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Shanghai Launches Zhangjiang AI Innovation Town to Accelerate Artificial Intelligence Industry Growth

Sept. 18, 2025 | Technology & Innovation

China is accelerating its artificial intelligence ambitions through the launch of the Zhangjiang AI Innovation Town in Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Science City.

**On September 16, authorities officially opened the 2-square-kilometer Innovation Town, which aims to cluster more than 500 AI companies by 2027 and expand to 1,000 companies with an industry scale of 100 billion yuan by 2030.**
The development provides over 700,000 square meters of industrial space alongside commercial venues, convention facilities, and talent housing, all designed to foster an integrated ecosystem that unites research and development, ecological cooperation, real-world application scenarios, and daily living.

**At the launch event, Hillhouse Ventures and Pudong Venture Capital unveiled a 2 billion yuan Link Fund dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and nurturing AI unicorns.**
This new fund will operate in tandem with the existing 2 billion yuan Pudong AI Seed Fund, which has already backed more than 20 companies specializing in reinforcement learning algorithms, intelligent control technologies, and applications aligned with the Innovation Town’s strategic priorities.

**The opening of the Zhangjiang AI Innovation Town Service Center coincided with the release of key municipal and district AI application demands and the signing of multiple partnership and enterprise settlement agreements.**
Since the town’s concept debuted at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, over 40 companies—including Yuntian Lifi and Acceleration Era—have established operations in the zone, marking a new phase of scalable AI innovation in Shanghai.

**In 2024, Pudong’s AI industry chain reached a scale of 160 billion yuan—nearly 40 percent of Shanghai’s total AI market—and hosted more than 600 key enterprises across intelligent terminals, autonomous driving, education, finance, cultural media, and the online economy.**
Zhangjiang AI Innovation Town will build on this foundation by aligning municipal and district policies, creating comprehensive support systems, and driving industry upgrades to develop a world-class AI cluster.

**To ensure high-quality development, the Innovation Town introduced “Ten Measures” that include extremely low rents for entrepreneurial spaces and youth apartments; financial subsidies for computing power, model training, and R&D public service platforms; and dedicated funding for AI demonstration scenarios and large-model filings.**
These incentives aim to lower operational costs and stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship within the new AI hub.

China’s Intensified Diplomatic Engagements and Sovereignty Actions in Late 2025

Sept. 18, 2025 | Geopolitics & Defense

China’s diplomatic activity in late 2025 has combined expressions of humanitarian respect, firm maritime sovereignty enforcement and extensive ministerial visits to deepen bilateral and multilateral ties.

**Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian offered deep condolences for the death of South Korean Coast Guard officer Lee Jae-seok, who drowned on September 11, 2025, while rescuing a stranded Chinese national near Incheon.**
The Chinese Embassy in South Korea conveyed sympathy to Lee’s family, and Consul General Zhong Hongnuo attended Lee’s farewell ceremony, praising his selfless humanitarian spirit and noting that millions of Chinese in Korea will remember his sacrifice. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung also sent condolences through his chief of staff. This exchange mirrored the response in June 2025, when driver Xiao Bo died protecting South Korean passengers in Zhangjiajie; at that time, the South Korean Consulate General in Wuhan paid respects to Xiao’s family. In May 2025, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province granted honorary citizenship to four Chinese Coast Guard members who rescued distressed local fishermen, reflecting ongoing China–South Korea maritime cooperation and mutual goodwill.

**On a recent Tuesday morning near Huangyan Dao, a Philippine vessel rammed a Chinese ship and other Philippine government vessels attempted to enter China’s territorial waters.**
Spokesperson Lin Jian condemned these actions as serious violations of Chinese sovereignty and maritime rights that disrupted regional peace and stability. He stated that China took necessary legal measures—justified and beyond reproach—to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime interests, and he called on the Philippines to cease provocations and respect China’s position.

**Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded a five-day tour of Austria, Slovenia and Poland devoted to bolstering traditional friendships and deepening cooperation in development, peace and investment.**
Host leaders welcomed Chinese investment and pledged to maintain high-level exchanges. In Austria, both sides agreed to expand strategic communication and advance green cooperation. In Slovenia, they launched practical projects, while in Poland they pledged to promote ties under the Belt and Road Initiative. At the Fourth Meeting of the Poland–China Intergovernmental Committee, they issued joint conclusions to secure the China–Europe Railway Express, develop direct air links and enhance export-control dialogues on rare earths and dual-use items. Wang Yi urged partnership over rivalry with Europe, opposed arbitrary tariffs and called for a rational EU understanding of China, with Austria, Slovenia and Poland playing constructive roles.

**During the tour, Wang Yi marked the 80th anniversary of the World Anti-Fascist War victory, stressed China’s contribution to the post-war international order and reaffirmed the restoration of Taiwan to China.**
He condemned Taiwan independence efforts and advocated peace talks in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, reiterating China’s neutrality and refusal to join sanctions or become involved in the war. Observers noted the strategic timing of Wang’s visits to Central and Eastern Europe following Western Europe engagements and China-EU dialogues, and they pointed out that China’s capital and industrial capacity align with the modernization needs of those states.

