By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily

Recently, the Chinese and U.S. heads of state had constructive exchanges on artificial intelligence (AI) and agreed to hold dialogue between the two governments on this issue. 

At present, China-U.S. relations have generally remained stable, with both sides agreeing on a new vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability. 

As two global powerhouses in AI sector, China and the United States working together to advance AI development and governance is not only a concrete step toward implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state, but will also help ensure that AI better serves the progress of human civilization and the shared well-being of the international community.

As intelligent transformation accelerates, whether China and the United States can strengthen exchanges and cooperation in AI bears not only on technological advancement and the broader adoption of AI applications, but also on the ability to effectively address the risks and challenges that accompany them.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger repeatedly pointed out that cooperation between China and the United States is particularly important when tackling complex global challenges such as AI governance. 

The two countries share extensive overlapping interests in AI sector and should move past zero-sum thinking and confrontation to jointly nurture sustainable AI technological growth.

China and the United States have previously co-sponsored each other’s AI-related resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly, while maintaining regular communication and dialogue via Track II channels. These interactions demonstrate that the two sides are capable of engaging constructively in this important field.

China remains open to deeper communication and coordination with the international community, including the United States, to promote the establishment of a broadly supported global AI governance framework and standards system.

Recently, A reporter from ABC tested self-driving vehicles in Beijing, while a Fox News host ordered grilled sausages from an AI-powered robotic convenience store kiosk also in the city. They remarked that in China, AI is not a technology of the future — it is already part of everyday life.

Innovation in AI thrives on cross-border collaboration, and broad cooperation can accelerate technological progress. Industry observers generally believe that China and the United States have different areas of focus across AI research and development, applications, and regulation, making their respective experiences complementary to a certain extent. 

On the basis of mutual respect, the two sides can fully leverage their comparative strengths, achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, and accelerate both technological progress and wider application of AI. As an article published by MIT Technology Review noted, major countries must work together in the field of AI to ensure that the technology genuinely benefits all humanity.

Existing market practices have repeatedly demonstrated the enormous potential of China-U.S. AI cooperation and its capacity to deliver mutually beneficial results. 

China has become the world’s largest holder of AI patents and an important engine of the global intelligent transformation, creating broad market opportunities for U.S. businesses. China’s cost-effective, high-performance open-source large language models continue to attract global attention, while U.S. technology companies including Nvidia, Microsoft, and AMD have actively partnered with China’s AI industry players across various business avenues.

Chinese multinational tech company Lenovo and Nvidia have jointly launched an “AI cloud super factory,” positioning themselves together in next-generation intelligent infrastructure and empowering industrial upgrading and efficiency gains. 

A growing number of practical cooperation cases fully demonstrate that China-U.S. cooperation in AI can break through barriers across technology, markets, and industries, unleashing innovation-driven momentum through mutual empowerment.

Healthy competition is an inevitable feature of China-U.S. engagement in AI. The core priority is keeping rivalry fair and constructive while upholding major-power responsibilities through cooperation.

At present, however, cooperation in AI still faces practical obstacles. Some in the United States continue to approach AI through the lens of zero-sum competition, politicizing, instrumentalizing, and weaponizing AI technologies while introducing restrictive measures such as investment controls, chip export restrictions, and cloud computing service regulations, thereby artificially erecting barriers to cooperation.

Such practices of “decoupling and severing supply chains” and building “small yards, high fences” run counter to the objective laws of technological development, undermine the legitimate rights and interests of businesses in both countries, and are harmful to coordinated development of the global AI industry.

In the face of suppression and containment, China remains firmly committed to safeguarding its right to development and advancing AI as an inclusive engine for global development.

The world does not want to see an “AI iron curtain” or a fractured global landscape split into isolated regional AI blocs. Ensuring that AI develops for good and benefits all humanity represents the greatest shared interest between China and the United States in this sector.

Looking ahead, hopes remain high that the United States will work with China to strengthen dialogue, properly manage competition, and expand cooperation, allowing AI to become a new frontier for China-U.S. cooperation and a strong catalyst for human progress, while helping both countries create a brighter intelligent future together.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)

By Wang Di, People’s Daily

Rural China is emerging as a runway online hit across international social media platforms. Growing numbers of overseas content creators are shifting away from China’s iconic mainstream tourist landmarks — the Great Wall, Shanghai’s Bund and other staple sightseeing hotspots — to pack up their cameras and journey into remote terraced fields, centuries-old hamlets and working farmsteads dotted across China’s countryside.

