A once-obscure gaming spinoff evolved into the largest Southeast Asian buyer of Nvidia chips at the centre of a US probe into semiconductor smuggling into China – Bloomberg: ‘a Singapore AI firm called Megaspeed International Pte.’

Exclusive: Nvidia aims to begin H200 chip shipments to China by mid-February, sources say – Reuters: ‘Significant uncertainty remains, as Beijing has yet to approve any H200 purchases and the timeline could shift depending on government decisions, the sources said.’

Exclusive: China likely loaded more than 100 ICBMs in silo fields, Pentagon report says – Reuters: ‘“We continue to see no appetite from Beijing for pursuing such measures or more comprehensive arms control discussions,” the report said.’

China cuts US Treasury holdings to lowest level since 2008 amid debt ceiling fears – SCMP: ‘The country’s [official] stockpile fell to US$688.7 billion in October, down from US$700.5 billion in September’

Chinese President Xi Jinping installed new military leadership for the PLA’s central (i.a. Beijing) and eastern (i.a. Taiwan) regions amid an unprecedented purge of the top defence echelons – Bloomberg

Russia’s pipeline gas exports to China seen up 25% this year, source says – Reuters: ‘However, this will not offset the fall in revenue from the loss of the European gas market, Reuters calculations showed.’

China targets EU dairy with new duties of up to 42.7% – Euractiv

China’s commerce ministry confirms talks between Wingtech, Nexperia BV, urges further negotiations – Reuters: ‘The ministry urged companies involved with the Nexperia issue to carry out negotiations “over ownership and resuming supply chains,”’

Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation chairman and law professor nominated as CEC chair and vice chair – Focus Taiwan: ‘You is a former DPP member, but he has been somewhat of a thorn in the side of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President Lai Ching-te’

Ten KMT defendants sentenced for recall petition forgery – Taipei Times

KMT lawmakers seen visiting China ahead of major votes – Taipei Times: ‘multiple Taiwanese businesspeople have said that the Chinese government is pressuring KMT lawmakers to stop Taiwan’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget and national security law amendments’

Opposition KMT and TPP petition Control Yuan to impeach Premier Cho over law countersignatures – Focus Taiwan

KMT and TPP to begin impeachment proceedings against President Lai Friday – Focus Taiwan: ‘over his failure to implement recent legal amendments’ ‘Even if the impeachment motion passes the Legislature, it remains uncertain when the Constitutional Court […] will resume hearing cases’

Taiwan’s Constitutional Court strikes down amended court procedure act – Focus Taiwan: ‘three of the court’s eight sitting justices publicly denounced it.’ ‘amendments that required a minimum of 10 justices for adjudication’

Nexperia’s China unit switches to local firms for wafer supplies, document shows – Reuters: ‘to cover its entire 2026 production for one type of power chip’ ‘Nexperia told Reuters that it was not in communication with its Chinese subsidiary’

🎥 Op 6 januari mag ik meepraten bij de lancering van de nieuwe documentaireserie van Ruben Terlou over de Zuid-Chinese Zee voor de VPRO. Een grote eer! Kom naar Pakhuis de Zwijger! Samen met Alex Oude Elferink maken we er met z’n drieën een interessante bijeenkomst van over China en Zuidoost-Azië.

China’s semiconductor manufacturers boost AI chip output by upgrading older ASML DUV machines – FT: ‘According to those familiar with the techniques, Chinese fabs have obtained components on the secondary market.’

ByteDance’s TikTok signs deal to sell US unit to American investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake – AP: ‘The deal is expected to close on Jan. 22, according to an internal memo’

Deutschlands Hochschulen reagieren auf Bedrohung durch Spionage – Handelsblatt: „Dem Handelsblatt liegt nun ein Entwurf vor, mit dem Bund und Länder Spionage eindämmen wollen.“ www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deut...

The Wall Street Journal seeks halt to Hong Kong press union HKJA head Selina Cheng’s termination suit over ‘abuse’ of court system – HKFP: ‘The head of the embattled HKJA is accusing Dow Jones of firing her over her leadership of the press union.’

Hoe de nikkelhandel via Rotterdam Poetins oorlogskas vult en China aan kritieke metalen helpt – NRC: „dit was precies níét wat de Europese Commissie beoogde toen ze besloot het uit te sluiten van sancties. Rusland blijft straffeloos exporteren, en China krijgt het nikkel.”

Barely seven months after Lawrence Wong led the People’s Action Party to victory in his first election as prime minister, the government is onto its next strategic task: renewing its talent pipeline to preserve the long-term stability it’s become known for – Bloomberg

Japan to seek constructive, stable ties with China, PM Takaichi tells press conference – Kyodo News: ‘“My remarks regarding the survival-threatening situation do not alter the stance held by the past governments,” Takaichi said’

China’s Hainan launches separate customs regime allowing tariff-free imports – SCMP: ‘The new customs regime creates two distinct customs boundaries for Hainan: one separating the island from overseas markets, and another dividing it from the rest of mainland China.’

