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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Bill Gates discussed the global advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) during their meeting on Friday. China’s president expressed his support for the U.S. companies, including Microsoft, to bring their AI technology to China.
Additionally, Xi and Gates reportedly discussed Microsoft’s business development in China.
Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, resigned from the company’s board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic endeavors related to global health, education, and climate change.
The specific details of the conversation regarding AI were not disclosed.
Xi Jinping has previously emphasized the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for economic growth in China, but he has also expressed concerns about the risks associated with the technology.
As China considers enacting a new law and regulations on generative artificial intelligence, Xi’s meeting with Bill Gates takes place against the backdrop of strained U.S.-China relations, where AI has become a contentious issue.
The United States has implemented export controls targeting China’s artificial intelligence development processes, while China’s actions, such as crackdowns on consultancies and restrictions on sales by U.S. chipmaker Micron, have created unease among the international business community.
Microsoft has been operating in China for over three decades, and its presence in this market is rather strong. It also has a major research center there. Microsoft’s products and services, such as Windows, Office, Azure cloud services, and other software solutions, are widely used by businesses, organizations, and individuals in China.
Microsoft’s Bing portal remains the sole foreign search engine accessible within China’s heavily regulated internet environment. However, search results provided by Bing are subject to censorship on ‘sensitive subjects’.
In recent years, the U.S. tech giant has encountered difficulties due to China’s increased control over the internet sector. One notable instance was the discontinuation of LinkedIn China in 2021, with the social networking app being replaced by a scaled-down version solely focused on job-related activities.
In May, Microsoft also announced its decision to shut down this job-focused app in China, citing intense competition and broader macroeconomic challenges. Nonetheless, the company expressed its intention to maintain a presence in the country.
Written by Alius Noreika
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