A number of Chinese localities have set out detailed plans to develop artificial intelligence (AI) technology and relevant ecosystems this year, a move that observers said shows that China is leveraging its "whole-nation" system advantage to fast track the technology's development amid a white-hot global race.

It also comes as the Government Work Report launched the AI Plus Initiative, while highlighting efforts to develop new quality productive forces for the first time.

Qingdao, a city in East China's Shandong Province, plans to build itself into a highland in AI hashrate and algorithm applications.

According to the plan, the city aims to create 20 influential leading AI firms, about 30 AI innovative platforms, more than 100 AI application demonstration zones and seven AI hashrate centers to "further improve the local AI-related ecosystem," the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In mid-March, the Industry and Information Technology Bureau in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, which is also known as China's "Silicon Valley," issued an action plan to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.

The plan draws up 20 "strategically newly emerging industry clusters," including AI, and it vows to support their growth "with extraordinary strength and the city's whole resources."

The Shenzhen authorities have released two lists on the application of AI technology in a combined 41 urban scenarios, including digital, culture and public services, the Xinhua report noted.

In February, Wang Zhonglin, governor of Central China's Hubei Province, pledged at an AI-themed meeting that the province will speed up the technology's development with "extraordinary measures" and "a stronger sense of urgency, mission and responsibility," said another Xinhua report.

Wang took note of Hubei's technological edges in several fronts, including innovation prowess, a solid industrial base and abundant applications, which he believes could reinforce the city's role in AI development.

With the recent market hit text-to-video AI model Sora and AI chatbot ChatGTP, some Chinese cities could embrace the opportunities brought by AI large language models' revolutionary tide and make this core to their development plans.

Liu Jie, Party chief of Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, mentioned Sora twice at the city officials' first meeting in February, stressing that the city - which is home to a number of technology companies such as Alibaba and NetEase - should innovate and seize the opportunity in the new round of AI development, news website 21jingji.com reported.

Liu suggested measures to shore up hashrate development, including launching "hashrate vouchers" that bring down the cost, creating more conditions for developing universal AI large language models as well as vertical and specialized AI large language models, the report said.

Observers said that those efforts underscore that China has been spearheading a top-down effort that could help itself quickly climb up the tech ladder and close gaps with certain foreign peers. One of China's biggest advantages in the AI sector lies in the country's system advantage, which makes it more efficient in mobilizing and deploying relevant resources in technological research and development, they stressed.

Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of 360 Security Technology, voiced confidence that Chinese firms could narrow the gap with the US industry within one or two years, due to China's strong advantage in rapid learning capabilities.

He told the Global Times that 2024 may become the "year of application" for China in the field of AI.

In late February, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council held a meeting on promoting the reform of State-owned enterprises (SOEs), stressing the importance of pushing forward the transformation and upgrading of central SOEs through technological empowerment, including AI.

Deputies from East China's Jiangsu Province who interacted with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a deliberation at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, told the Global Times on Thursday that they had been deeply inspired and vowed to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Tuesday participated in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature, the Xinhua News Agency reported.  

During the deliberation, Xi stressed the importance of developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions.

Xi called for focusing on high-quality development as the top priority, urging efforts to step up innovation, foster emerging industries, adopt forward-thinking plans for developing future-oriented industries and improve the modernized industrial system, according to Xinhua.

Scientific and technological innovation has become an important driving force for China's development and the term "new quality productive forces" has become a buzzword at the ongoing two sessions. 

And the guidelines presented by Xi have served to enlighten NPC deputies from Jiangsu Province, with many saying that they are inspired by Xi's emphasis on developing new quality productive forces, which is set to inject new growth momentum to the Chinese economy.

Shan Zenghai, an NPC deputy and chief engineer of Chinese construction equipment giant Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG), told the Global Times on Thursday that he is heartened by Xi's direction on guiding Jiangsu to develop new quality productive forces and become a base, and forge industrial clusters of new and emerging industries.

"The encouragement from top leadership greatly boosted our confidence in sticking to innovation-driven growth, bolstering the real economy and promoting high quality development," Shan said.

