Tencent AI Soars 799% 🧠 China-Style Theme Parks ⛩️ 8,500 Power Grid Robots 🤖

2026-05-11 | subscribe | homepage

Welcome back to China Insights Weekly. Here are some of the key highlights for this week’s edition:

• Leica shifts sensor strategy, partnering with China’s Gpixel on in-house development

• Tesla clears data rules, moving closer to self-driving rollout in China

• China pushes local wafers, targeting 70% domestic sourcing this year

• Tencent expands in gaming, as Supercell acquires Merge Mansion maker Metacore

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🚀 Headlines

China's AI models surpass US in usage as Tencent's Hy3 soars 799%, Government releases first guidelines on AI agents (link, link)

In the week ending May 3, Chinese large language models recorded 7.942 trillion API calls, an 81.7% increase from the previous week, surpassing U.S. models, which fell 34.6% to 3.258 trillion calls. Tencent's Hy3 preview model led globally with 3.03 trillion weekly calls, a 799% surge. Kimi K2.6 ranked second. MiniMax M2.7 placed eighth with 729 billion calls, while DeepSeek-V4‑Flash debuted at ninth with 704 billion calls (up 344%). Total global AI model calls rose 8.6% to 23.9 trillion tokens. The data indicate that Chinese AI models are not only advancing but also rapidly achieving large‑scale adoption, reshaping the competitive landscape.

Chinese authorities have issued the first joint guidelines by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to promote the standardized application and innovative development of AI agents. The document defines AI agents as intelligent systems capable of autonomous perception, memory, decision-making, interaction, and execution. It outlines fundamental principles stressing safety, controllability, orderliness, standardization, innovation-driven growth, and application-oriented traction. The guidelines identify 19 typical application scenarios spanning scientific research, industrial development, consumption boost, public well-being, and social governance.

Leica swaps Japan for China as it moves to joint in-house sensor development with Changchun-based Gpixel (link)

Germany’s Leica is shifting its sensor strategy from Japanese suppliers to China's Gpixel, moving beyond a traditional supplier relationship into joint development, image quality fine‑tuning, and production preparation. Gpixel, founded in 2012 with offices in China, Japan, and Europe, is partnering with Leica to accelerate the camera maker's return to in‑house sensor development, a project Leica had already begun in 2022. With an annual turnover of around €500 million, Leica sees China as one of its most important markets, having previously collaborated with Xiaomi and Huawei on smartphones. Gpixel, despite lower turnover, is on a growth trajectory following its Hong Kong IPO. The partnership aims to give Leica greater control over core technology and differentiation in the premium camera segment.

Tesla signs data security deal with Baidu, clears China's data security requirements for self-driving in China (link)

Tesla has cleared China's data security requirements and reached a deal with Baidu to obtain a mapping license, allowing the automaker to collect public roads data and integrate Baidu's lane‑level navigation system. The agreement removes a key regulatory hurdle for introducing self‑driving cars in China. Tesla's Shanghai factory, opened in 2019, produced more than 710,000 vehicles in 2022 alone. Over 1.7 million Tesla cars have been sold in China since the company entered the market a decade ago. Chinese Premier Li Qiang called Tesla's development in China an example of successful economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries.

China’s Shipbuilding Completes 15.68M DWT in Q1 with 195% Surge in New Orders, Green Ship Orders Top 80% (link)

China's shipbuilding industry posted broad-based growth in the first quarter. Completion volume reached 15.68 million deadweight tons (up 46%, 57.3% of the global total). New orders surged 195.2% to 59.53 million DWT, capturing 84.9% of the world market. The order backlog stood at 322.30 million DWT (up 43.6%), accounting for 69.8% of the global total. Among 18 major ship types, China ranked first in new orders for 15 categories. In large vessels – very large crude carriers, large car carriers, bulk carriers, and container ships of 10,000 TEU and above – China's international market share exceeded 90% for each segment.

China pushes for 70% homegrown silicon wafer use as domestic firms ramp up 12-inch production (link)

China has set an unspoken mandate for chipmakers to source 70% of their silicon wafers from domestic suppliers this year, leaving only 30% for foreign players. The push is led by Xi’an Eswin Material Technology, which aims to produce 1.2 million 12‑inch wafers per month by 2026, enough to cover about 40% of domestic demand and lift its global share past 10%. Eswin already supplies SMIC and is being validated by Korean firms Samsung and SK Hynix. China met about 50% of its 12‑inch wafer demand by 2025, with domestic players’ global capacity share rising from 3% in 2020 to 28% in 2025 and potentially 32% by 2026. China is already largely self‑reliant in 8‑inch wafers for mature chips.