Rare earths rumble - Asian Tech Roundup

Plus: South Korea moves to arrest ‘scam factory’ workers

Welcome to Computing's weekly roundup of tech news in Asia. This time we look at China’s show of strength over mineral supplies, the aftermath of disruption of Cambodian-operated scam factories by international law enforcement and gloomy predictions for Indian tech.

When China announced new licensing restrictions on the export of rare earth elements earlier this month, the US reaction was immediate – and panicked. Donald Trump immediately threatened additional 100% sanctions on all Chinese goods and more export controls on software sold to China.

His outburst caused an immediate effect on the global financial markets, which lost $2 trillion in a day on fears of an extended trade war. Trump quickly backed down from his threats, and the markets wobbled back to stability, but it was a lesson, if any were needed, that China has plenty of cards up its sleeves should it choose to play them.

China exports around 70% of the world’s earth minerals, which are used in technologies from jet fighters to solar panels, and it possesses 90% of its refining capabilities, giving the country significant leverage.

A search for alternative sources has taken on a new urgency, and this week the US signed a deal with Australia to increase the supply of critical minerals. However, analysts believe it could be years before it would make up for any cut-off by China.

In related news, China ceased shipments of Nexperia chips to the EU after the Dutch government took over company which is Netherlands-based but owned by a Chinese parent company, with manufacturing taking place in China. Automakers, the main users of these chips, are now looking at pandemic-style supply chain ructions.

Australia

• Australia and the US have signed a deal to enhance the supply of rare earths and other critical minerals to the US. The agreement is intended to reduce China’s dominance of the market for rare earths which are critical for manufacturing everything from electronics to medical devices and in renewable energy generation. The latest round of the trade war between China and the US was sparked by Beijing introducing export restrictions on rare earths. Source
• An anti-renewables group has admitted using GenAI in its court submissions, which contained errors and non-existent references. Source

China

• A communiqué issued after a meeting of the CCP says the country will pursue policies aimed at “substantially improving the level of scientific and technological self-reliance and strength”. Source
• US export restrictions have reduced Nvidia’s share of China’s chips market from 95% to zero, according to CEO Jensen Huang. The company has been unable to sell its most powerful chips in China since 2022, and a local security review has limited adoption of a less powerful version designed for the market. Source
• China has accused the USA’s NSA of carrying out cyberattacks on its national time centre, which generates and distributes the country’s standard time. The Ministry of State Security said the NSA exploited vulnerabilities in the messaging services of a foreign mobile phone brand to steal sensitive information. Source
• USA-based Micron is allegedly halting sales of its datacentre server chips to China, having failed to negotiate with the Chinese government, which banned the use of its chips in critical infrastructure in 2023. Source
• Apple’s iPhone 17 models outsold the iPhone 16 by 14% in the first 10 days of availability in China and the US, according to research firm Counterpoint. Sales of the base model iPhone 17 nearly doubled in China compared to the previous version during the same period. Source
• At the same time, 55 Chinese iPhone and iPad users filed a complaint with China's market regulator alleging that Apple abuses its dominance by restricting apps and payments to its own platforms. Source
• Startup Shengshu AI has released its own video generation platform to compete with OpenAI’s Sora 2. Vidu 2 is available worldwide with membership fees ranging from free to $84 a month. Source
• Symantec’s Threat Hunter team said that China related threat actors had exploited the ToolShell security vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint after its disclosure earlier this year. Source
• Beijing has cut off shipments of Nexperia chips to the EU following the Dutch seizure of the company which is Netherlands-based but owned by a Chinese parent company. The chips are widely used in automotive electronics and stocks are likely to run out in a few weeks. Source

India

• India has tightened rules about how platforms must act on unlawful content. From 15^th November intermediaries must act within 36 hours of being notified about unlawful content by officials. It comes as X prepares to challenge a court’s takedown decisions in the Supreme Court. Source
• The Delhi High Court has ordered Google to implement an automated mechanism to remove misleading, fake news and deepfake content related to Jagadish Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru, which has been created by scammers. Source
• A report from HSBC says that the Indian IT sector may face a decline in revenues by 8–10% within the next three to four years. Source
• Capgemini has finished its acquisition of business transformation and services company WNS, which is intended to support its agentic AI operations. Source
• Infosys promoters and promoter group, including Nandan M Nilekani and Sudha Murty, will not participate in the company’s Rs 18,000 crore share buyback. Source

Japan

• Japan has launched its first osmotic power plant which generates electricity by capturing energy generated from the difference in salt content between fresh water and seawater. Source
• AI is proving tentatively helpful in trials in Japanese schools where it is being used to identify children at risk of truancy, bullying and abuse. However, experts have cautioned schools against becoming too reliant on technology for such purposes. Source

North Korea

• A prolific North Korean hacking group is targeting European drone makers with malware. Source
• The North Korean Lazarus hacking group compromised three European defence companies with their fake employee programme. Source

South Korea

• Authorities are seeking to arrest some of the 64 Korean citizens repatriated from Cambodia for allegedly working for online scam organisations in the country. Source
• The mother and two sisters of Samsung Electronics chairperson Jay Y Lee plan to sell around $1.2 billion worth of shares in the company, according to a regulatory filing. Source
• Samsung has launched its Galaxy XR headset to take on Apple’s Vision Pro. It's currently available in the US and South Korea and is approximately half the price of its competitor. Source
• South Korea’s AI textbook programme which was supposed to deliver personalised learning, greater equality and a reduced burden for teachers has been rolled has been rolled back after complaints from teachers, students and parents. Source

Taiwan

• Sources within the TSMC supply chain have told China Times that TSMC will begin shipping chips fabricated on a 2-nanometer process next year. This represents a step up from the current advanced 3-nanometer process. It means the chips in Apple and Samsung devices to name but two examples are likely to get more expensive. Source
• Hsinchu, Taiwan’s chip capital and base for TSMC, is bucking the country’s declining fertility trend thanks to high salaries, economic stability and the young professional population. Source
• The first Nvidia Blackwell GPU has been manufactured at TSMC’s new site in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s the first time TMSC has produced such a complex chip in the US. Source

Vietnam

• Apple’s latest Vision Pro headset is being assembled in Vietnam instead of China, continuing the company’s production shift away from the Middle Kingdom. Source