Chen Wei, an NPC deputy and the President of Jiangnan University, told the Global Times on Thursday that Xi's direction on making science and technological innovation a pillar in nurturing new quality productive forces has mapped out a blueprint for colleges to serve the country's economic and social development.

Promoting the in-depth integration of innovative factors, industrial chains, capital and talent represents key tasks for colleges, including encouraging scientists and researchers to walk out of laboratories and to the assembly lines, Chen said.

Zhou Bin, another NPC deputy and Party chief of Yancheng city, told the Global Times on Thursday that Xi's guidance carved out new space for development and the city has focused its development on new industrialization since the new year with the aim to construct modern industrial system.

The city will focus on nurturing "little giants," or industrial enterprises that have unique niche in the market, high-tech enterprises and listed firms.

The concept of new quality productive forces refers to a new form of productive forces derived from continuous sci-tech breakthroughs and innovation that drive strategic emerging industries and future industries in a more intelligent information era.

The development of new quality productive forces is currently accelerating across China. 

East China's Jiangsu Province is a manufacturing and exports powerhouse. It is also home to a vast number of private companies and a key destination of foreign-invested companies in China. The province has set a growth target of over 5 percent for 2024, after recording a growth of 5.8 percent in 2023.

China successfully sent on Tuesday a new-generation X-ray observatory satellite, the Einstein Probe (EP), into orbit to monitor flashes in the night sky and observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe. The satellite will help reveal more about this violent and little-known side of the cosmos and help advance people’s understanding of tumultuous cosmic events. 

The satellite lifted off atop a Long March-2C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province at 3:03 pm, China’s National Space Science Center (NSSC) of Chinese Academy of Science announced on its website. 

According to the NSSC, the EP is a scientific satellite among the Strategic Priority Program on Space Science (II), a series scientific satellites program implemented by China since 2011 following the successful launches of scientific satellites such as Wukong and Mozi satellites. 

The Einstein Probe Space Science Satellite serves as a cosmic explosion catcher, capable of precisely capturing more distant and fainter transient sources and eruptive celestial bodies. It explores X-ray signals from sources of gravitational waves and holds important scientific significance in studying the formation, evolution and mergers of dense celestial objects such as stars, black holes and neutron stars.

The EP satellite employs the time-domain astronomy in the soft X-ray band to conduct high-sensitivity real-time dynamic sky surveys, in a bid to systematically discover high-energy transient and variable celestial objects, monitor the activity of already known celestial bodies and explore their natural and physical processes. 

With the new X-ray detection technology inspired by the functioning of a lobster eye, the EP weighs1.45 tons and it’s as large as a full-size SUV. It is shaped like a lotus in full bloom and features 12 petals and two stamens. 
The “petals” are actually 12 modules consisting of wide-field X-ray telescopes, while the two “stamens” consist of two modules of follow-up X-ray telescopes. 

With these instruments, the EP can conduct wild-field surveys while accurately capturing distant and faint high-energy transient sources in the universe, as well as capturing transient unknown phenomena. It issues alerts to guide ground-based and other astronomical facilities for subsequent observations. 

The satellite is designed to last 5 years.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang encouraged Chinese research fellows to achieve greater breakthroughs in technology and research for core technologies, and contribute more to China's technological self-reliance and self-improvement, during his inspection to Central China’s Hubei Province from Tuesday to Wednesday, China Media Group reported. 

Li made the remarks when visiting the State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing at Wuhan University. Li urged the research fellows to vigorously promote multi-scenario applications, and gather and integrate more innovative resources. 

While in Wuhan, Li visited companies including Yangtze Memory Technologies Co and HGTECH to observe production lines while learning about the development of flash memory chip and laser industries.

Li stressed the need for enterprises to further play the role of being the main drivers for scientific and technological innovation, improve the mechanism of collaborative innovation of industries, universities and research institutes, and implement more precise support policies to transform scientific research achievements into real productivity.

Li also visited the Gezhouba Dam in Yichang. He urged enterprises to continue promoting scientific and technological innovation while prioritizing ecological and green development when visiting Hubei Xingfa Chemicals Group Co. 

