Daily Buzz: 18 September 2026

Huawei Says Next-Generation Chip Development Ahead of Schedule

Chinese tech giant Huawei announced that development of its next-generation AI chip, the Ascend 960, is progressing three quarters ahead of schedule. The 960DT version will be ready and launched in the first quarter of 2027, while the 960PR and Atlas 960 liquid-cooled supernode are slated for release in the third quarter. The company made the announcement at the Huawei Connect conference in Shanghai. It also unveiled Peerium, a new AI architecture enabling millions of processors to operate as a single computing system. Company Deputy Chairman Wang Tao told the conference that AI initiatives going forward include making money from its hardware, building a solid computing foundation through its "supernode + cluster" strategy, focusing its Pangu large language model on Huawei product intelligence to strengthen competitiveness and building next-generation communication networks. Guo Ping, chairman of the company's supervisory board, said Huawei's goal is to become Nvidia.

Poland Goes on Alert Amid Latest Russian Strikes on Ukraine

Poland temporarily closed two airports near its border with Ukraine and scrambled defense aircraft amid a new wave of Russian strikes on its neighbor. The response came as Poland's prime minister cited intelligence that Moscow might launch drone and missile attacks against Ukraine's European allies. The latest Russia strikes in Ukraine damaged buildings in Kiev and Odessa, injuring at last 26 people. European allies have grown increasingly wary about Moscow's intentions after a Russian drone recently struck a passenger train in Ukraine near the Polish border, just after a European delegation disembarked after a visit to Kiev. Ukraine claimed new strikes against Russia's oil industry, triggering a fireball over a major refinery north of Moscow.

US Grants Visas to Iran Delegation for UN Meeting, Bars Palestinians

The US government has granted visas to Iranian officials so they can travel to the annual convening of the UN General Assembly in New York next week, despite a war now into its seventh month. The delegation will include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. However, the Trump administration denied visas to Palestinian officials for a second year running, again forcing longtime Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to address the General Assembly via videolink. US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to meet with leaders of six Persian Gulf nations on the sidelines of the UN meeting to discuss post-Iran war arrangements.

King Charles Hosts AI Summit, Urging an Industry Moral Compass

Britain's King Charles, hosting an AI summit in Scotland, told companies developing artificial intelligence that they have to maintain a moral compass so that the technology doesn't pose threats to humans or fall into malevolent hands. "Surely we need sufficient means of control before it is all too late," he said. Officials from Nvidia, Google DeepMind AI, OpenAI and Anthropic attended the meeting. The king has expressed concerns about risks in AI development in the past. His summit coincides with a global debate triggered last week by an Anthropic researcher who quit with a warning that unchecked technology could exterminate humans. "Our humanity must remain sacred," the king said.

Trump Calls EU-Canada Alliance 'Laughable'

US President Trump called the idea of Canada becoming an associate member of the EU "laughable" and a "hostile act," threatening to slap new tariffs on Canada and the EU if the alliance goes ahead. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed the idea on Wednesday in an address to the European Parliament in Brussels. Both sides have a common bugaboo: Donald Trump economic and geopolitical policies. In a veiled swipe at Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the proposal to deepen ties with the EU isn't aimed at creating a new geopolitical bloc "with better manners."

Top Business

Four AI-Related Chinese Companies Securing New Investment

Chinese AI startup Manus, which has resumed independent operations after Beijing regulators quashed a takeover by Meta, is close to completing a US$500 million funding round that would double its valuation to US$4 billion, Bloomberg News reported. That would make it the most valuable startup in China's AI agent sector. Manus's existing investors include Tencent Holdings, HongShan Capital and ZhenFund, with market sources indicating Tencent is in discussions to become Manus's largest shareholder.

D-Robotics, a Chinese robotics chip startup spun off from Horizon Robotics in 2004, secured US$400 million in its latest funding round, led by South Korea's Mirae Asset Management. The proceeds will be used to strengthen its chip and software businesses. D-Robotics has launched three mass-produced chips in its Sunrise series. The latest fundraising followed two earlier this year that raised a combined 370 million yuan (US$55.2 million).

Chinese AI pharmaceutical firm Anew Labs, a ByteDance spin-off, reportedly completed a US$290 million fundraising, led by HSG, IDG Capital, and GL Ventures. ByteDance still holds a 56 percent stake in the company, which attained a valuation of US$1.5 billion. Additionally, the robotaxi arm of Chinese mobility provider Hello raised US$100 million in a new financing round to fund the building of a 10,000-graphics-processing-unit computing cluster and strengthen its AI capabilities. Zaofu Intelligent Technology's first mass-produced, self-driving robotaxi model, the Hello Robot1, went into mass production in July.

EU Asks China to Voluntarily Limit Hybrid Car Exports

The EU has asked China to voluntarily restrict hybrid car exports to about 15 percent of the bloc's market as part of efforts to avert a trade war, the Financial ‌Times reported. "If they will not limit their exports to our market, then we will," the reported quoted an unidentified EU official as saying. Chinese mainland car makers, led by the likes of BYD, Chery and Xpeng, have been rapidly expanding in Europe as domestic sales slow. They are increasingly investing in manufacturing facilities on the continent to assuage political concerns that they are harming EU companies. In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said every available tool will be used to reduce what she called an "unsustainable" trade deficit with China, which hit 360.6 billion euros (US$413.4 billion) last year and widened 9 percent in the first six months of this year.

