Xi Jinping inspects AI hub in Shanghai: China's leap into technology power!

Xi Jinping inspects AI hub in Shanghai: China's leap into technology power!

On May 1, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a deep insight into the current developments in artificial intelligence (AI) in the country during his visit to Shanghai. He inspected an AI incubator and the New Development Bank (NDB), where he emphasized the importance of China's efforts to promote the AI ​​industry and technological innovation. Xi called on Shanghai to take a pioneering role in AI development and regulation. This announcement comes as Shanghai positions itself as a global center for artificial intelligence, highlighted by the opening of the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center in September 2023. This center is the first incubator in China to focus specifically on fundamental models and accommodates more than 100 companies in an area of ​​over 60,000 square meters.

The incubator, which offers a variety of support measures such as subsidies for computer equipment and a comprehensive support system for the recruitment of specialists, has already undergone rapid development since its inception. Currently, he has supported the rollout of a significant portion of Shanghai's registered AI models, accounting for approximately 61% of the total volume. Xi stressed the need for policy support for the AI ​​industry and called for faster integration of the technology into various sectors.

Collaboration with the Global South

Later in his visit, Xi Jinping also met with Dilma Rousseff, President of the NDB, to discuss cooperation within the BRICS countries. The NDB has approved over 100 projects by the end of 2023, including significant infrastructure measures in countries such as India, Brazil and China. Xi described the NDB as a key initiative for the Global South and stressed the need to advance financing for sustainable infrastructure projects. Rousseff also highlighted the challenges that unilateralism and protectionism pose to the stability of global supply chains.

The BRICS countries, consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, recently announced comprehensive cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence. This initiative aims to reduce dependence on Western technologies and to actively shape international standards. Vladimir Putin, highlighting the strategic importance of this initiative, emphasized that it can significantly increase the technological competitiveness of the global South. The BRICS alliance plans to take an active role in global AI governance and ensure common ethics.

Technological development and global perspectives

The planned areas of application for AI technologies range from disaster control to healthcare and education. Achieving the alliance's goals will require overcoming internal tensions, which is challenging given the BRICS' recent expansion to up to ten members by 2024. There is also discussion about how effectively a common AI ethics can be implemented among member states, especially given the differences between India and China.

Overall, China's involvement in AI has both local and global dimensions. The investments in AI incubators and the initiative to collaborate with the BRICS countries could be crucial in creating an alternative technological superpower in the global south that challenges the Western-dominated sector. The continuous expansion of the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center and the strategic cooperation within the BRICS are exemplary of this future-oriented project.

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