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Xiaomi on Thursday unveiled the 17 Ultra, its latest premium smartphone model that features improved night photography and mobile imaging capabilities on the back of the firm's enhanced partnership with German camera maker Leica. “We work together to build future-proof optical technology … and completely reshape the mobile photography experience,” Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said at the handset's launch. In a side-by-side comparison of dimly lit photos taken in Hong Kong with Xiaomi's 17 Ultra......

Mercedes-Benz on Thursday said it completed the acquisition of a 3 per cent stake, worth 1.34 billion yuan (US$191 million), in motorcycle maker-turned-autonomous driving systems developer Chongqing Qianli Technology, three months after the deal was first announced. The transaction involved Mercedes-Benz Digital Technology, the German carmaker's tech unit, and Shanghai-listed Lifan Holdings, which transferred 135.6 million shares of Qianli at 9.87 yuan per share. Before the transaction, Lifan......

Chinese humanoid robot maker UBTech Robotics is moving to lock down key manufacturing capacity, agreeing to pay nearly 1.7 billion yuan (US$237 million) in cash to take control of Shenzhen-listed mechanical component maker Zhejiang Fenglong as it pushes to scale up humanoid robot production. The two-stage deal will begin with UBTech acquiring a 29.99 per cent stake in Fenglong from existing shareholders for 1.16 billion yuan, followed by a voluntary partial offer to buy a further 13.02 per cent......

Trip.com Group, the biggest online travel agency in China, said on Thursday that its partnership with Cambodia's tourism authority was suspended, in a move to address the Chinese public's heightened sensitivity over safety in the Southeast Asian country. The company, which operates the Ctrip and Qunar sites in mainland China, said the collaboration – originally scheduled to run from September 2025 to March 2026 – “had been suspended due to recent safety alerts issued by the Chinese Embassy in......

Hong Kong will broaden its crypto rule book next year, with regulators preparing new licensing regimes for virtual asset dealers and custodians, as the city pushes to deepen its digital asset market even as Beijing tightens its scrutiny on crypto activities on the mainland. Regulators said on Wednesday they would finalise legislative proposals for two new licensing frameworks – one for providers of virtual asset dealing services, previously referred to as over-the-counter (OTC) trading services,......

Contemporary Amperex Technol­ogy Ltd (CATL), the world's biggest maker of electric-vehicle batteries, is set to restart a major lithium mine in eastern China, in a move that could ease raw material costs for the EV supply chain. Jiemian News, a Shanghai-based financial outlet, reported that the Yichun mine in Jiangxi province was expected to receive regulatory approval to resume operations shortly before or after the nine-day Lunar New Year break, which begins on February 15. CATL declined to......

Chinese sports utility vehicle maker Jetour, with an eye on becoming a global SUV powerhouse, plans to accelerate its overseas expansion in the Middle East with products tailored to local motorists. Already present in more than 100 countries and regions after seven years in operation, Jetour said at a recent fan gathering in Abu Dhabi that it was banking on local research and development (R&D) efforts to design and build world-class SUVs for countries in the Middle East. “We are listening......

Huawei Technologies in late November sold more than 10,000 units of its artificial intelligence toy, Smart Hanhan, in the first week of its release, as similar smart playthings seize a growing share of consumer spending worldwide. Shenzhen-based Huawei's AI-powered emotional support plush toy, which costs 399 yuan (US$57), provides a user with interactive companionship via movement recognition, voice and touch. For example, when a user asks Smart Hanhan to count sheep, it often adds playful......

Mainland Chinese stocks fell on Thursday, as hopes for stronger near-term policy support faded after the central bank reiterated a cautious approach to monetary easing. The broad-based CSI 300 Index fell 0.1 per cent to 4,625.80 by 10am local time, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong's market is closed on Thursday and Friday for the Christmas holiday. Consumer electronics stocks led gains on the CSI 300, while energy metals firms were the biggest decliners. Among the......

