Nissan and Toyota gain ground in China’s EV race with cheaper, locally built cars

Amid a sweeping global restructuring that includes the closure of seven plants and 20,000 job cuts, Nissan has notched a rare win. The automaker’s new all-electric N7, launched exclusively in China, secured over 17,000 orders within a month of its April 27 debut—surpassing internal forecasts and offering a modest but meaningful boost to the struggling carmaker.

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China’s CHIPX begins 6-inch photonic chip production in push for tech self-reliance

China’s Wuxi Photonic Chip Joint Research Center—formally known as the Chip Hub for Integrated Photonics Xplore (CHIPX) and affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University—has commenced production of 6-inch lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) thin-film photonic chips. This marks a significant advance in China’s efforts to overcome US-imposed tech restrictions and strengthen its semiconductor and quantum computing capabilities.

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Government, opposition legislators disagree over AI bill review process

A legislator of Taiwan’s opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) Ju-chun Ko has leveraged his position as chair of the Education and Culture Committee to schedule a review of the Artificial Intelligence Fundamental Act (AI Fundamental Act) draft bill on June 11, demanding a clause-by-clause discussion of the bill in spite of opposition from other legislators. The move aimed to avoid a repeat of former KMT legislator Jason Hsu’s earlier attempt, when the bill was shelved due to a lack of a version proposed by the Executive Yuan to allow for comparison.

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Chips losing bargaining power? Rare earth emerges as strategic leverage in US-China trade talks

In mid-June, high-level China-US economic and trade talks held in London concluded with both sides reaching a preliminary agreement on a trade framework, according to Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Chenggang Li. He confirmed that the outcome would be reported to national leaders for further review, suggesting a tentative step toward renewed economic engagement.

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Apple pushes Siri overhaul to 2026 after initial AI Framework rebuild

Apple executives have confirmed that the company’s revamped Siri voice assistant will not launch as originally planned, pushing its debut to 2026. In interviews following the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple acknowledged that the initial version of the upgraded Siri failed to meet internal quality standards and is now being entirely rebuilt on a more advanced architecture.

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