While China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently announced updates on deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE) also disclosed its 2023 patent applications related to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology, along with the publication of patents filed in September 2024

At the 2025 Semiconductor IP Industry Seminar in Shanghai, Akrostar Technology, Biren Technology, and Enflame Technology unveiled fresh funding rounds, highlighting China's accelerating efforts to localize critical chip technologies amid the global AI boom, as reported by ICsmart and Sina

With 2025 being hailed as the inaugural year of the humanoid robot, China's internet giants—Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba—are accelerating their efforts to secure early dominance in the embodied intelligence industry. What began as isolated initiatives has evolved into a clear trend of strategic alignment, with major players forming increasingly collaborative ecosystems to drive development and commercialization

Topoint Technology, a Taiwanese supplier of PCB drill bits and drilling services, anticipates revenue growth in the second quarter of 2025, fueled by stable order volumes during the tariff equivalence grace period. However, uncertainty surrounding potential US tariffs continues to cloud demand projections for the second half of the year, posing challenges for the company's planning

Pegatron Corp, formerly a key iPhone assembler in India, is redirecting its strategic focus in the country with a fresh investment into its wholly owned subsidiary. Following the transfer of its iPhone production operations to Tata Electronics earlier this year, Pegatron is now preparing to expand its capacity for communications devices and, eventually, automotive electronics

Following recent trade talks, the US and China have reached a temporary pause on escalating tariffs, with both sides retreating from previously announced increases. While the deal offers some relief, industry experts caution that disruption to global supply chains is already evident, with three major aftershocks now surfacing across the electronics manufacturing sector

Alibaba's fourth-quarter results for fiscal 2025 missed market expectations, sending shares down 7.5% in premarket trading. Revenue rose 7% year over year to CNY236.5 billion (US$32.8 billion), narrowly missing the CNY237.2 billion consensus. While net income jumped 279% to CNY12.4 billion, analysts attributed the surge to non-operational gains, including asset disposals and equity revaluations, underscoring lingering pressure on core business fundamentals

Boeing landed its largest-ever single order as Qatar Airways agreed to purchase 210 wide-body aircraft during US President Donald Trump's recent Middle East visit. The deal, announced on April 14, includes 130 Dreamliners and 30 777X jets, with options for 50 additional aircraft, alongside an agreement with GE Aerospace for over 400 engines

Microsoft is reportedly laying off around 6,000 employees, or about 3% of its global workforce, with most of the cuts concentrated in the US. The tech giant has also made organizational changes in the Asia-Pacific region, including some managerial shifts, although large-scale layoffs in markets like Taiwan appear minimal for now. At the same time, Microsoft has posted over 100 job openings across India and other countries in the region, signaling a strategic pivot toward emerging markets

Applied Materials sees 2Q25 strength amid China spending slowdown and rising competition from SiCarrie

Zhao Weiguo, the former chairman of China's Tsinghua Unigroup and once a high-profile figure in China's semiconductor ambitions, was sentenced on May 14, 2025, to death with a two-year reprieve by the Jilin Intermediate People's Court for embezzlement and abuse of power. The court also imposed a lifelong revocation of his political rights and the confiscation of all personal assets

In the US-China trade war, the focus of US pressure has been on curbing the development of China's high-tech sectors—especially semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing, with the first two being closely intertwined

Huawei is now believed to operate at least 11 semiconductor fabrication plants across China, covering memory, logic, and foundry segments—underscoring its strategic shift toward becoming a fully integrated device manufacturer (IDM), similar to Intel or Samsung

Samsung Electronics is reportedly planning to outsource the production of photomasks used in memory manufacturing. To prevent technology leaks, Samsung has traditionally produced all photomasks in-house. However, due to multiple recent factors, the company intends to adjust this strategy

China, having solidified its dominance in the LCD panel market, is now intensifying its push into organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. A government-driven "trade-in" program has sparked a surge in the domestic smartphone market, with Chinese manufacturers rapidly expanding into the foldable device sector. This strategic focus has significantly accelerated OLED panel production