Their footage relies on no flashy special effects; it simply captures farmers tending to crops, kitchen smoke curling up from rural stoves, and warm grins from local villagers. These plain, unfiltered clips have struck a chord with countless overseas netizens.

What lies behind this growing trend? Put simply, it comes down to one word: authenticity.

First, this authenticity comes from unfiltered, unscripted real life, free from the biased framing long pushed by mainstream Western media.

For decades, many Western news outlets have framed China through a distorted dual narrative: either painting the country as underdeveloped and disconnected in negative, disparaging coverage, or stoking unfounded alarm to craft skewed public impression. Clouded by this fog of misinformation, most overseas audiences have never been able to catch a clear glimpse of the real China. 

This ongoing viral trend focused on China’s countryside, by contrast, opens up a fresh window for the world to observe China’s development through the most plainspoken lens. China’s rural areas manage to preserve timeless rustic charm while offering unexpectedly convenient amenities and tranquil living environments. This raw, genuine perspective proves to be the most compelling way to share China’s story.

Second, authenticity shines through the tangible beauty visitors can experience firsthand. 

For sheer scenic and cultural charm, China stands unrivaled worldwide, with 19 villages accredited as Best Tourism Villages by the UN Tourism, ranking first globally. 

From the exquisite ancient Huizhou-style architecture of Xidi in east China’s Anhui province and the rolling Longji Terraces in Dazhai village of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to the time-honored grand song of the Dong ethnic group in Huanggang, Guizhou province in southwest China, rural China boasts diverse charms. It never fails to impress travelers, whether they are fond of stunning natural scenery or fascinated by profound cultural heritage.

Beyond visual appeal lies the reassuring sense of security that China offers. A German influencer released a video titled “People Warned Me Not to Visit Rural China,” directly countering widespread online hearsay. His on-location footage showed order and sound public security, complete modern amenities, and hospitable local villagers. 

Drawing on his firsthand experience, he fully debunked the alarmist hearsay. This peaceful, secure atmosphere has encouraged foreign travelers to explore remote rural areas that were once unfairly stereotyped.

Equally impressive is the convenience offered in rural areas. Highways extend straight to village entrances; network covers every corner of the countryside; grand bridges spanning mountains and rivers leave foreign visitors in awe. 

As commented by foreign media, these bridges are far more than transportation hubs, but are scenic landmarks in their own right, enabling truly seamless transitions between urban and rural life.

As long-held biased narratives lose their hold over global perceptions, international visitors gain a clearer path to connect with and truly understand China.

Third, cross-country global comparisons further amplify the authentic allure of China’s rural transformation.

At a time when some Western countries are grappling with social division, widening inequality, and public security challenges, China continues to make steady progress toward integrated urban-rural development, common prosperity, and sustainable growth.

This contrast has transformed global curiosity about China’s countryside into something deeper: a desire to understand how China has managed to achieve these outcomes.

Pakistani newspaper Pakistan Today observed that in China, rural areas are viewed not as burdens but as sources of potential, arguing that the Chinese model has opened a new development path for the world.

An Italian tourism website analyzed how rural tourism has created mutually reinforcing relationships with agriculture and cultural preservation. Meanwhile, the British platform Dialogue Earth spotlighted China’s rural bird-watching tourism, believing that it fosters deeper connections not only between people and nature, but also between people and environmental values.

Some scenery and charms can only be truly perceived and appreciated through in-person visits. With China’s increasingly accessible entry policies and upgraded services, more international visitors are expected to explore the country’s countryside for themselves, to see with their own eyes and experience the vivid vitality of Chinese modernization.

When these overseas creators return home, they carry back far more than social media likes, views or viral video clout. They bring firsthand anecdotes of a multifaceted, human-centric China: a nation defined by ordinary daily warmth, close-knit community ties and authentic real-life charm.

By Wang Yunshan, Wu Jun, People’s Daily

Advancements in artificial intelligence have pushed computing power to the forefront as an essential core digital resource worldwide. One pressing challenge is how to enable computing resources across different regions to work together efficiently and be accessed on demand.

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) outlines the need to further advance the East Data, West Computing initiative, build a multi-tier computing infrastructure system, and establish an integrated nationwide computing power network.

What exactly is a computing power network? And how is China turning this blueprint into tangible infrastructure network? Real-world applications across the country are already offering concrete answers

At the First People’s Hospital of Jingzhou in central China’s Hubei province, radiologist Zhang Liren uploaded computed tomography images into an AI-assisted diagnostic system. In less than 10 seconds, a preliminary assessment of a patient’s condition was generated.

