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Apple CEO Tim Cook Meets China's IT Minister During Beijing Visit

FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook gives a presentation as Apple holds an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, Sept. 9, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook gives a presentation as Apple holds an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, Sept. 9, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
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Apple CEO Tim Cook Meets China's IT Minister During Beijing Visit

FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook gives a presentation as Apple holds an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, Sept. 9, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Apple CEO Tim Cook gives a presentation as Apple holds an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, US, Sept. 9, 2024. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo/File Photo

Apple CEO Tim Cook met on Wednesday with China's Minister for Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong during a visit to Beijing this week, the ministry said in a statement.
During the meeting, Jin told Cook that he hoped Apple would continue to deepen its presence in China, increase investment in innovation, grow with Chinese companies and share the dividends of high-quality development, the statement showed.
The trip is Cook's second to China this year. His posts on the X-like Weibo social media platform showed he visited an organic farm and toured ancient neighborhoods with artists including local photographer Chen Man, Reuters reported.
China is the world's biggest smartphone market where, in recent quarters, the iPhone maker has been losing market share to domestic rivals. Apple began China sales of its latest smartphones on Sept. 20, the same day local champion Huawei launched a rival handset. The new iPhones got off to a strong start with sales rising 20% in the first three weeks of launch compared with the year-earlier model, showed data from researcher Counterpoint.
However, overall iPhone sales in China fell 2% on year during the three-week period due to declining sales of older models and increased competition with Huawei's Mate and Pura series, Counterpoint said.

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Technology

China Is Closing in on US Technology Lead Despite Constraints, AI Researchers Say

Visitors look at robots on display at robotics company Unitree's first retail store in Beijing in January 9, 2026. (AFP)
Visitors look at robots on display at robotics company Unitree's first retail store in Beijing in January 9, 2026. (AFP)
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China Is Closing in on US Technology Lead Despite Constraints, AI Researchers Say

Visitors look at robots on display at robotics company Unitree's first retail store in Beijing in January 9, 2026. (AFP)
Visitors look at robots on display at robotics company Unitree's first retail store in Beijing in January 9, 2026. (AFP)

China can narrow its technological gap with the US driven by growing risk-taking and innovation, though the lack of advanced chipmaking tools is hobbling the sector, the country's leading artificial intelligence researchers said on Saturday.

China's so-called "AI tiger" startups MiniMax and Zhipu AI had strong debuts on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this week, reflecting growing confidence in the sector as Beijing fast-tracks AI and chip listings to bolster domestic alternatives to advanced US technology.

Yao Shunyu, a former senior researcher at ChatGPT maker OpenAI ‌who was named ‌technology giant Tencent's chief AI scientist in December, ‌said ⁠there was a ‌high likelihood of a Chinese firm becoming the world's leading AI company in the next three to five years but said the lack of advanced chipmaking machines was the main technical hurdle.

"Currently, we have a significant advantage in electricity and infrastructure. The main bottlenecks are production capacity, including lithography machines, and the software ecosystem," Yao said at an AI conference in Beijing.

China has completed a working prototype of an extreme-ultraviolet lithography ⁠machine potentially capable of producing cutting-edge semiconductor chips that rival the West's, Reuters reported last month. However, the ‌machine has not yet produced working chips and may ‍not do so until 2030, people with ‍knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

MIND THE INVESTMENT GAP

Yao and other ‍Chinese industry leaders at the Beijing conference on Saturday also acknowledged that the US maintains an advantage in computing power due to its hefty investments in infrastructure.

"The US computer infrastructure is likely one to two orders of magnitude larger than ours. But I see that whether it's OpenAI or other platforms, they're investing heavily in next-generation research," said Lin Junyang, technical lead for Alibaba's flagship Qwen large language model.

"We, ⁠on the other hand, are relatively strapped for cash; delivery alone likely consumes the majority of our computer infrastructure," Lin said during a panel discussion at the AGI-Next Frontier Summit held by the Beijing Key Laboratory of Foundational Models at Tsinghua University.

Lin said China's limited resources have spurred its researchers to be innovative, particularly through algorithm-hardware co-design, which enables AI firms to run large models on smaller, inexpensive hardware.

Tang Jie, founder of Zhipu AI which raised HK$4.35 billion in its IPO, also highlighted the willingness of younger Chinese AI entrepreneurs to embrace high-risk ventures - a trait traditionally associated with Silicon Valley - as a positive development.

"I think if we can improve this environment, ‌allowing more time for these risk-taking, intelligent individuals to engage in innovative endeavors ... this is something our government and the country can help improve," said Tang.