Chinese market regulator warns platforms on monopolistic tactics such as ‘lowest-price’ requirement – SCMP: ‘explained some details of its draft – Antitrust Compliance Guidelines for Internet Platforms – at a press conference on Wednesday, according to Xinhua.’

China’s defence ministry says country’s arms trade with Cambodia and Thailand is unrelated to border conflict – Reuters: ‘China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi […] criticised “false information” that he said was aimed at smearing China’s ties with the two countries.’

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi voices support for Venezuela amid US blockade, but makes no aid pledges – Reuters: ‘supports countries in safeguarding their sovereignty and national dignity, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil on a phone call on Wednesday.’

TSMC to install cutting-edge 3-nm chip tools in Arizona next summer – Nikkei Asia: ‘paving the way to begin 3-nanometer production by 2027’

China’s military calls for tip-offs as it targets corruption in air force procurement – SCMP: ‘It is the first time such a request has been made about a specific branch of the military’

China’s [official urban] jobless rate for young people eases to 16.9% as graduates settle for less – SCMP: ‘The [urban] unemployment rate for those aged 25 to 29, also excluding students, stood at 7.2 per cent in November, unchanged from October.’

After year of shocks, EU faces crunch talks on Ukraine, China and its economic future – SCMP: ‘the member states appear more inclined to go it alone than to pull together’

China approves general export licenses for rare earth-related items, commerce ministry says – Xinhua: ‘said on Thursday that it has received and approved applications from some Chinese exporters’

Carmakers sour on EU’s ‘disastrous’ petrol engine rule changes – FT: ‘as details have become clearer, with some executives warning the “disastrous” changes would lead to more expensive vehicles.’

China’s commerce ministry slams EU subsidy probes as ‘egregious’ and discriminatory – SCMP: ‘Separately, Beijing and Brussels are discussing a settlement regarding EU tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China, He said. Technical negotiations resumed last week, a source told the Post.’

Italy: Investigation finds ‘heavy exploitation’ of Chinese workers at subcontractors of thirteen luxury fashion brands, including Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Prada, and others – Business and Human Rights Centre

Taiwan’s economy is doing well, but many of its workers are not – The Straits Times: ‘Taiwan’s technology-driven economy is booming’ ‘But the effects are not being felt broadly by Taiwanese working in non-tech sectors, as income gaps widen and wages remain stagnant.’

Droom Almere om hightech-hub te worden dichterbij dankzij grote investeringen ASM International – de Volkskrant: „Almere hoopt de ‘vijfde hightech-hotspot’ van Nederland te worden, doelend op Eindhoven, Delft, Twente en Arnhem/Nijmegen als de overige vier.”

US announces massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than US$10 billion – AP: ‘If approved by Congress, it would be the largest-ever U.S. weapons package to Taiwan’

Frank Wu 吳豊山 announces resignation as Straits Exchange Foundation chairman – Focus Taiwan: ‘According to Wu, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) met with him on Dec. 12 to discuss personnel matters at the foundation and, out of consideration for the president's staffing plans, he agreed to step aside.’

Opposition lawmakers propose Control Yuan impeach Premier Cho over fiscal law – Focus Taiwan: ‘over his refusal to countersign the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures.’

Taiwan‘s National Security Bureau says it’s monitoring China’s actions abroad – Taipei Times: ‘Tsai confirmed that China sometimes sends two to four personnel with experience in Taiwan affairs to its foreign embassies, but he could not say to which countries.’

Reuters: ‘the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company's extreme ultraviolet lithography machines or EUVs, according to two people with knowledge of the project.’

AP waarschuwt gebruikers: TikTok blijft data van gebruikers naar China sturen – Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens: „Het bedrijf gaat daarmee in tegen een gezamenlijk besluit van de Europese privacytoezichthouders”

China and Singapore joint army training concludes 7th round – Xinhua

Russia-China Far Eastern gas route construction progressing, Chinese ambassador to Russia tells RIA – Reuters: ‘The Far Eastern route is designed to send gas from Russia’s Pacific coast to China via a new branch link connected to Russia’s Sakhalin–Khabarovsk–Vladivostok pipeline system.’

South Korea’s Coupang data leak outrage morphs into anti-Chinese hatred – The Korea Herald: ‘after the prime suspect was believed to be a former Coupang engineer from China who had worked on authentication systems.’

The Red Séance for Hu Yaobang: How Xi Jinping is soft-burying the Deng era – Youlun Nie in The Diplomat: ‘In ostensibly honoring Hu, Xi implicitly chips away at Deng’s absolute monopoly over the interpretation of reform and opening up.’

Washington is helping Beijing ‘tell China’s story well’ – Mareike Ohlberg and Andy Chen for GMFUS

What’s it like to be a Chinese soldier? – Foreign Policy China Brief: ‘Though reforms have gradually improved conditions for ordinary soldiers, the PLA enjoys far less prestige today than it did in the early years of the People’s Republic.’

A large wager on Hong Kong and China real estate is backfiring on one of Singapore’s top banks, UOB, which is facing up to mounting troubles in the region’s deteriorating property markets – Bloomberg