the purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft just after Trump’s visit, in a clear gesture to stabilize its economic ties with the West. A new world epicenter. The current crisis and the negotiations in Beijing certify an irreversible paradigm shift. The entry into operation of “Power of Siberia 2” is not just a commercial agreement, it is the chronicle of an announced breakup. … Read more

Argentina and Taiwan have hundreds of Chinese fishing boats in front of them. And no one has cast their nets into the sea to fish

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In January 2026, a NASA satellite captured off the Argentine coast a strange image: a huge luminous spot floating in the middle of the South Atlantic, so bright that it looked like a city that had suddenly appeared on the ocean. From the ground nothing could be seen, but from space, however, it was impossible to ignore it. The new floating wall. Last February we count what was seen through satellites, and since then it has not stopped repeating itself. For years, the world assumed that Chinese fishing boats were just that: boats dedicated to fishing. In 2026 that perception is changing rapidly. From the South China Sea to the South Atlantic, different governments are observing the same phenomenon: enormous chinese civil fleets remaining for weeks in strategic areas without clear fishing activity. To be more exact, Argentina and Taiwan, separated by half a planet, now face a surprisingly similar situation: hundreds of Chinese vessels off their coasts whose function seems to go far beyond catching fish. What is disturbing is not only their presence, but the growing suspicion that Beijing is using apparently civilian ships like tools permanent geopolitical pressure and maritime surveillance. Get paid to occupy the sea. I counted last April the ABC chain that investigations into the so-called Chinese “maritime militia” have shown the extent to which Beijing has professionalized this strategy. In the South China Sea, many ships receive state subsidies simply by staying in certain disputed areas. The crews spend entire days at anchor, with hardly any fishing activity, while they help consolidate the Chinese presence around reefs, maritime routes or foreign military exercises such as Balikatan. For Western analysts, the goal is clear: physically saturate the sea with civilian vessels to intimidate rivals without the need to directly deploy traditional military units. Taiwan discovers that anyone can be a problem. The pressure on Taiwan has made this tactic much more visible. This same month of May, Taipei expelled to the Chinese scientific vessel Tongji after detecting suspicious operations near the island. Officially he was carrying out oceanographic studies, but Taiwanese authorities suspect that collected strategic information on the seabed and nearby waters. The incident reflected the great problem what Taiwan faces: It is already difficult to distinguish between civil ships, scientific ships, coast guard ships or military support platforms. That is why the island has even begun to adapt its coast guard patrol vessels to carry anti-ship missiles and act as part of national defense in the event of conflict. Argentina sees the same pattern. Also in May, Reuters reported an extensive report. Thousands of kilometers from Asia, Argentina has been observing another enormous concentration of Chinese ships in front of its waters for years. Every season, about 200 fishing boats illuminate the South Atlantic during squid fishing, forming a gigantic floating city visible from space. Although they officially carry out legal fishing activity outside the Argentine EEZ, Washington and part of the Argentine defense apparatus suspect that many of these vessels could be gathering intelligencemapping the seabed or measuring local surveillance capacity. The context makes the issue especially sensitive for a reason: the area is close to the Strait of Magellan and the access to Antarctica, two strategic areas of enormous geopolitical value. Master the sea without shooting. For its part, China denies that there is any military use of these fleets and maintains that their ships act according to the law international. However, it is becoming evident to many countries that Beijing has found a very effective way to expand its maritime influence without resorting to open war. In other words, the real change does not seem to be in the Chinese destroyers or aircraft carriers, but in the ability to bind a huge number of civilian ships in the ocean until the border between fishing, surveillance or strategic intimidation becomes unrecognizable. Meanwhile, Argentina and Taiwan are already seeing the same reality: one where there are hundreds of Chinese boats off its coast, and with each passing day it seems more strange that everyone has gone there so as not to cast their fishing nets. Image | CSIS/AMTI/Vantor In Xataka | Satellite images leave no doubt: China has concentrated thousands of fishing boats off Japan In Xataka | China’s best weapon doesn’t fire a single bullet: 300km ‘moving wall’ to close sea routes instantly

There is a Chinese manufacturer eating the entire electric motorcycle pie. And his next goal is Europe