China is bolstering and advancing scientific and innovative development. 

According to a readout of the annual Central Economic Work Conference following its conclusion in December, "sci-tech innovation should lead the development of a modern industrial system," the Xinhua News Agency reported.

China Harbour Engineering Co (CHEC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co, recently won the bid for the dredging project of the entrance channel and port basins for the Simandou iron ore project, the world's largest undeveloped iron ore deposit, in Guinea.

The dredging project represents a significant operational achievement for CHEC in the Guinea market, as stated in its official WeChat account on Friday.

This project also signifies another step forward in the development of the high-grade iron ore project, involving joint participation between Chinese enterprises and their international partners.

The expansion and breakthrough in the Simandou project further strengthen CHEC's collaboration with major mining clients in Guinea, solidifying its competitive advantage in the hydraulic engineering market and providing robust support for ongoing development in the Guinea national market, according to CHEC.

The dredging project has a duration of 21 months and involves dredging the shared channels and port basins of the Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), a consortium backed by Singaporean and Chinese companies, and the Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto.

The channel spans 22.60 kilometers, with a bottom width of 250 meters and an approximate dredging volume of 21.57 million cubic meters, according to CHEC.

The successful bidding of the dredging project occurred just a few days after the reported successful blasting of the No. 5 road in the Simandou mining area, marking another important progress in the mining project.

The successful blasting of the mining project for the first time establishes a solid foundation for subsequent production operations and a series of mine development works.

Infrastructure development for the Simandou mining project is underway after the project officially resumed substantive development in March 2023, following a one-year suspension.

The iron ore project is being progressed in partnership with CIOH, a Chinalco-led consortium, WCS, Baowu, and the Guinean government.

Rio Tinto, one of the investors in Simandou, announced in December 2023 a detailed financial investment plan, revealing that the southern Simandou mining area is expected to commence production in 2025 and increase annual production capacity to 60 million tons within the next 30 months.

The potential total reserves of iron ore in this mine are approximately 10 billion tons, ranking it third globally after Australia and Brazil. Upon production, the annual output is projected to range from 100 million to 150 million tons, contributing to 5 to 7 percent of the world's annual production, according to a Caixin report.

For major public health emergencies that result in more than five deaths or critical cases, provincial health authorities must report to China's top health authority within two hours upon receiving the report, according to new medical emergency regulations released by the National Health Commission (NHC) on Monday.

The NHC released the trial regulation to clarify the mechanisms and processes for emergency medical responses to sudden incidents, and to standardize and efficiently carry out emergency medical rescues in order to avoid and reduce casualties and ensure people's safety and health.

When the casualty situation is not clear, the situation should be reported first, with specific casualties submitted later. Health administrative authorities below the provincial level can directly report to the NHC, while copying the higher-level health authorities. The NHC should promptly report to the State Council upon receiving the report, according to the regulation.

The drafting of the trial regulation was based on relevant emergency, medical laws, regulations and contingency plans, including the Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China, Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law and the national emergency response plan for public health emergencies, said the NHC.

The trial medical emergency regulation was released in a timely manner, providing clear guidance and assistance to medical institutions in dealing with sudden health emergencies, Lu Hongzhou, head of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

For example, based on the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and other relevant laws and regulations, infectious disease patients should be promptly transferred to designated medical institutions for treatment, Lu said.

The trial regulation standardizes the system of medical emergency information discovery and reporting, as well as the entire process of medical emergency disposal. It clarifies the work responsibilities of relevant departments and institutions.

The health authorities will establish a system for retroactive investigation and accountability in order to strengthen inspection and guidance and improve the timeliness and accuracy of reporting. For those units that report late, omit, lie, or conceal information, they shall be resolutely held accountable in line with relevant regulations.

It also clarifies the standards for on-site medical emergency disposal, injury classification, treatment of the injured and other facets. It stipulates the management of medical emergency teams and base construction, the establishment of a medical emergency expert database, the formulation of medical emergency plans, the reserve of medical supplies, training and drills and other areas as well.

