Bottom line: Huawei's latest big financial commitment to the UK is mostly for show, but Britain could still emerge as a winner over the longer term if Huawei conducts more R&D work in its British labs.

Huawei gives $4.2 billion gift to UK

Bottom line: Xiaomi's growing comeback is giving it confidence to launch an IPO plan, as its loss of a trademark case in Europe highlights renewed obstacles it will face in its global expansion.

Xiaomi eyes Hong Kong IPO

Bottom line: Attendance of Google's CEO at China's premier Internet event marks a continuation of its slow return to China, while appearances by top Apple, Qualcomm and Microsoft executives are more expected.

Western tech execs hobnob at Internet conference

As we head into the new week, the headlines are filled with the latest words of wisdom on the future of the Internet from some of China's leading company chiefs, who were all in the scenic city of Wuzhen for a major c...

Bottom line: Whatsapp has likely been permanently blocked in China, while Satya Nadella's visit to Xiaomi underscores Microsoft's growing ties  with the company, and Google's China AI push is mostly PR.

Whatsapp booted from China?

A couple of the big high-tech multinationals are in the headlines as we head into the next-to-last month of the year, which seems like a good opportunity to review where these companies stand heading into the second term of President Xi Jinping...

Bottom line: Huawei could overtake Apple as the world's second largest smartphone seller in the next 1-2 years, while it could also pose a challenge in global cloud services over the next 5 years.

Huawei takes a shot at the cloud

Bottom line: Baidu's opening of a new artificial intelligence lab in Silicon Valley is the latest move in its AI obsession, which is likely to end in failure and a quiet pullback in around two years due to mediocre execution.

Baidu in new Silicon Valley R&D lab