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The increase of fuel prices caused by the iran war It is being the perfect excuse for one of the most relevant electric motorcycle manufacturers in China to focus away from its territory. Given the growing demand for economical and electric motorcycles outside Asia, the focus is clear: Europe. Yadea. Yadea is, by sales volume, the world’s largest manufacturer of scooters and electric two-wheeled vehicles. Its success is given by the very high demand for this type of motorbikes both in China and in Southeast Asia and South America. And now it’s time to conquer Europe. Since the conflict with Iran raised oil prices and created obstacles to its transit, international sales of Yadea They are growing at a rate of 70% year-on-year compared to 2025. The new. Yadea is not a new player in Europe. They have been present in Spain since 2022, distributing affordable mopeds and electric motorcycles. A discreet operation that wants to begin to consolidate and grow starting this year. Yadea is closing the opening of a factory in Hungary to produce within the European Union and protect itself from tariff tightening. It is not a new practice: China is starting to manufacture in Europe to make their products competitive, and the electric motorcycle is no exception. Why it is important. Of the almost 60 million electric scooters sold in China, 16 million correspond to Yadea. If there is a manufacturer with enough muscle and knowledge to flood Europe with two-wheeled vehicles at an affordable price, it is this one. Why now. Wang Jiazhong, vice president of Yadea, has made it clear in his statements that the current situation is the best possible opportunity to begin expanding into more markets. “The situation in the Middle East presents a good opportunity for us to enter the market and guide consumers towards the use of our electric vehicles, as they can clearly feel how much fuel prices have increased.” Not so fast. Europe is a peculiar and complicated market for electric two wheels. It represents around 9% of global volumes and is skewed towards premium models. It is not a volume market like Asia, at least today. Quite the opposite happens with the combustion motorcycle: China is sweeping and soon the top 3 best-selling motorcycles will be led by Chinese motorcycles. Therefore, the company is exploring joint ventures and collaborations with local companies to adapt their offer culturally and aesthetically. What giants like NIU, Super Soco or Silence have not achieved (example of the resounding failure of the electric motorcycle in Spain, with the SEAT MO), Yadea wants to achieve it. In Xataka | Spain loves one thing: cheap motorcycles. Europe doesn’t like something else: cheap motorcycles.

Chinese manufacturers of OLED panels for mobile phones face an enemy they did not expect: memory shortages

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Chinese companies whose business is based to a greater or lesser extent on the manufacture of OLED panels for mobile phones They are suffering. BOE, Visionox, Tianma or TCL CSOT are some of the companies that the shortage of memory chips has placed in a very delicate position. In fact, the market for OLED matrices for smartphones is going through its worst quarter in years, according to DigiTimes Asia. Global shipments fell 12% year-on-year and 20% compared to the previous quarter during the first quarter of 2026, according to data managed by the consulting firm. UBI Research. A priori it might surprise us that the memory market is degrading the business of Chinese manufacturers of small format OLED panels, but if we dig beyond the surface it is easy to understand precisely what is happening. And what is happening is that Android mobile phone manufacturers are buying many fewer organic matrix screens from their Chinese suppliers because they need to offset the increase in memory prices by reducing the cost of the screen. This scenario mainly affects entry- and mid-range Android smartphones, which are the ones that mostly opted for moderately priced OLED matrices manufactured in China. High-end Android terminals and iPhones usually have OLED screens from Samsung Display or LG Display, although Apple also uses BOE for some models. South Korean manufacturers are taking this blow much better The origin of this problem lies in a decision made by SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron Technology, the three companies that control more than 95% of global DRAM productiona year ago. The rise of data centers for artificial intelligence (IA) has skyrocketed the demand for HBM memories (High Bandwidth Memory) that coexist with GPUs. For the three large memory manufacturers, HBM chips leave a greater margin than conventional DRAM memories, which is why they have focused on the production of the former and have largely sacrificed the latter. The most surprising thing is that this situation has triggered an asymmetric problem This strategy has caused the price of DRAM and NAND memories to increase sharply, but the most surprising thing is that this situation has triggered an asymmetric problem. As we have seen, sales of Chinese OLED panel manufacturers have fallen, but Samsung Display and LG Display are taking the hit very well. And they are doing it because their most important customers are Apple and Samsung Electronics. These two mobile phone manufacturers work with wide margins and have agreed long-term supply contracts with Samsung Display and LG Display, which gives them greater room for maneuver. At the moment they have not been forced to cut the cost of their screens. Be that as it may, market shares during the first quarter of 2026 speak for themselves, according to Korea Herald. Samsung Display led the global market for OLED panels for smartphones with a share of 44.4%, up from 42.8% in the same period in 2025. LG Display reached 9%, rising from 7.6%. Both gained quota despite the fact that its absolute shipments also fell. Among Chinese companies the picture was mixed: BOE maintained the largest Chinese share at 16.3%, and Visionox rose to 10.7% from 9.3%. Tianma fell to 9% from 12.1%, and lastly, TCL CSOT fell to 7.8% from 9.8%. Image | Xataka More information | DigiTimes Asia | Korea Herald In Xataka | The US remains committed to stopping China. Now it has targeted the second largest Chinese chip manufacturer