**In Beijing, Wang Yi met Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol to reinforce bilateral relations and high-level exchanges.**
They reviewed progress on the “Industrial Development Corridor” and “Fish and Rice Corridor,” affirmed mutual support for core interests and opposed unilateral trade coercion. Both sides pledged to build an all-weather community with a shared future and discussed the Cambodia–Thailand border conflict, with Wang offering Chinese assistance for reconciliation while Chanthol affirmed Cambodia’s commitment to dialogue and negotiation.

**South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun departed for Beijing on September 17, 2025, for the first high-level diplomatic engagement under President Lee Jae Myung’s administration.**
In talks with Wang Yi, Cho will address bilateral cooperation, supply-chain stability and regional tensions, including disputes in the Yellow Sea. He emphasized China’s importance as a neighbor and the need to resolve undesirable issues swiftly, reflecting Seoul’s pragmatic approach of seeking common ground with China while maintaining strong ties with the United States and trilateral cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.

Monitored Intelligence for China - Sept. 18, 2025

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China seeks deeper BRICS industrial ties

China Daily | English | News | Sept. 18, 2025 | Shifting Geopolitical Alliances

China is aiming to enhance industrial cooperation with BRICS countries, focusing on emerging sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, solar, and hydrogen power. Li Lecheng, China's minister of industry and information technology, emphasized the importance of leveraging BRICS' market size, resources, and industrial capacity amid global technological competition. The BRICS grouping accounts for nearly half of the global population and around 40 percent of global GDP, making it a significant platform for inclusive economic globalization.

Since President Xi Jinping proposed establishing a BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution innovation center in Xiamen in 2020, substantial progress has been made. The center has facilitated policy coordination, personnel training, and project development, enabling cross-border enterprise activity and securing 107 industrial projects with investments totaling 50.6 billion yuan ($7.1 billion). China also established a BRICS AI cooperation center last year and plans to build an innovation platform to share large language models and datasets to lower technological barriers.

China intends to promote international collaboration in new energy sectors such as electric vehicles, photovoltaics, wind, and hydrogen energy to develop accessible, affordable, and effective renewable technologies. Russian deputy minister Alekxey Gruzdev highlighted the forum’s evolution into a community of global experts advancing BRICS countries' industrial and technological leadership, with particular potential in biotechnology. Indonesia’s vice-minister Faisol Riza noted the importance of accelerating green and digital transformations, especially following Indonesia’s full membership in BRICS this year.

China Mobile’s chairman Yang Jie outlined opportunities in digital collaboration across BRICS nations, including joint AI labs and smart factories in countries like Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt. The company plans to support the alignment of AI and 6G standards and build interconnected infrastructure to strengthen the BRICS countries' digital ecosystem.

China to showcase upgraded manufacturing at int'l industry convention

Xinhua | English | News | Sept. 18, 2025 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

The 2025 World Manufacturing Convention will take place from September 20 to 23 in Hefei, Anhui Province, focusing on advanced manufacturing and frontier technologies. The four-day event will attract representatives from over 40 countries and regions, including government officials, business leaders, and heads of trade associations, with foreign guests expected to constitute more than half of the participants.

For the first time, the convention will feature an intelligent robotics exhibition showcasing robots in simulated community and household environments such as shops, elderly care centers, and service stations, highlighting their potential applications beyond traditional production lines. Anhui, once known for agriculture and raw materials, has evolved into a center for emerging industries, leading nationally in automobile production, new energy vehicle (NEV) output, and auto exports.

The province contributes significantly to global manufacturing, producing about 10 percent of the world's display panels and notable shares of China’s industrial robots, NEVs, and photovoltaic glass. NEVs are expected to be a major focus of the convention, with companies like JAC Motors, Huawei, and Chery presenting new smart electric models, automotive-grade chips, intelligent driving systems, and quantum-secure communication technologies.

Frontier industries will also be highlighted, featuring exhibits such as the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) fusion device under construction in Hefei and the Origin Wukong quantum computer, which has performed over 690,000 computing tasks for users in 163 countries and regions with more than 34 million global visits.

Tencent Cloud Is Now Fully Compatible With All Major China-Made Chips, Top Exec Says

Yicai Global | English | News | Sept. 18, 2025 | UndeterminedTech Development/Adoption

Tencent Cloud’s heterogeneous computing platform now fully supports all major China-made chips, according to Qiu Yuepeng, president of Tencent Cloud and Tencent vice president. This adaptation enables the integration of various domestic chips in artificial intelligence computing, reflecting significant progress in China’s chip development amid tightening foreign export restrictions and advancing local technology.

The company views heterogeneous computing, which combines different chip types for optimized performance, as crucial to enhancing computing efficiency. Industry experts note that while foreign chips remain in use, there is a growing trend among Chinese cloud providers to develop and adopt domestic chips, with China-made GPUs expected to gain greater market share in 2025.

Tencent has invested heavily in building its computing power, with capital expenditures totaling CNY83.1 billion (USD11.4 billion) from late 2024 to mid-2025. Efficiency improvements extend beyond GPUs to areas like storage and communication, exemplified by Tencent’s Xingmai Network, which significantly boosts communication efficiency at scale. This enhanced AI infrastructure is expected to drive cost efficiencies and accelerate AI agent deployment in business software.

Looking ahead, Qiu forecasted that by 2028, one-third of business software will incorporate AI agents, with China’s corporate AI agent market potentially reaching over USD27 billion. Tencent’s focus on technological advancement underscores the competitive landscape in cloud services, where firms prioritize innovation over cost.

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