AI Infrastructure Push: China plans a 2 trillion yuan ($295B) nationwide AI data-center network over five years, aiming for at least 80% domestic tech and tighter integration with power grids and public services. Brain-Computer Breakthrough: China approved the NEO brain-computer chip for clinical sale, targeting spinal cord injuries and paralysis, as Neuralink still awaits U.S. FDA clearance. Smart Education Surveillance: China is expanding “smart campuses,” with AI cameras and classroom analytics installed in hundreds of smart classrooms to track attendance, attention, and teaching patterns. AI Meets Politics: Xinhua is set to launch “Xinhua Yudian,” an AI agent funded with 1.1 billion yuan to promote Xi Jinping Thought and standardize official citations—raising concerns about foreign tech getting pulled into rights abuses. US-China Tech Tensions: China says it is strongly dissatisfied with the Pentagon’s move to add major Chinese tech firms to a military-linked blacklist, warning of retaliation. Nvidia in China: Nvidia is pitching its new “Vera” AI CPU to Chinese clients, with availability reportedly as soon as August, as earlier chip shipments faced headwinds. University Degree Overhaul: China’s universities have cut 12,000 “obsolete” undergraduate degrees while adding new tech-focused programs aligned with AI and future industries. Rare Earth Pressure: The U.S. House passed the DOMINANCE Act to counter China’s near-monopoly on rare-earth processing by building an allied supply network. Space Safety Debate: A Chinese study argues NASA’s lunar lander design has “glaring weaknesses” due to reliance on a single main engine, while China’s approach uses multiple engines plus smaller thrusters. Underwater Data Center: China launched the world’s first commercial wind-powered underwater data center off Hainan, betting on new ways to cool and power computing.