Xi encourages Shanghai to lead China’s AI Future highlighting China’s rapid progress and vast potential in the sector.
President Xi Jinping visited a major AI incubator in Shanghai on Tuesday, encouraging the city to take a leading role in developing and governing artificial intelligence while emphasizing the vast opportunities China holds in this field.
The visit followed a high-level AI study session held four days earlier, during which Xi stressed the importance of seizing the initiative in this key strategic area.
Speaking at the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, home to over 100 AI enterprises, Xi described AI as rapidly advancing and entering a stage of exponential growth. He also holds titles as CPC General Secretary and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
During the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau’s study session last Friday, Xi stated that AI, as a core strategic technology driving a new scientific and industrial revolution, is reshaping how people live and work.
He noted that the Party Central Committee is highly focused on AI development, having enhanced its top-level planning and implementation strategies in recent years.
While at the innovation center, Xi attended a salon on autonomous evolution of next-gen intelligent agents, engaging in direct dialogue with young tech developers.
He remarked that AI is a young and emerging industry, naturally suited for young innovators.
Xi also explored an AI product demo center, where he closely examined the functionality and market prospects of AI products and personally tested smart glasses.
Last December, Shanghai introduced a detailed roadmap to establish a globally leading AI ecosystem by 2025, aiming to deepen international collaboration. By 2024, the city’s AI sector had surpassed 400 billion yuan (around $55 billion USD).
According to the International Data Corporation, China’s AI sector is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, attracting global tech giants like Tesla and Microsoft to its market potential.
Shanghai, along with the wider Yangtze River Delta region, leads China’s AI advancement. For example, DeepSeek, an AI company based in Hangzhou—less than 200 km from Shanghai—is playing a key role in innovation.
Highlighting China’s vast data resources, comprehensive industrial foundation, and massive market, Xi said the country has immense potential for AI growth and called for stronger policy backing and talent development.
AI development is a central part of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and its 2035 vision, with goals to ensure the industry grows in a secure, beneficial, and inclusive direction.
A Stanford report recently noted that China is narrowing the technological gap with the U.S. in leading AI model development. According to WIPO, China filed over 38,000 generative AI patent applications between 2014 and 2023—ranking first globally.
Despite facing external pressures and technological constraints, China is well-positioned to harness AI for rapid economic growth and productivity gains, said Liang Zheng of Tsinghua University.
Liang also pointed out that, in an era of fragmented global AI governance, China can serve as a key player in fostering international cooperation.
With the Chinese leadership viewing AI as a global public good, they have pledged to support Global South nations in building technological capacity to bridge the AI divide.
On his visit, Xi called on Shanghai to live up to its legacy as a global science and tech hub and to position itself as a world-class center for innovation.
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