The United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.7 percent in June from a year earlier, marking the largest increase since February, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The CPI figure is higher than general expectations and the average pace of 2.4 percent in the first five months. Analysts attributed the rise to increased tariffs on the country's trading partners since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed his second term.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is considered a more accurate indicator of price pressures, also rose, increasing 2.9 percent from the same period last year.
Analysts believe this is only the initial effect of tariffs on domestic prices, and that intensified price pressures are expected in the coming months.
If the new round of tariffs threatened by Trump in his recent letters to leaders of dozens of countries -- including major trading partners -- takes effect on Aug. 1 as planned, inflation could worsen in the second half of the year.
U.S. inflation rises 2.7 pct in June
China aims to achieve secure and reliable supply of key core artificial intelligence (AI) technologies by 2027, with its industrial scale and empowerment level remaining among the world's forefront, according to a recent government action plan.
The plan, jointly issued by eight departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Cyberspace Administration of China, and the National Development and Reform Commission, outlines an ambitious push to deeply integrate AI with the manufacturing sector, foster new quality productive forces and comprehensively empower new industrialization. By 2027, the plan targets the deep application of three to five general-purpose large AI models in manufacturing, the development of specialized, full-coverage industry-specific large models, the creation of 100 high-quality industrial datasets, and the promotion of 500 typical application scenarios.
It also aims to cultivate two to three globally influential ecosystem-leading enterprises, a batch of specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises, and a group of enabling service providers proficient in both AI technology and industry know-how.
Furthermore, China plans to build a world-leading open-source ecosystem, enhance security governance capabilities, and contribute Chinese solutions to global AI development.
The document outlines measures including promoting the coordinated development of AI chips' hardware and software, supporting innovations in model training and inference methods, fostering key industry-specific large models, and deeply embedding large model technology into core production processes.
The plan also emphasizes making breakthroughs in key technologies such as security protection for industrial model algorithms and training data protection.
China aims for secure, reliable supply of AI core tech by 2027
