The US has reportedly delayed adding Chinese AI startup DeepSeek to a trade blacklist, despite approval last year. DeepSeek's low-cost AI model and alleged support for military operations raised concerns among US officials and AI companies.
US President Donald Trump arrives in Beijing for historic talks with President Xi Jinping, amid global tensions over the US-Israel war on Iran, rising energy costs, and escalating US-China tech rivalry.
Goldman Sachs has barred its bankers in Hong Kong from using Anthropic's Claude AI models, following consultations with Anthropic and adopting a strict interpretation of its contract. The restriction does not extend to other AI vendors like OpenAI. Western AI models are banned in mainland China under the Great Firewall, while Hong Kong has generally operated outside those restrictions. US AI firms are concerned about 'distillation' - the risk that intensive use in China could help local actors train competing systems. The move could pose challenges for Hong Kong's role as a financial hub as bankers may fall behind peers elsewhere.
Goldman Sachs has prohibited its Hong Kong bankers from using Anthropic's Claude AI models, citing contract interpretations amid US-China tech tensions. This move, impacting coding and financial modeling, raises concerns for Hong Kong's financial hub status and other institutions using the AI. The restriction highlights broader worries about AI intellectual property theft and cybersecurity risks.
China has formally ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of AI company Manus, citing national security concerns. The deal, completed in December 2025, had been under review since January 2026. This marks a significant escalation in US-China AI rivalry and signals increased difficulty for cross-border tech deals. Manus founders had relocated most of their team to Singapore and established offshore entities to distance from China, but the Chinese government's decision creates uncertainty for both companies' AI ambitions.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed 20 new export control measures, including the Match Act, to restrict Chinese access to US technology and bar Chinese chipmakers from advanced semiconductor equipment. The measures represent the largest significant export control markup in Congress history, requiring allies like Japan and the Netherlands to align with US restrictions on selling advanced semiconductor equipment to China.
Hong Kong should take a more proactive approach to removing barriers hindering the cross-border flow of people, capital, goods and data with neighbouring Shenzhen, analysts have said, as the new leadership of the mainland China tech hub signals a fresh push for deeper integration. The calls for action followed the appointment of Jin Lei, an economist and former official in Sichuan province, as Shenzhen’s Communist Party chief last month, succeeding Meng Fanli, who has since been named the...