Such remarkable speed gains rely on robust network support. China Mobile Hubei, the Hubei branch of wireless carrier China Mobile, recently unveiled its Lingban Computing Network platform, engineered to build a multi-level latency coverage system. 

It delivers a 1-millisecond latency for intra-city access, 5 milliseconds across the province, 7 milliseconds between provincial capital Wuhan and key cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and 10 milliseconds linking Wuhan to the nation’s eight core computing hubs.

Previously, computing tasks were sometimes processed locally and sometimes dispatched hundreds of kilometers away, resulting in delays that users simply had to endure.

China Mobile Hubei has deployed 27 municipal-level data centers and 42 operational or under-construction computing nodes across Hubei province. 

According to Gong Jian, head of a research institute under China Mobile Hubei, the company integrates edge computing resources from cities across the province while incorporating idle social computing resources under unified management. 

Paired with an intelligent task-scheduling platform, this enables AI startups to access fast computing services without massive upfront investment, Gong added.

The spatial distribution of 

China’s computing resources suffer from inherent geographic imbalance: eastern provinces host concentrated market demand yet face steep costs for new data center construction, while western regions boast abundant land and energy for server facilities but have far weaker local computing consumption. Meanwhile, computing demand fluctuates significantly across industries and time periods.

“Therefore, computing tasks need to be proactively assigned according to urgency, budgets, and chip requirements to determine where they should be executed,” said Zhang Huawei, product manager for China Mobile’s computing network scheduling platform.

Different tasks require different types of computing resources.

“To use a highway analogy, ambulances use emergency lanes while delivery trucks stay in regular lanes,” said Zhang Xianghong, head of the data infrastructure standards working group under the National Technical Committee 609 on Data Standardization Administration of China. 

“In practice, applications such as remote surgery occupy the equivalent of emergency lanes, whereas large-model training and film rendering can wait in line and utilize resources with less stringent latency requirements.”

According to Zhang, the integrated nationwide computing power network is essentially a form of digital infrastructure. Built on information network technologies, it enables highly integrated, large-scale scheduling and operation of computing resources nationwide.

“Put simply, it ensures that every computing task finds the most suitable lane,” Zhang added.

Beyond technological upgrades, building a unified national computing network also drives sweeping structural reform across China’s digital economy by reorganizing how computing power, raw data, communication networks and power supply resources are integrated and distributed.

The integrated nationwide computing power network represents not only technological innovation, but also a fundamental restructuring of how computing power, data, networks, electricity, and other resources are integrated and allocated.

Inside the monitoring system of a national integrated computing power network monitoring and scheduling test platform at the Pengcheng Laboratory in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province, real-time data on computing resources nationwide is displayed clearly on screen.

Deng Qing, director of the computing network ecosystem at Pengcheng Laboratory, said the monitoring system provides a clear picture of intelligent computing capacity and resource distribution across regions. 

Currently, the system covers the 10 major clusters within the eight computing hubs established under the East Data, West Computing initiative, as well as computing resources from certain non-hub regions.

At present, 1.37 million PFLOPS of intelligent computing capacity has been incorporated into the monitoring system, accounting for approximately 72 percent of China’s total intelligent computing capacity.

“The monitoring system serves as the eyes of the computing power network,” Deng explained. “It is the prerequisite for efficient scheduling, resource optimization, and informed decision-making. Since computing resources built on different architectures vary substantially, the first requirement is visibility. Only when integrated real-time monitoring provides data on distribution, workload, and utilization can resources be effectively scheduled and efficiently used.”

According to Guo Mingjun, director of the computing economy division at the State Information Center under China’s National Development and Reform Commission, one defining feature of the integrated nationwide computing power network is intensive development.

The objective is to promote large-scale and concentrated development of diverse computing resources, including general-purpose computing, intelligent computing, and supercomputing within national computing hubs.

By the end of March this year, intelligent computing capacity built within the eight national computing hubs of the East Data, West Computing initiative accounted for more than 80 percent of the national total, highlighting a trend of increasingly concentrated development.

For computing resources built on different architectures, operated by different institutions, and located in different regions to be recognized, managed, and utilized under a unified scheduling framework, standardized rules are essential.

Zhang noted that the National Technical Committee 609 on Data Standardization Administration of China has already released nine technical documents, largely establishing the standard framework for computing networks. Moving forward, these standards will continue to be refined based on practical experience to strengthen their authority and guiding value.