US President Donald Trump is imposing steep tariffs on Chinese lithium batteries to limit Beijing's market dominance, but soaring short-term demand from the electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage sectors is revealing weaknesses in the trade barrier

Huarong Zhu, the newly appointed chairman of China Changan Automobile Group (CCAG), visited Shenzhen and met with Huawei founder Zhengfei Ren. The two exchanged views on industry competition dynamics and future development strategies

China's brain-computer interface (BCI) sector is accelerating, driven by strong state policy support and private-sector advances. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), National Health Commission, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) have jointly released an "Implementation Plan for Promoting Innovation and Development of the brain-computer interface (BCI) Industry.

Singapore-based semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment supplier ASMPT will shut down its wholly owned Shenzhen subsidiary, ASMPT Equipment (Shenzhen) Co. (AEC), as part of a strategic overhaul of its China manufacturing operations. The move, approved by AEC shareholders on August 8, 2025, triggers a voluntary liquidation process overseen by a dedicated committee

With South Korea's Liberation Day approaching on August 15, President Jae-Myung Lee has decided to grant pardons to key figures, including former senior executives of Samsung's Future Strategy Office. This move is widely seen by the South Korean industry as a temporary resolution to the judicial crisis that has troubled Samsung Electronics for over a decade

South Korea's SK Telecom (SKT) has reported a steep drop in operating profit for the second quarter of 2025, largely due to a major USIM card data breach. The company also issued a downbeat outlook for the third quarter. Despite near-term challenges, SKT remains confident in its medium- to long-term competitiveness, identifying its AI business as a key growth driver

Samsung Electronics announced on August 11 the new 5G-capable A17 smartphone, aiming to drive momentum in the mid-range segment with Galaxy AI enhancements at a highly competitive price

US President Donald Trump on August 11 signaled he may allow Nvidia to export a downgraded version of its latest Blackwell-architecture chip to China. While he gave no date for talks with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Trump said a meeting could happen soon, adding, "On Blackwell, I think he'll be coming back to see me about it.

Taiwanese display manufacturers, including AUO Corporation, Innolux, and HannStar, are tempering expectations for the third quarter's traditional high season. After customers front-loaded orders in the first half of the year, suppliers expect seasonal demand to be more dispersed in the months ahead

Sony has made strategic shifts in its PlayStation 5 (PS5) supply chain to mitigate the impact of US tariffs, according to statements from CFO Hiroki Totoki during the company's fiscal 2025 first-quarter earnings call

SJ Semiconductor (Jiangyin) Corp. (SJ Semi), a major packaging and testing partner of Huawei's chip design arm HiSilicon, has received domestically developed back-end steppers from AMIES Technology Co., Ltd., underscoring China's drive to advance homegrown semiconductor manufacturing tools

US President Donald Trump confirmed that Nvidia and AMD will pay 15% of their AI chip sales revenue in China to the US government under a rare deal tied to export licenses. This move reflects the US strategy of using export tariffs to control the flow of technology while maintaining access amid complex semiconductor policies

According to CNBC and Reuters, citing White House officials, US President Donald Trump on August 11 granted a 90-day extension to the tariff truce with China, averting a return to triple-digit duties just hours before they were set to take effect. The move spares US retailers from steep cost increases ahead of the critical year-end holiday shopping season and keeps trade talks alive through mid-November

Samsung Electronics is reportedly weighing a major expansion of its semiconductor investments in the US, a move that could push total spending to US$50 billion after securing multibillion-dollar orders from Tesla and Apple, according to people familiar with the matter. The timing coincides with the August 25, 2025 Korea–US summit, where AI semiconductors are expected to be a top agenda item, giving Seoul a stronger hand in trade and technology talks