Xi inspects AI industry in Shanghai, calling for its development

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday visited an AI incubator in Shanghai, calling on the city to take the lead in AI development and governance.

During the inspection tour in Shanghai, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for accelerated efforts to build the city into a world-class hub for scientific and technological innovation with global influence.

Xi learned about the development of the AI industry in Shanghai, the research and development of related technologies, and the operations of enterprises, as he visited the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, a large-model incubator home to over 100 enterprises in Shanghai's Xuhui District. AI technology is evolving rapidly and entering a phase of explosive growth, Xi noted, stressing the need for Shanghai to learn from successful practices, intensify exploration, and strive to take the lead in all aspects of AI development and governance.

In the incubator, Xi also joined a salon themed on the autonomous evolution of next-generation intelligent agents, engaging in discussions with young innovators on the spot.

"High technologies like AI is a nascent undertaking that belongs to young people. This undertaking is part of our endeavors to advance Chinese modernization, build China into a strong country, and realize the great cause of national rejuvenation, and the hope lies in all of you," said Xi.

He then walked into an AI product experience store, where he inquired in detail about the functions and market trends of the products, and tried on a pair of smart glasses for a firsthand experience.

Xi noted that China is rich in data resources, boasts a complete industrial system and a huge market, and enjoys broad prospects for the development of AI, calling for stepping up policy support and the nurturing of talents to develop more safe and reliable high-quality AI products.

The inspection trip came four days after China's leadership convened a dedicated AI study session, where Xi called for gaining a head start in this strategic sector.

During the group study session last Friday, Xi pointed out that AI, as a strategic technology leading the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, has profoundly changed the ways people work and live.

The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to the development of AI, and has improved top-level design and strengthened implementation efforts in recent years, Xi said at the session.

Xi inspects AI industry in Shanghai, calling for its development

Xi inspects AI industry in Shanghai, calling for its development

Xi inspects AI industry in Shanghai, calling for its development

Xi inspects AI industry in Shanghai, calling for its development

Torrential rain from Wednesday evening has pounded dilapidated homes and crumbled tents across Gaza Strip, claiming lives and compounding the humanitarian situation in the war-torn region.

At least 14 people were killed in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours as homes collapsed and tents sheltering displaced families were flooded during a powerful winter storm, Gaza's Civil Defense said on Friday.

A woman taking shelter in a war-damaged house voiced concerns that the makeshift shelters, which were previously destroyed or severely weakened during recent Israeli bombardments, offer no real protection from the storms.

"The house leaks and stones would fall when it rains. It's not safe. We're afraid it could collapse on us any moment. But we have no choice and no other place to go, so we have to stay here," she said.

Rescue teams responded to 13 collapsed or partially collapsed houses, saving 52 people and moving them to safer locations. Search operations are ongoing after more than 15 homes were damaged across the territory.

"From the early hours until now, rescue crews and Civil Defense teams in northern Gaza have been working to retrieve the missing from beneath the rubble of this house. So far, they have recovered one victim and a child who was injured, but five people remain trapped under the debris and their condition is still unknown," said a rescue worker.

Victims died beneath the rubble rather than from missiles, highlighting the compounded dangers facing displaced families forced to shelter in unsafe ruins, with no alternative refuge available after more than two years of war.

"People sat peacefully at home, taking shelter from the wind, rain and cold. Suddenly, around three or three-thirty, the house collapsed on them for no reason except the torrential rain and flooding," a resident said, recalling the disaster.

Torrential rain brings more deaths, destruction to war-torn Gaza