With AI saturating TSMC’s factories, there’s someone ready to take over: Chinese foundries

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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, or SMIC, is the backbone of the semiconductor industry in China. Together with Huawei, he is the architect of the great government plan so that Chinese companies and data centers stop depending on foreign chips that, since punch on the table given in mid-2023 with the SoC of Huawei Mate 60 Prohas called a lot attention on the international scene. So much so that SMIC itself points out that there are already foreign clients who are changing orders so that they can manufacture them themselves. The reason? In the midst of the semiconductor crisis, China is one of the few places with available production capacity. Bottleneck. SMIC, and Chinese foundries, are in a different war: volume over sophistication. While TSMC, Intel and Samsung are fighting for superiority in the 2 nanometer war, China does not seem interested in that battle of the advanced nodes. The reason is simple: they barely represent 20% of the global chip market and producing them is extremely expensive. That strategy of being out of the forefront of the spotlight is working out well for them. It is estimated that between January and February, China has exported integrated circuits worth more than 43 billion dollars. It represents a growth of 21.8% and the reality is that, at this time, China cannot compete in technology with the one that dominates the segment: TSMC. The Taiwanese company is developing the most advanced nodes for clients such as Nvidia and Apple and a few years ago they stated that they could not handle all the demand. Today, that demand has skyrocketed with AI and TSMC is already saying that there may not be something for everyone. That is why there are 64 new factories planned to unblock the situation, 58 of them located in China. Orders. Returning to SMIC, Zhao Haijun, the company’s co-CEO, pointed out a few days ago during the earnings call that China is one of the few regions that has manufacturing capacity, which is motivating “many foreign clients to redirect their orders.” This is not news if we take into account the world situationbut the manager assures that some of these products “were previously manufactured in foundries abroad and are no longer produced there.” That is the relevant point in all this, since it states that, although SMIC as the largest national foundry is receiving the largest burden of these orders, there are other smaller companies that are also benefiting from the situation. This situation is occurring out of necessity, out of TSMC’s need, according to data from TrendForce. Because the Taiwanese company plans to reduce part of its capacity in mature nodes (to focus on cutting-edge ones), it is diverting part of that production and excess orders to Chinese suppliers and second-line foundries. This will also cause the wafers to be used to the millimeter and that from an average utilization rate of 80% in eight-inch wafers, the industry will go to 90% in 2026. Chips are needed and they will have to be scraped from wherever they can. domino effect. The situation is going well for a SMIC that reported revenues of 2,505 million dollars in the first quarter of this year, 11.5% year-on-year that will be surpassed in the second period of the year, with revenue growth of between 14% and 16%, well above the 7% that Wall Street expected. But it seems that not only SMIC is having good news within the current catastrophic situation in the components, memory and other segment. We already commented a few months ago that “crisis” could be synonymous with “opportunity” for the Chinese semiconductor industry because there were foreign manufacturers that were approaching them to have supplies, especially of RAM memories, which could cause the international flourishing of this industry traditionally overshadowed by the Samsung – SK Hynix – Micron trident. As we see in SCMPHua Hong is another Chinese foundry that is smaller than SMIC, but also saw its revenue grow 22.2% year-on-year due to increased wafer shipments and a higher average selling price. These companies that make NAND, DRAM and NOR memory chips are seeing their business grow, and analysts expect other domestic foundries focused on logic chips to also continue to grow over the coming months. not so untouchable. In any case, it is evident that the market leader continues to be TSMC, but if before it was an undisputed giant, now it is still that Goliath… for which its David is emerging. Several, in fact. Apple is no longer the preferred customer of a TSMC that has in mind Nvidia to your best ally and it has been ringing for a while that Intel could fill that spot in the heart of Apple. And, returning to 2 nanometers, AMD has been deeply involved in the battle for both consumer and AI segments for a few years and is looking for advanced chips. And, as in the case of Apple, since it is now Nvidia that has all the privileges of TSMC, AMD has looked a little further east to manufacture its 2nm chips. The lucky one? Samsung. Image | ASML In Xataka | ByteDance has already chosen its partner to manufacture its own chip. And it is a harsh message for China’s industry

