Largest-ever SCO Summit to open in Tianjin amid global attention

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 will be the largest since the organization's founding, bringing unprecedented international participation from over 20 heads of state and 10 international organizations, a Foreign Ministry official announced in a press conference in Beijing on Friday.

Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Bin presented details of the upcoming SCO Summit scheduled for Aug 31 and Sept 1, the fifth time China has hosted the SCO Summit, drawing significant interest from domestic and international media.

"The Tianjin Summit is one of China's most important head-of-state and home-ground diplomatic events of the year. President Xi Jinping will chair the meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State, where he and other member state leaders will engage in in-depth discussions on the topics such as promoting the Shanghai Spirit, improving institutional mechanisms, deepening multilateral cooperation, and advancing the development of the SCO, as well as major international and regional issues. President Xi will also preside over the 'SCO Plus' meeting, and have in-depth discussions with leaders of member states, observer states, dialogue partners, and countries invited in their capacity as guests of the chair on practicing multilateralism, safeguarding regional security, and promoting sustainable development," said Liu.

"President Xi Jinping will deliver keynote speeches at both meetings, where he will outline China's new vision and proposals for SCO upholding the Shanghai Spirit, fulfilling missions in the current era, and responding to the expectations of the people. He will also announce new measures and actions by China to support the SCO's high-quality development and comprehensive cooperation, and put forward fresh approaches and pathways for the organization to play a constructive role in safeguarding the post-World War II international order and improving the global governance system," he said.

"President Xi Jinping will join other SCO leaders in signing and issuing the Tianjin Declaration, approving the organization's development strategy for the next decade, and releasing statements marking the 80th anniversaries of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. A series of outcome documents aimed at strengthening cooperation in security, the economy, and cultural exchanges will also be adopted, helping to chart the course for the SCO's future development. President Xi will host a welcome banquet for participating leaders and heads of international organizations, and hold an intensive series of bilateral meetings to plan and advance China's relations with participating countries. The Tianjin Summit is expected to become a new milestone in the SCO's history," said Liu.

In the face of a complex and turbulent international landscape, China hopes the Tianjin Summit will further build political consensus among SCO member states, unlock the potential for deeper cooperation, and promote joint action. A successful and friendly SCO Tianjin Summit, with fruitful outcomes, is expected to contribute the organization's strength to building a community with a shared future for humanity, he said.

Largest-ever SCO Summit to open in Tianjin amid global attention

An artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model specialized for analyzing human genetic diversity was launched at Shanghai's cutting-edge Model Speed Space innovation hub on Tuesday.

Named SNPBAG, it is the world's first large model built specifically for genomic analysis, promising to precisely predict diseases and advance personalized health care.

The model focuses on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the most common type of genetic variation among people, which influence traits such as height, intelligence and personality.

Currently, SNPBAG can be used for ancestry tracing and kinship identification. In the future, with further training, it is expected to predict disease risks at various life stages based on DNA sequences, offering higher screening accuracy than existing genetic testing methods.

"As far as we know, traditional methods examine SNPs point by point for correlations with traits like height or intelligence, without taking into account, for example, interactions between or among genes. Therefore, we need a model that can autonomously identify these complex relationships. Now, we've found such a tool that can bring close two gene expressions [of the human body] that are far away from each other and provide biological interpretations," said Tang Kun, an expert of computational biology and founder of Shanghai Feipu Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.

Looking ahead, the model will support the development of China's sovereign genomic database, promote its domestic self-reliance, enhance AI-driven drug discovery and improve the target screening success rates by over 200 percent. It also aims to make precision health care more accessible.

"The most well-known application is non-invasive prenatal screening. Currently, only a few conditions are covered by national insurance, but there are over 20,000 rare diseases in children. We are now collaborating with Shanghai Children’s Hospital to expand screening coverage," said Lu Sitong, CEO of Shanghai Feipu Intelligent Technology.

With SNPBAG, non-invasive prenatal screening is expected to detect a broader range of rare diseases in the future. The company said it also plans to launch consumer-facing products to benefit the general public.

China launches world's first foundation model for genomic analysis