China Media Capital to Take Control of Huayi Brothers

Debt-trouble Chinese filmmaker Huayi Brothers Media said China Media Capital will become the controlling shareholder of the company under a proposed restructuring. CMC will invest about 836 million yuan (US$125 million) to acquire a 17 percent stake, according to Huayi, which is issuing new shares to finance the deal, expanding its share base to about 5.3 billion. The deal is aimed at bringing content, distribution and intellectual-property resources from CMC into Huayi. The Beijing-based company, once one of China's best-known film companies, has struggled with mounting debt and weak earnings. It reported revenue of 85.4 million yuan in the first half of 2026, down 44 percent from a year earlier, and a net loss of 36.4 million yuan.

Economy & Markets

Oil Prices Slip but Remain High

Global oil prices slipped but remained above US$100 a barrel after the US said Saudi Arabia may have about half the oil capacity of its now shut East-West Pipeline back online within days. The land pipeline, which delivers Persian Gulf crude to a Red Sea port to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz, was earlier damaged by drones from Iran-backed militias. Saudi oil transit from the Red Sea remains threatened by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Global benchmark Brent crude futures shed about US$1 to end New York trading at US$104.82.

Hong Kong Raises Base Rate in Tandem With US Fed Increase

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its base interest rate a quarter point to 4.2 percent, tracking the Wednesday rate hike by the US Federal Reserve. Hong Kong's official rate moves in lockstep with US rates because the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US currency. However, Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp, the largest lender in the city, and Bank of China Hong Kong said they will keep their prime rate unchanged, and other major banks in the city are expected to follow.

Foreign Holdings of US Treasures Decline in July

Foreign holdings of US Treasuries in July declined for a second straight month, according to newly released data from the US Treasury Department. The drop was led by declines in holdings by Japan and China, the first- and third-largest holders of US debt. Total overseas holdings fell to US$9.25 trillion from US$9.3 trillion in June. Chinese holdings dropped 2.4 percent to an 18-year low of US$618 billion in July, down 11 percent from a year earlier. Japan's holdings declined 1.1 percent from June to US$1.1 trillion. The UK, the second-largest foreign holder, showed a 6.2 percent increase in holdings to US$998.3 billion. US Treasuries are critical in financing the nation's huge budget deficit.

SF Express to Sell US$1.5 Billion in Dim Sum Bonds

SF Express plans to raise as much as 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) from its first-ever offshore sale of "dim sum" yuan-denominated bonds via the Hong Kong's stock exchange. In a filing with the exchange, the courier service said the issue will include 3-year and 5-year bonds.

AI Drives China Micro-Drama Boom

Artificial intelligence propelled the release of 430,000 mini-dramas in the first eight months of this year, 13 times more than the output of 2025, the National Radio and Television Administration reported. Wang Xiaoling, an administration official, said 90 percent of that production used machine-assisted technology. Micro-dramas are typically series comprised of 1-2 minute episodes. Last year, the industry was valued at 100 billion yuan (US$14.9 billion), with more than 800 million users. Under new rules that took effect September 1, AI-generated micro-dramas must carry clear source labeling, while platforms are required to strengthen checks on rights and content. The regulator said it had removed 68,000 non-compliant micro-dramas this year. The dramas are also distributed in more than 200 countries and regions, according to the regulator.

Corporate

ByteDance's Doubao AI Agent to Deploy in Car Cockpits

ByteDance's Doubao AI agent and cloud platform Volcano Engine launched an AI-powered in-car assistant, with technology set to debut in an SAIC Motor model. Doubao has signed a partnership with Shanghai-based SAIC to deploy is cabin assistant in new Roewe JiaYue 07 models, which links vehicle controls, navigation, driver-assistance systems and entertainment functions. It can process multiple requests, break them into steps and execute them across different vehicle systems. For example, users can ask the car to find a child-friendly destination based on travel time, parking and other preferences. The system also supports remote vehicle control and vehicle-status checks.

Tesla Starts Optimus Supplier Audits in China

Tesla has begun a new round of supplier audits in China as it prepares for mass production of its Optimus humanoid robot. A Tesla team arrived in Ningbo this week for inspections, focusing on suppliers involved in robotics to assess readiness and quality of mass production. Tesla, which operates a mega factory in Shanghai, plans to produce about 50,000 Optimus robots to be deployed in its factories worldwide. The humanoid robot, however, is not yet available for purchase by individual consumers.

Evergrande Exiting Automaking, With Liabilities of US$4.9 Billion

Evergrande New Energy Vehicle, an arm of property developer Evergrande Group, said it has fully exited auto production to focus on sales of lithium-ion batteries. For the first half, the company on Thursday reported profit of 186 million yuan (US$27.7 million) from one-time items not related to core operations, turning from a loss of a loss of 585 million yuan a year earlier. Revenue was just 8.7 million yuan, all from its battery business. The Hong Kong-listed company said liabilities totaled 32.7 billion yuan at the end of June, compared with assets of only about 182 million yuan.

Xpeng Offers Technology to Foreign Carmakers Beyond VW

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng plans to offer its technology to foreign automakers beyond partner Volkswagen, Reuters reported. The company has been in contact with some potential partners, offering technology related to its electrical and electronic architecture, cockpit systems, Turing AI chips and advanced-driver assistance software. The Guangzhou-based company is expanding into robotaxis, humanoid robots and flying cars as it seeks wider revenue streams. Xpeng's partnership with VW began in 2023 when the German automaker bought a 4.99 percent stake.

Starbucks Weighs Another Asian Stake Sale

Starbucks is considering selling a majority stake in its Japan business at a valuation of about US$3 billion. The potential deal follows its decision earlier this year to cede operational control of its China operations to China private equity firm Boyu, amid rising competition from domestic rivals.