The US and the UK's support for anti-China rioters exposed their ill intention to destabilize the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at Friday's regular press briefing, in response to the latest remarks by US and UK politicians regarding the issuing of arrest warrants for five fugitives that have fled the HKSAR to overseas.

China strongly deplores and firmly opposes certain countries' flagrant slandering against the national security law for Hong Kong and interference in the rule of law in the HKSAR, and the issuing of arrest warrants for the five fugitives is in line with international law and common practice, said Mao.

The National Security Department (NSD) of the Hong Kong Police Force said on Thursday that the police have put on the wanted list five individuals who have fled overseas and are suspected of having committed offences under the national security law for Hong Kong.

The five are Cheng Man-kit, Hui Wing-ting, Joey Siu, Fok Ka-chi and Choi Ming-da, according to the HKSAR.

The HKSAR government also on Friday strongly opposed and condemned certain countries' remarks on the issuing of arrest warrants for the five individuals.

The police issued arrest warrants of these five individuals according to the law, which is necessary and legitimate, said Mao. The national security laws of other countries including the US and the UK also have extraterritorial effect. These five individuals, under the pretext of "democracy" and "human rights," have engaged in activities that undermine China's national security, Mao said.

The Commissioner's Office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR also expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition on Friday. The spokesperson from the Commissioner's Office said that the extraterritorial application of the national security law for Hong Kong is fully in line with the principles of international law and common practice, and is a necessary and justified measure to ensure Hong Kong's long-term stability and order.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Implementation Rules for Amending the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region took effect on Friday.

"The amendments are technical in nature and the scope of the proposed amendments is extremely narrow: it only aims at making clear provisions in respect of the validity period of freezing notice, without changing the basis or principle for issuing such notice," said a spokesperson from HKSAR on Friday.

The amendments can make sure that the freeze notice of property related to offenses under the national security law for Hong Kong remains valid until the legal proceedings conclude, according to the HKSAR.

Lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan supports the revision of the implementation rules. The lawmaker told the Global Times on Friday that it can "effectively combat serious crimes that endanger national security."

Anti-China figures are still using various means to deny and evade their crimes that endanger national security. The anti-China forces in the US and the West are eager to continue stirring up trouble and messing up Hong Kong, the lawmaker emphasized.

Authorities are launching a direct strike against anti-China elements and those who disrupt Hong Kong, by pursuing the criminal acts of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and his peers in accordance with the law and freezing their assets. They have brought this upon themselves and HKSAR is obligated to handle it in accordance with the law, Quat said.

It is necessary to uphold the rule of law in governing HKSAR, using legal means to maintain stability and uphold social justice, the lawmaker said.

Mao, the foreign ministry spokesperson, reiterated that Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs that brook no interference from any external forces. China maintains firm resolve in safeguarding the nation's sovereignty, security and development interests. Relevant countries should respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in HKSAR and stop interfering in China's internal affairs, she said.

The US-led joint patrol in the Red Sea following Houthi militia attacks against ships heading toward Israel shows that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Gaza is not only affecting the whole region, but also the international community. Chinese analysts pointed out that the root cause of the trade route problem is the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and only a sustainable cease-fire and allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza via land and sea routes can solve the problem in the Red Sea. 

China will pay close attention to the situation, and Chinese naval vessels that conduct UN authorized anti-piracy missions in the region will keep performing their duty, analysts said, adding that China will stick to the priority of realizing a cease-fire and clear the way for humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza, rather than joining the US to conduct any military operations without UN authorization to escalate the crisis in Gaza. 

The US and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday in Bahrain, the AP reported.

The UK, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain have joined, Austin said. Some of those countries will conduct joint patrols while others will provide intelligence support in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthi militia attacked two commercial ships in the Red Sea with naval drones on Monday. The recent attacks have caused concerns about the impact on the passage of oil, grain and other goods on what is an important global trade route, and have pushed up the cost of insuring and shipping goods through the Red Sea, Reuters reported.

The Shanghai-based news website The Paper reported on Tuesday that following other international shipping companies including Denmark's Maersk and France's CMA, Chinese shipping giants like COSCO and Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) also suspended transport through the Red Sea.

