By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-17 07:06:43 | Updated at 2025-01-17 15:24:44
8 hours ago
A lawmaker in China’s financial hub of Shanghai has called for the lifting of strict internet controls in free-trade zones, financial districts and universities to help support AI development and attract foreign investment and talent.
Mao Xiangdong, vice-president of the Shanghai Institute of Technology and a member of the standing committee of the city’s people’s congress, proposed the idea during Shanghai’s ongoing legislative sessions, according to a post by China Development News – a newspaper under the National Development and Reform Commission.
The post was removed on Friday morning.
Shanghai should “continue to learn new technologies from developed countries”, Mao said, according to Toutiao, a popular news and information aggregation site.
He added that the mission of building China into an international economic, financial, trade, shipping, science and tech innovation centre – envisioned by President Xi Jinping – required “global exchanges”.
During an inspection trip to the city in December 2023, Xi discussed a “five-centres goal”, in which Shanghai should be a global hub based on the economy, finance, trade, shipping, and science and technology innovation. The plan became a trending political and economic vision for the city.
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How China censors the internet
How China censors the internet
