Huawei vs WeChat

Huawei and Qualcomm Sign AI and 5G Patent Deal

Despite trade tensions, Huawei and Qualcomm have signed a cross-licensing agreement covering patents related to AI and 5G technology. The deal, announced in late September 2026, aims to reduce legal disputes and foster innovation. Financial terms were not disclosed. This collaboration is significant as it could stabilize supply chains and set a precedent for tech cooperation amid geopolitical friction, potentially benefiting the broader mobile and AI industries.

• Huawei and Qualcomm signed a cross-licensing agreement for AI and 5G patents.
• The deal was announced in late September 2026.
• Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Notice on Rotating Chairman Tenure

Huawei has published a press release titled 'Notice on Rotating Chairman Tenure' dated Sep 30, 2026, indicating a change in the rotating chairman position.

Alibaba's T-Head AI Chips: Cloud Customers or Qwen Training?

Alibaba announced at its Apsara conference that its new Zhenwu V900 AI chip will enter mass production and go on sale in Q1 2027, two quarters earlier than planned. This follows Huawei's announcement of its Ascend 960DT chip being ready in Q1 2027. Both companies face high demand and limited supply for their chips. IDC data shows Nvidia holds 55% of China's server AI accelerator shipments, Huawei 20%, and T-Head 7%. Alibaba plans to train Qwen models with 5-10 trillion parameters, but has not disclosed which chips will be used, raising concerns about competition between internal model training and paying cloud customers for scarce chip capacity.

• Alibaba announced its Zhenwu V900 chip will enter mass production and go on sale in Q1 2027.
• Huawei announced its Ascend 960DT chip will be ready in Q1 2027, three quarters earlier than planned.
• IDC reported Nvidia held 55% of China's server AI accelerator shipments in 2025, Huawei 20%, and T-Head 7%.

WeChat and Alipay Gate AI Phone Agents in China

A recent analysis examines how China's AI phone ecosystem is controlled by super-apps like WeChat and Alipay, which decide whether AI assistants can operate within their apps. The article highlights Nubia's second-generation Doubao phone, powered by ByteDance's AI, which failed to complete tasks inside WeChat, Alipay, and other apps due to restrictions. Alibaba launched Qwen Intelligence for agentic smartphones, while the CAC added new on-device agents to its registry. Key insight: regulatory filings do not grant app access; super-apps like Alipay and WeChat open their services but not their screens, positioning themselves as gatekeepers. The article notes that deals so far turn AI phones into switchboards, with the assistant interpreting requests and the app controlling service execution and payment.

• Nubia began selling its second-generation Doubao phone on September 16, 2026, with ByteDance's AI assistant, which failed to complete tasks in WeChat and other apps.
• Alibaba launched Qwen Intelligence on September 22, 2026, to power agentic smartphones.
• The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) registered three new on-device phone agents on September 22, 2026, from Honor, Xiaomi, and StepFun.

China's AI Shopping-Agent War Shows Europe the Future

This analysis compares conflicts between AI shopping agents and e-commerce platforms in China and the US, and draws implications for Europe. In China, ByteDance's Doubao agent was initially blocked by Taobao and WeChat, but later integrated through negotiations and a formal access protocol (SAEP). In the US, Amazon blocked Meta's Muse agent, which then partnered with Shopify. The article argues that AI agents will shift advertising from selling attention to charging for outcomes, such as commissions and access fees, potentially benefiting platforms like Meta. It advises European retailers to make their product data agent-readable and predicts that Europe will rely on regulation, transparency, and data protection rules rather than commercial deals or super-app control. Ting Wasner-Lian, founder of SE Incubator Consulting in Vienna, offers strategic insights for European decision-makers.

• In December 2025, ByteDance launched its first AI phone with Doubao AI agent, which was promptly blocked by Taobao, WeChat, and several banking apps.
• From January 2026, ByteDance integrated third-party ride-hailing, food delivery, and ticketing services into Doubao, and in September introduced a formal access protocol called SAEP.
• On September 21, 2026, Amazon blocked Meta's AI shopping agent Muse; Meta then partnered with Shopify to allow purchases on its merchant network.