China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: economic planning chief focuses on artificial intelligence ahead of key political gathering
- Zheng Shanjie, head of National Development and Reform Commission, urged the industry to ‘accelerate high-quality development’ on a recent inspection tour
- Boosting technological innovation is expected to be high on the agenda during the annual meeting of the legislature this week
Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, “encouraged everyone to proactively adapt to the trends of technological revolution and industrial transformation, strengthen technology research and development, expand industry-enabling applications, and accelerate the high-quality development of our country’s artificial intelligence industry”, the commission said on Sunday.
The NDRC said Zheng visited research institutions and enterprises in Beijing including Zhiyuan Research Institute, Baidu, 4Paradigm, Baichuan Intelligence and Beijing Zhipu Huazhang Technology, without providing further details.
Tech innovation, which the authorities are counting on to boost the country’s long-term economic prospects, is widely expected to be among the key topics in his report.
China has made remarkable advances in AI over the past decade or so, matching or even surpassing that of the US in some fields like facial recognition.