China is catching up with the West on tech, Microsoft president says
The West shouldn’t assume that China is lagging behind the U.S. and Europe on tech developments, Microsoft’s president and vice-chairman warned.
U.S-China tensions in the past few years have centered on the battle between the two nations for tech supremacy, culminating in a slew of export controls on critical technologies. Late last year, China’s Huawei surprised the market with the release of a smartphone whose reviews indicated downloads speeds associated with 5G, sparking speculation of an apparent chip breakthrough that defied U.S. tech sanctions.
Speaking at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal, on Tuesday, Microsoft’s Brad Smith told CNBC that “in many ways,” China is close to or is even catching up on technology.
“I think one of the dangers, frankly, is that people who don’t go to China too often assume that they’re behind,” he told CNBC’s Karen Tso. “But when you go there, you’re impressed by how much they’re doing.”
He predicted that Chinese and American companies will be competing on technology into the distant future and urged U.S. and European companies to collaborate to grow economies and bring new advancements like artificial intelligence to the rest of the world.
Microsoft CEO Brad Smith participates in a meeting at The Westin Palace Hotel, on 20 May, 2022 in Madrid, Spain.
Cezaro De Luca | Europa Press | Getty Images
Microsoft has operated in China since 1992, according to the company’s web page, including through its largest research and development center outside the U.S. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said last year that the firm wasn’t focused on China as a domestic market, but that it provides services to Chinese companies and has a more visible presence locally than do many other U.S. tech giants.
Asked about whether trade and tech transfers — or the movement of data, designs or innovations — with China will get more challenging as Washington transitions between the administrations of U.S. incumbent leader Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, Smith it was too early tor know.
“The truth is, as an American technology company, we can do business in China only when we are offering a service that the Chinese government wants to have there, and the U.S. government wants us to bring there,” he said, adding, “And in some cases they look at, say, a data center to support a Mercedes or a Siemens or a Starbucks or a General Motors — there seems to be a level of comfort. In consumer services, not really.”
He predicted that we’ll live in a world where some technology will move to China, and it won’t be the tech firms that decide.
—CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this article.
Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, looks on during the closing bell at the Nasdaq Market in New York City on March 25, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected quarterly results and issued upbeat guidance for the current period. The cybersecurity software vendor said Nir Zuk, who founded the company in 2005, is retiring from his role as chief technology officer.
The stock rose about 6% in extended trading.
Here’s how the company did compared to LSEG estimates:
- Earnings: 95 cents adjusted vs. 88 cents expected
- Revenue: $2.54 billion vs. $2.5 billion expected.
Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter rose 16% from about $2.2 billion last year, the company said in a statement. Net income fell to about $254 million, or 36 cents per share, from about $358 million, or 51 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
The company also issued upbeat guidance for the fiscal first quarter. Earnings per share will be between 88 cents and 90 cents, Palo Alto said, topping an 85-cents estimate from StreetAccount.
For the full year, Palo Alto said revenue will range from $10.48 billion to $10.53 billion on adjusted earnings of $3.75 to $3.85 per share. Both estimates exceeded Wall Street’s projections.
Palo Alto said that for the fiscal first quarter, remaining purchase obligations, which tracks backlog, will range between $15.4 billion and $15.5 billion, surpassing a $15.07 billion estimate.
Last month, the company announced plans to buy Israeli identity security provider CyberArk for $25 billion. It’s the largest deal Palo Alto has made since its founding, and most ambitious in an acquiring spree that ramped up after CEO Nikesh Arora took the helm of the company in 2018.
Shares sold off sharply after the news broke and have yet to recover previous highs. The stock is down about 3% this year as of Monday’s close.
“We look for great products, a team that can execute in the product, and we let them run it,” Arora told CNBC following the announcement. “This is going to be a different challenge, but we’ve done well 24 times, so I’m pretty confident that our team can handle this.”
Lee Klarich, the company’s product chief, will replace Zuk as CTO and fill his position on the board.
WATCH: Power check on Palo Alto, Viking Holdings and Estee Lauder
The first “World Humanoid Robot Games” is in the books.
The three-day competition hosted in Beijing wrapped on Sunday, attracting 280 teams from 16 countries, including the U.S. Teams used robots manufactured by Chinese companies such as Unitree and Booster.
During the games, humanoid athletes competed in dance battles, martial arts, track and field events such as the 400-meter and 1500-meter races and long jump, and a soccer tournament.
“Robots have stronger joints and core strength,” said Guo Tong, who programmed one of the futuristic footballers for his team, Hephaestus.
Guo said he sees robots replacing his idol, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, by 2050.
“Robots are easier to coach,” Chinese Olympic boxer Li Yang told CNBC while watching his robot slug it out with another. “Humans are emotional.”
Hangzhou-based Unitree, seen as a competitor to Tesla‘s Optimus, won multiple medals. Beijing-based X-Humanoid and Hong Kong-listed Shenzhen firm UBTECH also impressed.
Humanoid robots from Unitree Robotics win the first place in the 4x100m Relay of Track and Field event on day three of the World Humanoid Robot Games at National Speed Skating Oval on August 17, 2025 in Beijing, China.
Zhang Xiangyi | China News Service | Getty Images
The Chinese government has targeted humanoid robots as a key future industry for the economy and Beijing has plans to build a world-class industry of humanoid robots by 2027.
The games are the latest in a series of events and programs aimed at promoting humanoid robot technology. China announced plans to hold its second Olympics-style event for humanoid robots next August.
Robots also put job skills to the test, showcasing their abilities as drug store clerks, factory workers, and hotel staff.
One challenge for a robot in housekeeping was to pick up all the garbage in a mock hotel room and take out the trash. Referees told CNBC the biggest obstacle for those robots was opening and closing the door.
Robot designer Wang Xidong says the competition is key to testing the robots’ skills and improving them.
“We are refining our robots,” Wang said. “Everyone feels motivated to compete.”
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