Chinese stock markets have lost trillions of dollars in recent months as anxiety over artificial intelligence spreads through the country’s tech sector. The STAR 50 Index has fallen 40 percent since June, and other major indexes have dropped about 20 percent over the same period.
Bloomberg estimates that 2.4 trillion US dollars has been wiped from the Chinese stock market since May. Goldman Sachs says AI stocks account for 40 percent of stock market value in China and Hong Kong.
Weak profits and western curbs
Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group, said profit margins at tech firms this year have not been as good as expected. He pointed to rising US interest rates and weak domestic demand in China.
The US has banned humanoid robots from China and is reportedly considering a ban on Chinese components in data centres. Shares in Unitree have halved since the company began trading in August.
Doubts over robotics and stimulus
Wang said it does not look as though embodied intelligence could turn into profits in the mass market. Any stimulus measure, he added, would be high risk.
A state-backed AI investment fund of 60 billion yuan began investing this month.
A sensitive political period
The Chinese Communist Party’s fifth plenum is meeting this week, ahead of the 21st Party Congress next year, which is expected to give Xi Jinping a fourth term. No stimulus is expected during this period.
Overseas investment regulations are due to take effect on 1 December.
