The President of Microsoft, Brad Smith, met with Wang Wentao, minister of commerce of China.
The Chinese government statement that was translated by Youdao said the meeting covered a wide range of topics, including AI and the US-Beijing trade relationship.
In spite of the continuing tensions with the United States, the meeting highlights China’s efforts to bolster its economy by signalling that it is still open to American enterprises.
Given that U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met last month, the meeting between Smith and Wang is very noteworthy. Some have speculated that these exchanges show the United States and China are making an effort to work together in areas where they may be mutually beneficial and to create a more favourable climate for international businesses to operate in.
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As claimed by the country’s commerce ministry, Wang reassured international businesses during the conference that China is committed to enhancing services. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has voiced its expectation that Microsoft will make a positive contribution to the ongoing U.S.-China AI partnership.
After its massive multi-billion dollar investment in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, earlier this year, Microsoft is seen as a leader in the artificial intelligence business.
Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent are just a few of China’s digital behemoths that have been releasing AI models and rival products of their own recently.
For some time now, disagreements over technology have strained ties between the United States and China. Recent export restrictions imposed by the United States targeted Nvidia processors, which are utilised to train artificial intelligence models; this is part of a larger effort by Washington to restrict China’s access to critical technologies like semiconductors.
The White House stated that during the conversation between Biden and Xi, the two leaders acknowledged the importance of addressing the risks linked to sophisticated AI systems and improving AI safety through official discussions between the United States and China.
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Smith and Wang seemed to have expressed a similar feeling throughout their encounter.
As tensions between the US and China have grown, meetings between the governments of the two countries’ IT giants have been less common in recent years. With the world’s second-largest economy blocking services from Google parent company Alphabet and Meta platforms, few U.S. digital businesses operate in China.
The visit came this year, though, from Apple CEO Tim Cook, whose firm counts China among its top three markets. One of Tesla’s biggest plants is located in China, so CEO Elon Musk went there as well. The loosening of COVID-19 travel restrictions in 2022 and Beijing’s attempts to entice international companies occurred at the same time.
Smith reportedly expressed Microsoft’s readiness to “actively participate in the digital transformation of China’s economy” and maintain efforts to promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.