The metaverse race is heating up in China. Just like Meta and Microsoft in the U.S., Chinese firms such as Baidu and Tencent are investing in the nascent industry, but strict tech regulations mean China’s virtual worlds are set to offer very different user experiences.

Shenzhen, known as the “Capital of Technology” and the “City of the Future”, stands as a global innovation powerhouse driving the future of tech. Home to world-renowned tech giants such as Tencent, Huawei,

Beta users can click an ‘AI Search’ option within Weixin to access DeepSeek, in addition to Tencent’s Hunyuan foundational model.

Chinese technology stocks advanced sharply on Friday, with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. jumping 11.41% in Hong Kong trading, as investors responded to positive earnings guidance and anticipated monetary policy easing from Beijing.

Shares of Tencent were set to open up 6.6% on Monday after the company said its Weixin messaging app has launched beta testing with Deepseek as firms race to link up with China's rising artificial intelligence start-up.

President Xi Jinping met some of China’s most prominent tycoons, sending what analysts say is the strongest signal of support in years to companies like web giants Alibaba and Tencent.

Stocks are drifting lower although still near a record high as a holiday-shortened week gets off to a sluggish start. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower in Tuesday afternoon trading and is just below its all-time closing high set last month.

Early European trading was mostly down, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.18%, while Germany’s DAX dipped 0.26%. Britain’s FTSE 100 remained mostly unchanged. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.59% to 22,976.81,

Chinese tech giant Tencent launched its latest AI model, Hunyuan Turbo S claiming it can answer questions faster than the global hit DeepSeek R1.

When small Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek released a family of extremely efficient and highly competitive AI models last month, it rocked the global tech community. The release revealed China's growing technological prowess.