Asian Tech Roundup: Trump’s Taiwan tariffs

Plus: Apple’s China crisis

Welcome to Computing's weekly roundup of tech news in Asia. This time we look at Trumps threats against Taiwan and Apple’s struggles to maintain sales in China.

President Trump has threatened tariffs as high as 100% on chip imports from Taiwan, insisting he will bring manufacturing back to the USA. He criticised the subsidies in President Biden’s CHIPS Act, saying the companies that benefit the most “don’t need money.” He prefers incentives, such as avoiding tariffs, to reshore business. Note Trump is ignoring the fab TSMC is already building in Arizona, using proceeds from the CHIPS Act, that will produce high-end 2nm chips before 2030.

Meanwhile Apple, which saw overall revenues in Q1 2025 beat analyst’s predictions, is nevertheless struggling in China, reporting a more than 11% drop in sales of the iPhone.

Australia

• Science minister Ed Husic says people should be “very careful” about Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which has made headlines this week. He said there are unanswered questions around data and privacy management. Source
• Research shows a gulf between what Australian employees feel they are able to do with AI and their employers' aspirations. Source

China

• Microsoft Azure and AWS are both hosting DeepSeek R1, the disruptive Chinese AI model. Source
• The US Pentagon has rushed to prevent employees using DeepSeek . Source
• Cybersecurity firm Wiz found a database containing sensitive data from the DeepSeek, unsecured, on the open internet. Source
• The Bank of China will provide at least CNY1 trillion (£11 billion) in funding for AI companies over the next five years. It will work with ministers to offer “specialised” financial services for these firms. Source
• China has hit its 2030 renewables target six years early, boosting solar capacity by 45.2% and wind by 18% in 2024. Source
• Tech giant Alibaba has unveiled an updated version of its AI model, Qwen 2.5, claiming it surpasses DeepSeek-V3. Source
• Sales of Apple’s iPhone in China fell by 11.1% last quarter, marking the largest decrease since Q1 2024. Domestic brands such as Oppo, Vivo and Huawei are increasingly favoured. Source

India

• Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, plans to build the world’s largest datacentre in his home state of Gujarat. Costing between $20 billion and $30 billion, it is planned to have a total capacity of 3GW – triple today’s largest facilities. Source
• Fabless chip company L&T Semiconductor Technologies is seeking government funding to build a $10 billion wafer fab. Source
• Indian media groups have joined together to accuse OpenAI of improperly using copyrighted content. They want to join an ongoing lawsuit against the firm, but OpenAI has asked a court to block them from doing so. Source 1 Source 2
• However, India is welcoming US AI companies with open arms, reports Rest of World. Source
• Quick-commerce firm Zepto is the latest Indian startup to move its headquarters back to India, in this case from Singapore. It comes after the government introduced measures to make it easier for companies to launch IPOs in India. Source
• Cred has become the first fintech platform to handle India's central bank digital currency. A select set of users will be able to use its e-rupee wallet, with the issue of tokens facilitated by YES Bank. Source

Japan

• SoftBank plans invest up to $25 billion in OpenAI, according to reports. That would make it the largest financial backer of Sam Altman’s company. Source
• Honda is bringing its automobile business strategy and software defined vehicle (SDV) units into its mainstream business. EV development and SDV were previously separate operations. Source
• Sony has appointed CFO Hiroki Totoki as its new CEO. Source

South Korea

• Samsung has predicted slow sales of its AI chips in the current quarter as it weathers US sanctions on China, and redesigns its flagship models. Source
• LG Energy Solution is piloting lithium-sulphur solid-state batteries and dry electrodes. Source

Taiwan

• Donald Trump has threatened tariffs as high as 100% on “computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals,” in a bid to return manufacturing to the USA. Source
• In the face of Trump’s threats, premier Cho Jung-tai said the government is prepared to step in to support its domestic industry. Source

Other Asia

• Philippines: Digital workers in business process outsourcing firms have launched a coalition to lobby for labour and free speech protections in the workplace as AI tools are deployed. Source
• Vietnam: Vietnam’s postal service Viettel Post is building robots to handle warehouse sorting and deliveries. Source
• Google says hackers from Iran, China and North Korea are using its AI model Gemini to increase their effectiveness. Source