Gold has hit multiple records in 2025, but analysts believe the rally is far from over, with some forecasting the yellow metal could climb to US$5,000 per ounce amid geopolitical tensions and a buying spree by central banks. Spot gold broke through the US$4,500-per-ounce mark for the first time, reaching a record US$4,510 on Christmas Eve on Wednesday, which was 72 per cent higher than the end of last year, when it stood at US$2,624. This was the biggest annual jump for the precious metal,......

US-blacklisted company iFlytek has set up a new corporate entity to expand into semiconductors and other artificial intelligence-related fields as part of efforts to bolster China's broader tech self-sufficiency initiatives. The new entity, Shandong Yixun Information Technology, was incorporated last week with a registered capital of 50 million yuan (US$7.1 million), according to the latest information from Chinese corporate data provider Qichacha. The scope of this entity's operations would......

DP Technology – the developer of a suite of AI tools used by researchers for work spanning drug design to battery development – has raised more than 800 million yuan (US$114 million) in Series C financing to expand research and development (R&D) and hire talent. The Beijing-based AI-for-Science (AI4S) start-up said on Wednesday that the round drew backing from a mix of state-linked and venture investors, including Fortune Venture Capital, Beijing Jingguorui Equity Investment Fund, Beijing......

ByteDance-owned Doubao remained mainland China's top consumer artificial intelligence app in December, according to a report, as the country's Big Tech companies continued to lead emerging start-ups in this market. Doubao, a ChatGPT-like app, had 155 million weekly active users in the second week of December, according to data released on Tuesday by business intelligence service provider QuestMobile. It said that number was nearly double the 81.56 million total recorded by DeepSeek's eponymous......

China Jinmao Holdings, the property development arm of state-backed Sinochem Holdings, has sold a tourism subsidiary that owns the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel on Hainan Island for 2.26 billion yuan (US$322 million), as it pursues asset restructuring amid a prolonged downturn in mainland China's real estate market. Shanghai Jinmao, the developer's wholly owned unit, reached an agreement with Sanya Luanmao on Tuesday to sell its 100 per cent stake in Sanya Tourism, which solely owned the......

Deep Robotics, a Hangzhou-based maker of quadruped and humanoid robots, has taken the first formal step towards a mainland stock market listing, becoming the latest Chinese start-up to join a year-end rush into capital markets. The company had entered its initial public offering (IPO) “guidance” phase, according to information published by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Wednesday, December 24. The preparatory work was scheduled to be completed by June next year. The move made Deep......

We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. BYD plans giant Brazil factory to scale electric bus and truck production Chinese carmaker BYD plans to build a new factory in Brazil within the next three years after rising demand for electric buses filled its existing production capacity and forced the company to redraw its......

China Shenhua Energy's 133 billion yuan (US$18.9 billion) acquisition of a dozen assets could help the mainland's largest listed coal miner take on competition as the era of coal power starts winding down in the world's largest market for the fossil fuel, according to analysts. The miner in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange last week provided an update to its August proposal to acquire equity interests in 12 enterprises from its controlling shareholder, China Energy Investment Group. The......

On a cold November evening in Paris, a steady flow of visitors entered the historic iron-and-glass dome of the Grand Palais, happy to swap the autumn chill outdoors for the enticing warm glow inside of 100 illuminated photographs – all taken by smartphone users. They were attending the opening of the Huawei Xmage Awards 2025 Ceremony and Annual Exhibition, featuring the best photos chosen from more than 743,000 entries in this year's competition as “Xmage 100”, which was focused on visual......

With its signature fan-shaped wall of lipsticks displayed at the entrance, the Hong Kong store of Mao Geping Cosmetics at the Harbour City shopping complex in Tsim Sha Tsui appeared quiet on a recent weekday night. That underscored a sluggish state of affairs at Mao Geping, about two months after opening its first overseas location in the city, and the broader challenges faced by Chinese beauty – dubbed C-beauty – brands seeking to expand sales outside the mainland. The cosmetics firm was named......

Hong Kong stocks rose on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's rally, as investors grew more confident about earnings growth prospects despite fading expectations for near-term US rate cuts. The Hang Seng Index increased 0.2 per cent to 25,812.34 at 9.50am local time, erasing the 0.1 per cent loss recorded on Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 0.4 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index were little changed. Hong Kong's stock market will trade for only......