Asian Tech Roundup: Asia responds to tariff threats

Plus: Digital payments down across India

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China, Japan and South Korea are working on a joint response to US tariffs

Welcome to Computing's weekly roundup of tech news in Asia. This time we look at China’s personal data crackdown, payment disruption across India and a pan-Asian response to US tariffs.

China, Japan and South Korea held their first joint economic discussion in five years this week, in response to the threat of tariffs from Donald Trump’s USA. The countries have respectively been threatened with tariff rates of 34%, 24% and 26%.

The countries' three trade ministers have agreed to "closely cooperate for a comprehensive and high-level" talks on a free trade agreement deal to promote "regional and global trade.”

Across the border in India, digital payments – a staple of people's lives – went down due to errors in the unified payments interface (UPI). Both Google Pay and Paytm’s services, as well as those of the State Bank of India, were affected.

China

  • A new law governing personal information protection has come into effect, with several government departments announcing their intent to crack down on unnecessary data collection. Source 1 Source 2
  • Chinese state media claimed that Japan, South Korea and China would stand together in response to US trade tariffs. The three countries held their first economic discussion in five years. Source
  • The Beijing General Artificial Intelligence Research Institute has released new footage of ‘Tong Tong 2.0,’ a self-learning digital personality ‘living’ in a simulated environment. Source 1 Source 2
  • China’s AI start-up Zhipu AI launched a free AI agent this week. According to CEO Zhang Peng, the agent is capable of deep research in addition to the more standard web searching, report writing and summarisation. Source
  • Huawei Technologies said its profit fell by over a quarter in 2024 even though its revenue grew at the fastest rate in five years. A spokesperson attributed the fall to heavy investment in research and development. Source
  • Chip designer Loongson has teased new designs for mobile and industrial applications. Source

India

  • Digital payment services across India were disrupted this week, including services by Google Pay and Paytm. In a statement, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said there were some intermittent declines in UPI due to fluctuations in the success rates in some banks. Source
  • Indian tech startup funding increased 23% to $7.4 billion in 2024 according to a Nasscom-Zinnov study. The study found that DeepTech startup funding increased by 78%, reaching $1.6 billion. Source
  • Shares in Vodafone Idea surged 10% on Tuesday after the Indian government said it would convert a part of the debt laden telecom company's outstanding spectrum auction dues into equity. Source

Japan

  • More than 20 companies involved in back-end semiconductor manufacturing are working together to strengthen domestic supply chains. Source
  • Japan Airlines is developing an offline AI app to speed the writing of operational reports for cabin crew. Source

Taiwan

  • At least 11 Chinese companies have been accused of setting up foreign subsidiaries in Taiwan and hiding their links to China, in a bid to entice staff who would otherwise be legally restricted from working with them. Source 1 Source 2
  • TSMC has affirmed its commitment to Taiwan with a new built domestic fab adding 7,000 tech jobs to the island's economy. The company has promised further expansion within Taiwan in addition to US investment. Source
  • 29 migrant electronics workers from Taiwan were interviewed by researchers for the KnowtheChain ICT Benchmark Report published this week. The research found most ICT manufacturers failed to exercise due diligence to root out human right abuses in their supply chains. Source

Other Asia

  • Australia: A number of cyberattacks on Australian retirement funds have been successful, with either personal data or money stolen. Source
  • North Korea: A report shows that fraudulent tech workers with ties to North Korea have infiltrated blockchain firms in the UK. Source
  • South Korea: South Korean electronics group Samsung has turned to Chinese technology groups to bolster its semiconductor division as it struggles to secure big US customers despite investing tens of billions of dollars in US manufacturing facilities. Source