China
All my pieces on China and its tech industry – from the Beijing correspondent years and after. Most originals are in German; English translations are added gradually.
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Why you should know Moore Threads – China's challenger to Nvidia
The Chinese chip start-up Moore Threads soared more than 500 percent on its first trading day in Shanghai. It is the spearhead of a new generation of Chinese AI-chip makers preparing to challenge Nvidia's CUDA lock-in.
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National pride and high expectations: how Huawei became the spearhead of China's tech strategy
The Shenzhen company stands not only for smartphones but for the fight over China's technological independence. A trip to the front lines of Beijing's new industrial policy.
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Xiaomi plans its own stores in Germany – and electric cars
In an interview, Germany head Alan Chen Li reveals: Xiaomi is opening flagship stores and plans to sell its in-house electric cars in Germany too.
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Apple bows to Chinese censorship – again
WhatsApp, Signal and Threads have been removed from the App Store in China on the orders of the country's internet regulator.
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TikTok Germany CEO Tobias Henning: "We made mistakes"
TikTok Germany CEO Tobias Henning on the Handelsblatt podcast: we made mistakes. Plus tech reporter Thomas Jahn on Tesla and Volkswagen.
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Isabell Peters: what Germany can learn from China's e-government
E-government professor Isabell Peters on the Handelsblatt podcast: what Germany should – and should not – learn from China.
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The Huawei connection: how Deutsche Telekom became dependent on China
Security agencies warned early about the dependency on Huawei. Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges deepened the partnership with the Chinese company regardless.
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Beijing's race for the smartest computer: how China is rising to AI superpower
No state in the world is pushing artificial intelligence as decisively as China. For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the West may not dominate a global key technology.
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JD founder Richard Liu: "I think globally"
JD.com CEO Richard Liu announces a massive Europe expansion in a Handelsblatt interview – taking aim at Amazon, Otto and Zalando.
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A grand power move: China's president Xi Jinping at the top
Once, Communist Party functionaries had elevated intra-party democracy to a guiding principle. Under Xi, that has changed.
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China – the new space nation?
China is building itself into the third major spacefaring nation. A report from Beijing on how state and private firms are pursuing supremacy in space.
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Cashless in the Far East – how mobile payment works in China
How the Chinese turned their smartphones into wallets – and why Germany still lags behind on mobile payment even in 2025.
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How China plans to become the world's leading robot nation
The People's Republic no longer wants to be the world's factory floor – it wants to be the innovation driver. A factory visit where robots are taking over human tasks.
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Visiting the world's largest floating solar plant
On the reservoir of an old coal mine, a Chinese company built a floating solar plant of superlatives.
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Riding China's high-speed trains
China has more high-speed rail connections than the rest of the world combined. By 2020 the network was meant to grow to 30,000 kilometres.
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A journey along China's Great Wall
It is the emblem of the People's Republic. Stephan Scheuer takes you near the village of Yunling, on a tour of the older, unrestored sections of this extraordinary structure.
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The tricks of China's online retailers
Personalised prices, live shopping, surcharges for German customers: how Alibaba and others are reshaping global online retail.
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Baidu's self-driving cars – the early days of China's autonomous-driving push
Chinese internet company Baidu is among the pioneers in developing self-driving cars.
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Visiting China's solar ruins
Because the once world-largest solar group Yingli failed to pay its bills, a German mid-sized company slid into insolvency. A visit to the ruins.
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China's recipe for turbocharged growth
High-speed railways, ports, skyscrapers: China's growth formula rested on massive infrastructure investment. But the approach is running into its limits.
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From factory floor to global leader – China's ambitious Made in China 2025 plan
The People's Republic no longer wants to be the world's factory floor. Stephan Scheuer visits innovative firms – and shows how China is copying Industry 4.0 and catching up fast.
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Belt and Road Summit: "European help yes – European standards no"
With billions for roads, ports and rail lines, China wants to link Asia, Europe and Africa. The views of Europeans are welcome – but not their interference.
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An aeroplane from household waste? A start-up makes it possible
At Miniwiz in Taipei everything is made from waste: the walls, the chairs – and soon a full aircraft. Now the start-up is expanding to Germany.
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Asia's e-scooters push into Europe
Millions of people in Asia ride electric scooters. They are cheap and convenient. Now two start-ups want to help the devices break through in Europe too.
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How China's carmakers are pushing to the top of the world
German manufacturers still dominate the premium segment. But Chinese makers are catching up at breathtaking speed. A factory visit to Chery.
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China's start-up boom: a new company every seven minutes
Every seven minutes someone in China founds a new company. A report from a Beijing start-up hub – and what remains of the boom today.
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Tianjin megaport: the gateway to China
German cars are popular in China. Almost every car imported into the People's Republic arrives through the Tianjin megaport. A site visit.
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Visiting Ordos – China's ghost city in the desert
Ordos was once considered the largest ghost city in the world. A metropolis built in the middle of the desert that no-one wanted to move into.
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How Donald Trump brought China and Germany closer together
US President Donald Trump is overturning all alliances. That is bringing Germany and China closer together. The Chinese and Russian ambassadors explain their strategies.
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How bike-sharing conquered China
The People's Republic was a nation of cyclists. Now start-ups want to revive that tradition with app-based hire bikes rolling out across the country.
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Inside China's secret Bitcoin mine
China dominated the Bitcoin business. Nowhere was the cryptocurrency mined as intensively as here.