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Beijing hosted a global competition for humanoid robots and launched a dedicated pilot manufacturing platform for their production. Concurrently, major domestic technology firms advanced their artificial intelligence capabilities. Alibaba announced a significant new investment and unveiled its Qwen3.5 model, while ByteDance launched its Doubao 2.0 model and the Seedance 2.0 video generator. The latter tool drew copyright criticism from Hollywood groups, leading ByteDance to state it would curb the tool's capabilities. Separately, a senior official announced an intensified crackdown on telecom fraud, and a new vehicle safety regulation will ban flush-mounted car door handles starting in 2027. The month also featured nationwide Spring Festival celebrations.
TikTok faced regulatory challenges in multiple jurisdictions. The European Commission formally accused the platform of violating digital rules due to addictive design features, threatening major fines. In the United States, user concerns over privacy and potential censorship surfaced alongside discussions about a possible ownership change. On the AI front, the U.S. company Anthropic accused several Chinese AI labs, including DeepSeek, of using its technology to train competing models. A separate report suggested DeepSeek trained its model using advanced Nvidia chips. In legal developments, a Hong Kong court overturned the fraud conviction of media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Separately, Disney sued ByteDance over alleged unauthorized use of its characters in an AI video app.
8 topics | 312 sources
Beijing is hosting a global competition for humanoid robots, inviting international teams to participate. The city also launched its first pilot manufacturing platform specifically designed for building these advanced robots. Separately, the Chinese tech giant Alibaba announced a major new investment of $431 million to push its artificial intelligence technology, particularly for chatbots, during the Lunar New Year period. The company also unveiled a new AI model called Qwen3.5, which it says is designed for the 'agentic AI era'.
Anthropic, a US artificial intelligence company, has accused several Chinese AI labs of conducting 'distillation attacks' on its Claude model. The company alleges firms like DeepSeek and MiniMax used data from Claude to improve their own AI models. Elon Musk commented on the accusations, calling it 'guilty'. The allegations come as the US government debates restrictions on AI chip exports to China. A separate report claims China's DeepSeek trained its AI model on advanced Nvidia chips despite US export bans. In related news, Trump reportedly banned Anthropic from US federal agencies. Meanwhile, Hollywood companies like Disney and Netflix sent legal threats to ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, over an AI video tool they say infringes on copyrights.
The European Commission has formally charged TikTok with violating the bloc's digital rules. The EU's executive body says the app's design is addictive and can have harmful effects on children. TikTok has been told to change its interface or face potentially massive fines. The EU's action is part of a broader investigation into whether the platform's business model is illegal under the Digital Services Act. Separately, some headlines discuss a shift in TikTok's U.S. ownership and ongoing concerns about privacy and censorship from American users. Other reports mention a dangerous trend on the platform that left a boy badly burned.
China is celebrating the Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year. Vibrant celebrations are being held across the country, including a molten iron fireworks show in Beijing and traditional events in Shandong. Foreign diplomats have sent greetings discussing the symbolism of the Horse in the zodiac. Olympic champion Deng Yaping also shared New Year wishes. Data shows how the holiday is marked in other countries like the Philippines.
A senior Chinese official announced the country will intensify a crackdown on telecom scams. Separately, two journalists were detained after publishing an investigation into a Communist Party official, and a former justice minister was sentenced to life in prison for bribery.
10 topics | 132 sources
Feb 20 — Feb 12
China and the US trade accusations over espionage and influence campaignsTensions between China and the United States have flared over several incidents related to espionage and media influence. China has warned it will take 'measures' in response to a CIA recruitment video aimed at Chinese speakers, and it strongly criticized U.S. comments about a Chinese-built port in Peru, calling them 'vilifying and smearing'. Separately, a report suggests the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto chose not to publicly attribute a hacking campaign to China for fear of retaliation from Beijing. In another development, Radio Free Asia, a U.S.-funded broadcaster, has resumed its Mandarin-language broadcasts to China after previously being forced to scale back operations.
Feb 16
Disney sues ByteDance over AI character use in TikTok appDisney has filed a lawsuit against ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok. The lawsuit is about ByteDance's AI video app, which Disney says used its characters without permission. In response, ByteDance has said it will curb the app's features.
Feb 27
OpenAI says Chinese influence campaign tried to use ChatGPT against JapanOpenAI reported that a China-linked actor attempted to use ChatGPT to plan an influence operation targeting Japanese political figures. The company stated that ChatGPT refused to assist with the requests. The campaign sought to discredit Japan's Takaichi and target the country's prime minister.
Feb 8
Dalai Lama and others deny connections to Jeffrey Epstein in newly released documentsThe Dalai Lama has denied ever meeting the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, after being named dozens of times in newly released court documents. Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap also denied any connection, specifically stating he has never been to Beijing, which was mentioned in the files.