The Alibaba logo is pictured during a tour at the Alibaba office in Beijing on April 1, 2026. Wang Zhao | Afp | Getty Images A mysterious AI video model that has ascended global leaderboards has been confirmed as a project from Chinese tech giant Alibaba, in a development that could boost the company’s artificial…
College students look for employment opportunities at the Large-scale Recruitment Fair for Science and Engineering Universities on March 24, 2026 in Harbin, China. Tyne Chin | Getty Images News | Getty Images Hi, this is Evelyn, writing to you from Beijing. Welcome to the latest edition of The China Connection — a succinct snapshot of…
An LPG gas tanker at anchor as traffic is down in the Strait of Hormuz, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Shinas, Oman, March 11, 2026. Benoit Tessier | Reuters Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open. I don’t know about you, but…
The Spotify music app is seen on a phone in New York City on June 4, 2024. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Streaming music apps have been nudging users into the artificial intelligence era with a limited track record of success. But AI-based recommendation tools from Apple, Amazon and pure-play streaming company Spotify are…
Images of mobile devices at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Museum of Innovation in Hsinchu, on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images Asian technology stocks fell on Thursday as Iran’s latest attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City and a surge in oil prices rattled investor sentiment, amplifying concerns…
China is making a big push for widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, and the nation’s tech powerhouses are holding public events to help everyday people get OpenClaw, the viral personal digital assistant. “It seems everyone around me – my colleagues and friends — has it,” new user Gong Sheng said as he waited to get…
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang gestures during the NVIDIA GTC global AI conference in San Jose, California, U.S. March 17, 2026. Carlos Barria | Reuters Chinese artificial intelligence stocks surged Wednesday following upbeat comments from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on the promise of AI agents and OpenClaw. Huang on Tuesday said that OpenClaw was “definitely the…
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what’s driving the world’s second-largest economy. You can subscribe here. The big story Instead of trumpeting China’s tech advances, Premier Li Qiang struck an uncharacteristically somber tone during a nationwide address on policy plans. I’ve heard him speak…
Microsoft President Brad Smith speaks at a press conference at the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia about future visions for the development and application of artificial intelligence in education in NRW in Berlin on June 4, 2025. Soeren Stache | Picture Alliance | Getty Images American tech companies should “worry a little bit”…
This report is from this week’s CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what’s driving the world’s second-largest economy. You can subscribe here. The big story There’s nothing quite like the holiday rush in China for the Lunar New Year. The Beijing city streets start emptying out several days in advance…
