[UK AI Minister: Chips and Drones Will Be at the Core of "Reindustrialization" Strategy]

Today, spot #1 copper cathode in North China was quoted at premiums ranging from 40 yuan/mt to 130 yuan/mt against the front-month contract, with an average premium of 85 yuan/mt, down 25 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The average transaction price was 105,380 yuan/mt, up 395 yuan/mt from the previous trading day.

Yu Weining, chief statistician of the Department of Industry at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), interpreted the data, stating that profits of electronics-related industries grew rapidly in H1. In H1, the accelerated integration of artificial intelligence into various fields and the surging demand for computing power drove the profits of the electronics industry up 96.9% YoY, boosting the profit growth of all industrial enterprises above designated size by 8.5 percentage points and serving as a key driver of the relatively rapid profit growth of these enterprises. Specifically, in areas related to servers and high-performance workstations, profits of computer whole-unit manufacturing and computer peripheral equipment manufacturing grew by 689.3% and 305.8%, respectively; in the electronic device manufacturing segment, profits of integrated circuit manufacturing and semiconductor discrete device manufacturing grew by 2,579.5% and 31.2%, respectively; in the electronic components and electronic special materials manufacturing segment, profits of electronic special materials manufacturing and electronic circuit manufacturing grew by 209.7% and 26.9%, respectively. (National Bureau of Statistics)

SK Hynix chief Chey Tae-won stated that South Korea must become an "AI-native country," adding, "The goal is to ensure everyone has at least one AI agent." He remarked, "If this goal is achieved, South Korea will become a global AI testbed where various AI technologies can be experimented with and applied." Chey noted that SK Group will provide more opportunities for AI development through sustained R&D investment. Chey also emphasized the critical importance of lowering AI costs. He said, "Currently, the cost of AI is excessively high. We must reduce costs through various means so that more people around the world can benefit from AI." Chey stated that South Korea can lower AI costs by expanding memory chip production scale and building more AI data centers, thereby creating a global AI data center hub connecting the US, Europe, and Asia.