Intelligence and cybersecurity agencies from 13 countries, including the NSA, CISA, the UK’s NCSC and Canada’s CSIS, have jointly issued an advisory on Salt Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored advanced persistent threat group.
The alert highlights global intrusions into telecommunications, military, government, transport and lodging sectors.
Salt Typhoon has exploited known, unpatched vulnerabilities in network-edge appliances, such as routers and firewalls, to gain initial access. Once inside, it covertly embeds malware and employs living-off-the-land tools for persistence and data exfiltration.
The advisory also warns that stolen data from compromised ISPs can help intelligence services track global communications and movements.
It pinpoints three Chinese companies with links to the Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army as central to Salt Typhoon’s operations.
Defensive guidelines accompany the advisory, urging organisations to apply urgent firmware patches, monitor for abnormal network activity, verify firmware integrity and tighten device configurations, especially for telecom infrastructure.
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Kazakhstan has announced its support for China’s proposal to establish a Global Organisation for Cooperation in AI, highlighting its ambition to strengthen digital ties with Beijing.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev voiced his backing during the Kazakh-Chinese Business Council meeting in Beijing, following his participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin.
Tokayev stressed that joint efforts in AI were vital as experts predict the global market could reach $5 trillion by 2033, accounting for nearly one-third of the technology sector. He praised China’s digital achievements and urged bilateral collaboration in emerging technologies.
Kazakhstan has taken notable steps to position itself as a regional digital hub, launching Central Asia’s first supercomputer and the AlemAI International Centre for AI earlier this year.
Tokayev added that partnerships with Chinese firms, including a major construction agreement, would accelerate the development of Alatau City as a separate innovation ecosystem.
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China has introduced a sweeping new law that requires all AI-generated content online to carry labels. The measure, which came into effect on 1 September, aims to tackle misinformation, fraud and copyright infringement by ensuring greater transparency in digital media.
The law, first announced in March by the Cyberspace Administration of China, mandates that all AI-created text, images, video and audio must carry explicit and implicit markings.
These include visible labels and embedded metadata such as watermarks in files. Authorities argue that the rules will help safeguard users while reinforcing Beijing’s tightening grip over online spaces.
Major platforms such as WeChat, Douyin, Weibo and RedNote moved quickly to comply, rolling out new features and notifications for their users. The regulations also form part of the Qinglang campaign, a broader effort by Chinese authorities to clean up online activity with a strong focus on AI oversight.
While Google and other US companies are experimenting with content authentication tools, China has enacted legally binding rules nationwide.
Observers suggest that other governments may soon follow, as global concern about the risks of unlabelled AI-generated material grows.
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China has pledged to rein in excessive competition in AI, signalling Beijing’s desire to avoid wasteful investment while keeping the technology central to its economic strategy.
The National Development and Reform Commission stated that provinces should develop AI in a coordinated manner, leveraging local strengths to prevent duplication and overlap. Officials in China emphasised the importance of orderly flows of talent, capital, and resources.
The move follows President Xi Jinping’s warnings about unchecked local investment. Authorities aim to prevent overcapacity problems, such as those seen in electric vehicles, which have fueled deflationary pressures in other industries.
While global investment in data centres has surged, Beijing is adopting a calibrated approach. The state also vowed stronger national planning and support for private firms, aiming to nurture new domestic leaders in AI.
At the same time, policymakers are pushing to attract private capital into traditional sectors, while considering more central spending on social projects to ease local government debt burdens and stimulate long-term consumption.
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China has set its most ambitious AI adoption targets yet, aiming to embed the technology across industries, governance, and daily life within the next decade.
According to a new State Council directive, AI use should reach 70% of the population by 2027 and 90% by 2030, with a complete shift to what it calls an ‘intelligent society’ by 2035.
The plan would mean nearly one billion Chinese citizens regularly using AI-powered services or devices within two years, a timeline compared to the rapid rise of smartphones.
Although officials acknowledge risks such as opaque models, hallucinations and algorithmic discrimination, the policy calls for frameworks to govern ‘natural persons, digital persons, and intelligent robots’.
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China has begun construction on its first facility dedicated to the production of photonic quantum computers in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. The project marks a step toward the development of large-scale quantum computing capabilities in the country.
