China Executive Insights
LONGi Green Energy unveils eight innovations including ACM nano-alloy contact replacing silver, 672W ACM module, 690W stackable BC technology, and 35.5% crystalline-silicon-perovskite tandem cell world record.
UCLA and Tohoku University create theta-phase TaN single crystal with 1,100 W/mK thermal conductivity, approaching diamond-level heat dissipation with metal process compatibility for AI chip packaging.
Z.ai, the developer of the GLM family of AI models, has completed construction of a 1GW-class AI data center using only Chinese-made AI chips, with part of the facility already operating. The site is intended to support training and development of the company’s frontier models. Z.ai also operates several computing clusters containing more than 10,000 chips each, adding large-scale domestic computing capacity to its model development stack. [Bloomberg] Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry.
When Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy on Monday, the 2026 tournament came to an end, and so did Xiaohongshu’s first full-scale World Cup broadcasting effort. Over 39 days and 104 matches, the platform’s coverage marked not only its debut in premium sports rights but also a major test of its ambitions in long-form video and livestreaming. During the World Cup, daily searches for football-related content tripled compared with the previous tournament, according to Xiaohongshu. According to data released by the company, user time spent on Xiaohongshu doubled month over month in July during the tournament, while average viewing time for some matches exceeded 52 minutes. For a platform best known for short-form videos, lifestyle posts, and product recommendations, the figures suggest that users were willing to spend considerably longer watching horizontal livestreams, showing how premium sports content can reshape viewing behavior. Before the tournament began, Xiaohongshu was widely questioned over whether it could effectively capitalize on the traffic generated by a global football event.
According to foreign media reports, the European Commission has imposed a €550 million ($630 million) fine on AliExpress, the cross-border e-commerce platform owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The penalty marks the largest enforcement action since the Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force in 2022, targeting the platform’s long-standing failures to curb counterfeit, unsafe, and non-compliant products. The fine follows a dedicated investigation launched by the European Commission in March last year. Regulators found that AliExpress hosted a number of products that failed to comply with the EU’s safety and environmental standards, including high-risk categories such as substandard toys and non-compliant cosmetics. Additionally, investigators identified systemic shortcomings in the platform’s enforcement mechanisms. Illegal listings often remained online for weeks before being removed, while recommendation algorithms continued promoting violating products prior to their takedown. In addition, insufficient staffing in the brand authorization review process rendered verification largely ineffective, allowing sellers to circumvent oversight and repeatedly relist products that had previously been removed.
Alibaba Taotian unveils AIGX technology system at Hardcore Youth Tech Festival: PaLiTao full-modal video shopping agent, If Studio multi-agent content creation, Coupella causal AI for coupons, Dream intent-driven recommendations.
United Imaging Intelligence unveils Meta Hospital strategy at WAIC 2026: Yuan Doctor central agent coordinates AI agents across diagnostics, surgery planning, and patient monitoring beyond hospital walls.
Keep unveils Keepace.ai vertical sports model at WAIC, prioritizing safety boundaries over general capability, built on 14 billion real exercise records with 700+ metric feature graph.
After walking 30,000 steps across WAIC 2026 robot exhibition hall, four shifts emerge: from spectators to buyers, motion control democratization, universal to vertical scenarios, and embodied AI moving from demo to delivery.
Kimi K3 launch triggers global AI stock revaluation: Chinese semiconductor and memory chip makers win, OpenAI and Anthropic valuations lose $314B, and model developers face brutal competition.
A humanoid robot combat event organized by a Shenzhen robotics company has gone viral, even catching the attention of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. On July 19, Musk reposted a video from the event on social media, writing, “Robot fights are fun.” The footage features two EngineAI T800 full-size humanoid robots trading punches and kicks inside an MMA-style octagonal cage. In one of the match’s most dramatic moments, one robot’s head was kicked off by its opponent. Despite losing its head-mounted sensors, it continued fighting, throwing punches and withstanding attacks using its torso-mounted core control system. According to public information, the competing robots stand 1.73 meters (5 feet 8 inches) tall, weigh 75 kilograms (165 pounds), and are equipped with high-strength hydraulic joints. They can execute a range of human-like combat maneuvers, including jabs, spinning kicks, and takedowns. The event is billed as the world’s first industrial-grade humanoid robot free-fighting competition. [Elon Musk X] Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox.
Yimu Tech, a Chinese developer of tactile sensing hardware and software for embodied-intelligence systems, has completed a Series E financing round of more than RMB1 billion, bringing its valuation above RMB10 billion. The financing was jointly backed by multiple leading RMB funds, USD funds and industrial investors. The company is developing tactile sensing materials, chips, algorithms and models for robotic applications. The new capital will support further research and development, as well as the mass production and delivery of orders for its production lines. [36Kr, in Chinese] Every Wednesday and Friday, TechNode’s Briefing newsletter delivers a roundup of the most important news in China tech, straight to your inbox. Your support helps TechNode continue to provide credible, on-the-ground journalism and industry insights about the Chinese tech industry.