The big question behind the US visit to Beijing is not Taiwan. They are two Chinese SUVs with roofs that have fired the imagination

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The scene took place in 2018, during a military parade in Moscow. So several Western analysts spent hours trying to identify a strange russian truck covered by tarps and antennas of which no one offered explanations. Years later it was learned that it was part of one of the systems electronic warfare most advanced in the Kremlin. Since then, every rare vehicle that appears near a world leader has ceased to seem like a simple logistical eccentricity. Two SUVs and an uncomfortable question. For years, American presidential visits to Beijing revolved around the same topics: Taiwan, trade, sanctions or the military balance in Asia. However, they had TWZ analysts that in Donald Trump’s recent visit there was a detail that ended up attracting much more attention among military analysts and technological observers: two Chinese Hongqi SUVs with huge modified roofs that seemed to hide some kind of special system. They were not particularly elegant or discreet. In fact, they seemed heavy and strange. That is precisely why they attracted so much attention. The feeling they left is that China wanted teach something without showing it really. The big question after the trip was no longer just what Washington and Beijing had talked about, but what the hell exactly those vehicles were hiding. Modern warfare and protecting the sky. The most repeated theory links to something that we have been countingand these roofs could house electronic warfare systems, advanced communications or even anti-drone capabilities. The idea makes sense because the presidential caravans begin to face a relatively new problem: cheap drones capable of threatening even extremely protected world leaders. Ukraine, the Middle East and the Red Sea have shown that it no longer takes a sophisticated missile to create a huge security problem. That’s it forcing to transform VIP convoys in small fortresses mobile electronics. The Hongqi seen in Beijing fit perfectly in that trend: lots of interior space, extra weight and modifications probably designed to transport complex equipment rather than people. Caravan converted into a command center. The interesting thing is that those SUVs were not an isolated anomaly. The caravan also included Modified Suburbans, Lincoln Navigators, and Ford vans with antennas, sensors, and special roof structures. Everything suggested a mobile architecture of communications, surveillance and electronic interference much more sophisticated than usual. In practice, presidential convoys are beginning to look less like simple armored columns and more to command centers capable of operating in environments saturated with drones, electronic signals and autonomous threats. Not only that. Analysts recalled that China also used Hongqi vehicles, a brand very historically linked to Chinese political power, reinforces another important idea: Beijing wants to demonstrate that it can develop this type of strategic capabilities with its own national platforms. The new competition between powers. For a long time, the rivalry between China and the United States was measured with aircraft carriers, stealth fighters or hypersonic missiles. Now it’s starting to appear another competition quieter: who masters electronic and anti-drone protection in real scenarios. The recent wars have shown that nearby airspace has become extremely dangerous even far from the front. This requires protecting infrastructure, convoys and political leaders in completely new ways. In this context, a jamming system can be as important as traditional shielding. Beijing’s SUVs reflect precisely this change in mentality. Deliberately ambiguous message. Of course also, perhaps the most important thing is that no one really knows what those vehicles were transporting. And that uncertainty is probably part of the message. In today’s technological competition, projecting unknown capabilities is also a form of deterrence. The huge Hongqi roofs they seem designed to provoke questions rather than offer answers. Be that as it may, his appearance on a high-level presidential visit leaves a clear conclusion: while much of the world continues to look at Taiwan, Ukraine or Iran, China seems determined to teach discreetly something else. That the next great military revolution could not be in large visible platforms, but in mobile, discreet electronic systems prepared for a war dominated by drones. Now that Russia is about to fall in Beijing, it will be time to see if they show those SUVs again. Image | x In Xataka | Something is happening over the skies of Chile: the US and China are fighting their particular “cold war” in silence In Xataka | The US’s problem in the AI ​​and humanoid race is not China: it is all of Asia and it is greatly disadvantaged