The factory, led by Beijing-based quantum computing company QBoson, is expected to manufacture several dozen photonic quantum computers each year once operations begin.
QBoson’s founder, Wen Kai, explained that photonic quantum computing uses the quantum properties of light and is viewed as a promising path in the field.
Compared with other approaches, it does not require extremely low temperatures to function and offers advantages such as stable operation at room temperature, a higher number of qubits, and longer coherence times.
The upcoming facility will be divided into three core areas: module development, full-system production, and quality testing. Construction is already underway, and equipment installation is scheduled to begin by the end of October.
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China has unveiled draft rules to rein in pricing practices on internet platforms, responding to long-standing complaints from both merchants and consumers about unfair or misleading costs. The proposed measures, announced by the National Development and Reform Commission on 23 August, are designed to make pricing more transparent and equitable across the country’s vast digital marketplace.
The draft regulations would require platforms and merchants to follow standardised pricing guidelines, clearly disclose their rules, and notify users promptly of any fee changes. Authorities in China say prices should be set and adjusted through standardised contracts or formal orders to reduce arbitrary or hidden charges.
The move comes after repeated allegations that major platforms have manipulated prices to their advantage, leaving consumers and smaller sellers at a disadvantage. By tightening oversight, Beijing hopes to rebuild trust in online commerce while ensuring a fairer playing field.
The draft will remain open for public comment for one month, allowing businesses and citizens to weigh in before the measures are finalised.
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Consensus forecasts place revenue at around US $45.9 billion, up about 50 percent year-on-year, driven by ongoing demand for Blackwell GPUs, data centre expansion and redistribution of AI infrastructure investments globally.
Export changes are also pivotal. After entering a deal to resume H20 chip sales to China, despite revenue-sharing conditions, NVIDIA could reclaim as much as US$8 billion during Q2, mitigating past losses caused by restrictions.
Beyond geopolitical shifts, the Blackwell Ultra GPU is central to growth. Offering up to 50 times faster AI inference than earlier models, it is increasingly stocked by cloud providers and hyperscalers. Markets view this as a strategic advantage, fueling long-term AI momentum.
Risks remain. Gross margins may recover from prior pressure due to licensing charges, but margin expansion depends on supply and TAM realisation. China’s policy environment is also uncertain, making future guidance cautious for some analysts.
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China is preparing to take a major step in the digital currency race by considering yuan-backed stablecoins, marking a sharp reversal from its earlier tough stance on cryptocurrencies. According to sources, Beijing’s cabinet will soon review a national strategy, with Hong Kong and Shanghai expected to spearhead the rollout thanks to Hong Kong’s recently passed Stablecoins Bill.
The move comes as Japan accelerates its own efforts. JPYC Inc., a Japanese fintech firm, has received regulatory approval to issue a yen-backed stablecoin, also called JPYC. The company plans to sell up to 1 trillion yen ($68 billion) worth of the tokens within three years, each pegged 1:1 to the yen and backed by liquid assets such as government bonds.
These parallel developments in East Asia could challenge the dominance of dollar-backed stablecoins, which currently make up nearly the entire global market. Analysts say the introduction of major Asian currencies into the mix could reshape digital finance and add momentum to regulatory frameworks emerging worldwide.
Stablecoins are increasingly seen as a bridge between traditional finance and digital assets, offering stability that other cryptocurrencies lack. Despite regulatory hurdles and slow adoption, the market is expected to surge to $4 trillion by 2030, signalling how pivotal the latest steps from China and Japan could be for the global financial system.
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OpenAI chief Sam Altman has warned that the US may be underestimating China’s rapid advancement in AI.
Speaking to CNBC, Altman explained that China’s use of open-source models and its manufacturing capacity may allow it to move faster in some areas of development.
He questioned the effectiveness of export controls, noting that chip restrictions may not be enough to curb long-term innovation. Chinese firms like DeepSeek and MoonshotAI are gaining traction with open-weight models that rival US offerings in cost and capability.
Altman’s comments echo concerns voiced earlier by Nvidia’s CEO, who said firms like Huawei continue to grow despite restrictions.
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