China ready to strengthen synergy of development strategies with Laos: Chinese premier

China is ready to strengthen the synergy of development strategies with Laos, promote the expansion and improvement of economic and trade cooperation, explore more converging interests and new cooperation opportunities for mutual success and common development, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in Vientiane on Saturday.

Li made the remarks when meeting with Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone at the Prime Minister's Office during his official visit to Laos.

China and Laos are good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners that share a river and a common future, Li noted.

Under the strategic guidance of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president, the building of the China-Laos community with a shared future has continued to deepen and advance with solid progress, Li said.

China has always regarded the development of relations with Laos as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is willing to take the 15th anniversary of the China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership as an opportunity to further implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, deepen political mutual trust, firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, strengthen solidarity and coordination, and make the China-Laos community with a shared future stronger, more dynamic and effective, so as to better benefit the two peoples, he said.

Li pointed out that China is ready to work with Laos to speed up the development along the China-Laos Railway and juxtaposed border control, and strengthen cooperation in new energy, advanced manufacturing, digital economy and artificial intelligence, among other fields.

China is willing to import more quality agricultural products from Laos, he said, calling on the two sides to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in medical care, education, media, culture and tourism and at sub-national levels to deepen mutual understanding and amity between the two peoples and consolidate China-Laos friendship from generation to generation.

Congratulating Laos on the successful hosting of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation as the rotating chair of ASEAN, Li said that China stands ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Laos in the United Nations, ASEAN, Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and other multilateral mechanisms, actively implement the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative, and jointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

For his part, Sonexay warmly congratulated China on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, highly praised China's remarkable development achievements, and sincerely thanked China for its long-term strong support for Laos' economic and social development.

Noting that the top leaders of the two parties and countries signed a new action plan on building the Laos-China community with a shared future in October last year, he said this year marks the opening year for the implementation of the action plan.

Laos is willing to work with China to implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, strengthen high-level and all-level exchanges in various fields, give full play to the role of the Laos-China Railway in driving economic and trade cooperation, expand collaboration in trade, investment, agriculture, infrastructure, digital economy and others, as well as deepen cultural, people-to-people and tourist exchanges and cooperation, Sonexay said.

Laos is also ready to provide mutual support and cooperation with China in international and regional affairs, jointly safeguard strategic interests, and continuously improve and upgrade the building of the Laos-China community with a shared future, he added.

After their meeting, Li and Sonexay together attended a ceremony which presented cooperation documents on interconnectivity, economy and trade, inspection and quarantine, green development and other fields.

Prior to the meeting, Sonexay held a welcome ceremony for Li at the Prime Minister's Office.

During Li's visit, the two sides released a joint statement between the two countries.

China ready to strengthen synergy of development strategies with Laos: Chinese premier

China ready to strengthen synergy of development strategies with Laos: Chinese premier

China ready to strengthen synergy of development strategies with Laos: Chinese premier

China ready to strengthen synergy of development strategies with Laos: Chinese premier

Rapid developments in advanced industries across China, including AI and robotics, were major topics of discussion at open press interviews on Friday with leading researchers and industry executives serving as deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), currently in its ongoing fourth session.

The NPC, China's top legislature, is holding its annual session from Thursday through March 12.

At a series of open press events, delegations from various parts of the country, including Beijing, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and east China's Jiangxi Province, took questions on how their regions are shaping China's technological progress.

Deng Langni, a deputy to the 14th NPC and vice chairman of Guangxi University of Science and Technology, emphasized that as sources of innovation, universities need to take the initiative and provide strong support for the AI industry's development at the local level.

"The rapid pace of industrial transformation poses serious challenges to traditional disciplines and majors, pushing universities to 'break down walls' and bring classrooms onto industrial chains. Taking Guangxi University of Science and Technology as an example, it has quickly launched a number of AI-related micro-credentials across the campus, enabling students from different majors to gain 'AI thinking' and provide urgently-needed compound talents for industrial upgrading in Guangxi," said Deng.

A deputy from Beijing, Lei Jun, founder of consumer tech giant Xiaomi, offered an optimistic vision on the transformative impact that technological advances will have in manufacturing and industry.

"Sci-tech innovation can accelerate the development of new quality productive forces. Private enterprises have a key advantage in being close to markets and users, responding quickly, and rapidly applying new technologies to real-world scenarios. Humanoid robots have already been deployed in automobile factories, and I believe that, in the coming years, they will enter factories on a large scale," he said.

During the open event hosted by the Jiangxi NPC delegation, deputies said that the province has mapped out six key areas for future industries, including bold new areas such as embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces and humanoid robots.

"Many aviation, automotive and equipment manufacturing companies in Jiangxi are using intelligent robots, virtual reality and metaverse technologies to upgrade manufacturing. Workers can remotely operate equipment using immersive interfaces. Over the years, we have been dedicated to researching the key algorithms necessary for the efficient collaboration among embodied intelligent humanoid robots, digital humans and people," said NPC deputy Min Weidong, also the dean of the Metaverse Research Institute at Nanchang University.

Innovation experts from across China highlight accelerated tech deployment