Chinese Big Tech can now buy Nvidia GPUs. The problem for Nvidia is that they don’t need it now

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The United States and China are immersed in a trade and technological war that has caught the line of fire to the AI ​​giant: Nvidia. The situation is that Nvidia must prioritize AI companies from the United States to guarantee the supremacy of this country, but as a company it would be interested in taking a bite out of the giant Chinese market. And the problem is twofold: it has not been able to do so for a long time due to trade vetoes, but now that it seems that it can sell its famous H200 to China, it turns out that China has turned the page. More or less. green light. Nvidia has gone from having a monopoly on AI GPUs in China to have a 0% quota. These are the words of the CEO, Jensen Huang, and the reason is the aforementioned trade restrictions between the powers that prevented Nvidia from selling its most powerful products to the Asian giant. Huang has spent months insisting on Donald Trump’s government to allow them to sell with a very clear logic: China is going to develop its alternatives and what better way to make a profit until then. The situation is gone relaxing at the end of last year and at the beginning of this to get to the point where we are now. According to Reutersthe US Department of Commerce already allows ten Chinese companies and distributors such as Foxconn and Lenovo acquire that long-awaited H200the company’s second most powerful AI chip. Good news for the company. Or they should be if it weren’t for the fact that the Chinese industry is going its own way looking home. Alibaba, ByteDance, JD.com and Tencent are the Chinese giants that can supposedly already buy H200. Up to 75,000 chips each, to be exact. However, it is noted that they have not yet made any shipments. Here there is a mix between very restrictive bureaucracy and, above all, that emphasis on national development. Tencent, for example, noted in September last year that they had no intention of producing AI chips, but that they were going to invest a lot of money in domestic partners. For example, they are in the process of adapting their infrastructure to be able to connect Huawei’s Ascend platform (particularly the Ascend 950 series) as the main training tool for large models. A few days ago, Tencent’s strategy director already pointed out that that strategy was still in place and that the company expects a significant increase in spending on AI GPUs designed in China. Manufacturing at home. Alibaba and Bytedance have a different approach. If Tencent is focusing on acquiring Huawei platforms, Alibaba and Bytedance are looking to create their own chips. Alibaba seeks to be the most powerful RISC-V chip created to date and it was reported that Bytedance wanted Samsung will manufacture its processor. In the end, whether buying from Huawei or developing the tool internally, the two approaches respond to the great national objective: that at least 50% of the data centers that belong to the State use at least 50% Chinese integrated circuits in their servers. That is one of the great Chinese technological impulses of recent years, one of the crucial points of the Five-Year Plan for the development of the country and, above all, the strategy that Nvidia had been warning the United States about for some time. The age of inference. Because this period of ostracism to which the US condemned China has served for the country to develop three very clear alternatives to Nvidia and encourage companies that are already working with models to develop their own hardware. This is important especially in the new AI framework we are entering, that of inference. Although the AI ​​will continue to train and GPUs will be needed for this, the next step is inference, the agentic era in which the processor or CPU is very important. AMD is moving there, same as Intel or ARMand precisely processors are something that Huawei is good at and in which the Chinese giants can shine as much as their American counterpart by developing chips tailored to their models and needs. Also, as pointed out in CNBChaving your own chips means you don’t have to fight with anyone else in a time when there is scarcity and, of course, if you don’t have to buy from an outsider, there is an improvement in the gross income margin. juicy cake. And this leaves Nvidia in that uncomfortable situation, one in which it wants to participate, but in which it seems that it is no longer needed as much as before. Because China is developing its chips for this new era of AI and Nvidia is running into a final boss called bureaucracy and the pressure groups of the ‘Make America Great Again‘. The first is due to the slowness of the export order processes, something that takes months when orders should be much more agile. The second are the aforementioned pressure groups that hold that any deals Nvidia makes with Chinese companies are less chips for American companies, something that should not be allowed. Meanwhile, Chinese companies are developing their alternatives and Huawei wants to flood the market with 750,000 chips this year, three times more than its shipments in 2025, and Nvidia is falling short of a $50 billion pie. In Xataka | The US has the best AI models. China has something else: AI too cheap to care about

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