Ma Xiaolin, dean of the Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean Rim at Zhejiang International Studies University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the trade route via the Red Sea is truly important for China as it connects Europe, Asia and Africa, so China will pay close attention to the situation.

"However, although China has naval vessels in the region, their mission is about anti-piracy, rather than intervening in regional issues and other countries' internal affairs. Only a solution to the ongoing crisis in Gaza can effectively solve the problem in the Red Sea," Ma said. 

On December 9, Al Jazeera reported that the armed group in Yemen claimed that "it will target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports."

"If Gaza does not receive the food and medicines it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our armed forces," the group's spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the "Houthis are specifically targeting Israel, so it's unlikely it will attack Chinese vessels. China doesn't need to be too worried about the situation and the Chinese warships in the region will stick to their plan."

"China will keep making efforts to realize a sustainable cease-fire and clear the way for humanitarian aid to get into the Gaza Strip. This is the real priority that needs to be done," Wang Jin, an associate professor at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at Northwest University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

If Washington and its allies want to solve the Red Sea problem, they should play a responsible role in the UN Security Council to pass a cease-fire resolution and to put concrete efforts into improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which would be more effective than sending warships to conduct joint patrols, experts said. 

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains severe. According to Reuters on Tuesday, Israeli missiles and air strikes on the Rafah area in southern Gaza struck three houses killing at least 20 Palestinians, Gaza health officials said on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have crammed into Rafah on Gaza's border with Egypt to escape Israeli bombardments.

The lack of unity in the UN that is mainly caused by the US is another key reason why the situation is far from easing. The UN Security Council delayed until Tuesday morning a vote on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for a halt to hostilities in Gaza to allow for urgently needed aid deliveries to a massive number of civilians as members intensified negotiations to try to avoid another veto by the US, the AP reported.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a routine press conference on Tuesday that "the UN General Assembly has adopted two resolutions with an overwhelming majority. We hope the US will listen to the voice of the international community, stop single-handedly blocking Security Council resolutions, and play its due role to promote an immediate cease-fire and prevent an even larger humanitarian catastrophe."

China's men's national volleyball team were relegated from the FIVB volleyball Nations League after a disappointing run in the league's preliminary phase, raising questions about the future of the men's national team.

Following Sunday's 3-1 defeat by Canada in the final match of the preliminary phase, China finished the annual international tournament at the bottom of 16 teams with a 2-10 win-loss record. 

The relegation sends China into the FIVB Challenger Cup to be held in Qatar from July 27 to 30. They will be able to return to next season's Nations League only if they win the Challenger Cup, which is a big question mark for the team.

A bigger question mark lies ahead when China turns its focus to the Hangzhou Asian Games in September and then participating in the Paris Olympic Games qualifiers in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, from September 30 to October 8. 

Only the top 24 teams in the world rankings will be eligible for the Olympic qualifiers and China is out of the loop, ranking world No.25 currently.

The relegation sounds the alarm for China's volleyball team to reflect on its missteps and focus on the basics.

Wu Sheng, head coach of the national team, said in June that it would be difficult to emerge from the Olympic qualifiers. If they fail in the qualifiers, the team will have to fight for an Olympic berth through better world rankings. But volleyball fans are of the mind that only miracle could help China qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.

Fans also vented their anger toward the coach for the team's error-strewn performance in the Nations League, blasting him for substitutions, ill-timed challenge calls and his inability to adjust to instantaneous changes on the court.

Wu takes full responsibility for the team's performance but that does not paper over the widening gap between China and world heavyweights that has been laid bare in the league as the team was blown out in serving, reception, blocking, offense and setting. 

Wu said after the relegation that the worst problem lies in setting. 

"I'm not happy with all three setters. We don't have a consistent starting lineup," he said.

When we look up to the other end of the Nations League table, Japan sits second with a 10-2 win-loss record. 

Statistics indicate that it all boils down to basics. It has been Japan's solid reception and defense that enabled it to prevail against physically stronger opponents. Miracles came from years of hard work in honing the team's basic skills.