Technology

Brew, Smell, and Serve: AI Steals the Show at CES 2026

German group Bosch presented its fully automated 800 Series coffee machine (sold from $1,700) that can be synchronized with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. Thomas URBAIN / AFP
German group Bosch presented its fully automated 800 Series coffee machine (sold from $1,700) that can be synchronized with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. Thomas URBAIN / AFP
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Brew, Smell, and Serve: AI Steals the Show at CES 2026

German group Bosch presented its fully automated 800 Series coffee machine (sold from $1,700) that can be synchronized with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. Thomas URBAIN / AFP
German group Bosch presented its fully automated 800 Series coffee machine (sold from $1,700) that can be synchronized with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. Thomas URBAIN / AFP

AI took over CES 2026, powering coffee machines to brew the perfect espresso, a device to create your perfect scent, and ball-hitting tennis robots that make you forget it's human against machine.

Alexa, make me an espresso

German group Bosch presented a new feature for its fully automated 800 Series coffee machine (sold from $1,700) that can be synchronized with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, said AFP.

After a short night's sleep, users can order a double espresso with voice commands only, and the coffee maker will deliver. Some 35 different espresso options are available.

"We're one of the first manufacturers to really lean in with AI," explained Andrew de Lara, spokesperson for Bosch.

The century-old company, positioned at the high end of the market in the United States, wants to gradually bring AI into the kitchen, notably through its Home Connect mobile app, which already allows users to control several appliances remotely.

Scent of AI

South Korean company DigitalScent has developed a machine, already available in some airports, that creates a personalized fragrance based on your mood and preferences.

Once you have picked your preferences, it releases a scent that gives you an idea of the final result. You can then make adjustments before making your final decision.

Once you have placed your order, the machine uses AI to produce a virtually unique fragrance in a matter of seconds, choosing from a range of over 1,150 combinations.

The fragrance is contained in a small, portable vial, costing $3 to $4, according to a spokesperson.

Game, set, AI

Several start-ups unveiled new-generation ball machines powered by artificial intelligence.

While Singapore-based Sharpa already offers a convincing humanoid table tennis robot with a reaction time of just two hundredths of a second, there is no equivalent on the market for tennis.

A few days ago, China's UBTech posted a video online of its Walker S2 robot playing rallies with a human, but at a slow speed and without any real movement.

UBTech's robots are designed for industrial use rather than tennis courts and, in all likelihood, the video was produced solely to demonstrate the agility of the Walker S2 to attract business customers.

While we wait for the humanoid robot that can volley at the net, another Chinese company, Tenniix, is marketing a robot that sends balls at speeds of up to 75 miles per hour (120.7 kilometers per hour).

It has 10 different shots, some with spin, and even a lob that reaches eight meters high.

The basic version, which can hold up to 100 balls, will set you back $699, but the most complete version, at $1,600, includes cameras and wheels that allow it to move around.

The fast-moving machine uses AI to analyze the trajectory of your cross-court forehand and fires off a ball from about where a real-life return shot would most likely come, giving the player the impression of a real rally.

"There's a real rhythm," says Run Kai Huang, spokesperson for Tenniix, "as if you were playing with a real person."

Technology

Award-Winning Game Studio Chief Rules Out AI Art

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
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Award-Winning Game Studio Chief Rules Out AI Art

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. (Reuters)

The head of Larian Studios, the developers behind 2023's game of the year "Baldur's Gate 3", has vowed to ban any use of AI art in the outfit's upcoming project "Divinity".

The intervention by Swen Vincke follows repeated episodes of fan outrage over AI art in games in recent months -- with this year's game of the year winner "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" stripped of its Indie Game Awards wins over alleged use of generative AI.

"There is not going to be any GenAI (generative AI) art in 'Divinity'," Vincke said Friday in an "Ask Me Anything" session on discussion site Reddit.

Fans had blasted Larian last month after Vincke told Bloomberg some generative AI was being used during development.

"We already said this doesn't mean the actual concept art is generated by AI, but we understand it created confusion," Vincke posted on Friday.

"To ensure there is no room for doubt, we've decided to refrain from using GenAI tools during concept art development," he added.

Vincke had said in December that the team's use of generative AI was "to explore references, just like we use Google and art books... at the very early ideation stages".

The new "Divinity" -- revealed to great fanfare at the December 11 Game Awards in Los Angeles -- is hotly awaited by gamers enthralled by the sprawling story and engaging characters of "Baldur's Gate 3", which has sold more than 20 million copies.

Despite his commitment on AI art, Vincke said that generative AI "can help" with other aspects of development, as studios "continuously try to improve the speed with which we can try things out".

He insisted that would benefit gamers through "a more focused development cycle, less waste, and ultimately, a higher-quality game".

Some executives believe generative AI's infusion into the industry will lead to a flowering of more ambitious titles that cost less to produce.

But they are running up against artists' fears that they will be pushed out of work and some gamers' concern that AI use will make for blander, less creative work.

French title "Expedition 33" saw its Indie Game Awards titles including "game of the year" withdrawn last year over some AI-generated art assets, which developers Sandfall Interactive insists were placeholders that it replaced in an update to the final game.