By He Yin, People’s Daily

The 2025 Kuliang Forum, themed “Echoes of History,” was recently held in New York. 

In this special year marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, representatives from various sectors of China and the United States came together to commemorate the historical period when the two nations stood together in the fight for world peace. 

Drawing on the legacy of Kuliang — an enduring symbol of China-U.S. people-to-people friendship — participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening mutual understanding and friendship.

The Kuliang story, personally promoted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, exemplifies the longstanding bond between the Chinese and American peoples. Xi has previously sent congratulatory letters to “Bond with Kuliang: 2023 China-U.S. People-to-People Friendship Forum” and to “Bond with Kuliang: 2024 China-U.S. Youth Festival,” underscoring the story’s continued relevance in today’s bilateral relations.

In recent years, “Kuliang Friends” and other supporters of China-U.S. friendship have actively preserved and promoted Kuliang’s legacy. Initiatives such as root-seeking visits and cultural exchanges, including “Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival,” have deepened mutual understanding and friendly exchanges between the two peoples.

The ever-growing and enduring Kuliang story shows that despite differences in history, culture, social systems, and development paths, the Chinese and American peoples share a common aspiration for friendship. This year, China held grand commemorative events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, inviting descendants of American Flying Tigers members to attend ceremonies atop Tian’anmen Gate. 

At the seventh China-U.S. Sister Cities Conference, participants discussed “Closer Cooperation for a Sustainable Future.” During “Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival,” more than 1,000 young singers from both countries performed in celebration of friendship. 

These acts of goodwill, though seemingly modest, accumulate to bridge the Pacific, turning a geographical divide into a conduit for cooperation. The hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from exchanges at subnational levels.

In July this year, Xi replied to teachers and students of the U.S. youth pickleball cultural exchange delegation from Montgomery County, Maryland, who visited China under the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span.

Xi congratulated the delegation on its successful visit to China, expressing his hope that the delegation members will become a new generation of ambassadors for friendship between the two countries and make greater contributions to enhancing friendship between the two peoples.

Since the launch of the initiative of inviting 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in a five-year span, participation has been enthusiastic, demonstrating the initiative’s strong appeal and profound influence. A wide range of activities under the initiative, including maker competitions, academic dialogues, “future diplomats” summer camps, choir and music festivals, and pickleball friendship matches, have deepened mutual understanding between Chinese and American youth. A recent poll in the United States indicates a steady improvement in American public perceptions of China, with younger generations increasingly serving as a driving force for bilateral friendship.

To write new chapters of the Kuliang story and deepen people-to-people affinity, China and the United States must work together to build platforms and broaden channels for exchanges. 

Last month, Xi and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump held a successful meeting in Busan, South Korea, providing strategic guidance and fresh momentum for the steady development of bilateral relations at a critical moment. The two presidents reached important consensus on advancing practical cooperation across various fields, including expanding people-to-people exchanges. 

Since then, the China-U.S. relationship has generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community. China welcomes more Americans to visit and experience a real, multidimensional, and comprehensive China. It is hoped that the U.S. side will work with China in the same direction and take active steps to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, thereby strengthening bilateral bonds and mutual understanding.

The achievements in China-U.S. relations are primarily attributable to the collective efforts of the people of the two countries, and the continued development of this relationship will rely even more on their support. Both sides should take the Kuliang bond as a link, people-to-people exchanges as a bridge, and youth friendship as a source of strength, working together to continue writing new chapters of China-U.S. friendship and contributing to the sound and steady growth of China-U.S. relations.

By Wang Junling

China is home to the world’s largest high-speed railway, expressway, and postal express delivery networks, as well as the world’s biggest and most extensive digital infrastructure. This increasingly modernized infrastructure system has supported rapid economic and social development, improving public services and enhancing everyday life.

Looking ahead to the next five years, how will China advance its infrastructure development? 

According to the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, new types of infrastructure will be built with appropriate forward planning; information and communication networks, the national integrated computing network, major science and technology infrastructure, and other key systems will be further developed and used intensively and efficiently; traditional infrastructure will be upgraded and retrofitted with digital and intelligent technologies.

This marks the first time a Five-Year Plan recommendation explicitly incorporates the concept of “appropriate forward planning” for new infrastructure.

What does this concept entail, and how will China implement it?

As technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, 5G, and digital twin become deeply embedded in daily life and economic activity, China has made significant strides in developing information infrastructure, integrated infrastructure, and innovative infrastructure. These new foundations underpin the digital economy, accelerate the modernization of traditional infrastructure, and support scientific and technological innovation.

According to Huang Qunhui, a research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, many sectors, including scientific research, transportation, energy, water conservancy, and communications, face strong demand for digital, intelligent and green upgrades amid a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation. Among these, digital-intelligent infrastructure such as next-generation communication base stations, high-performance computing equipment, and ultra-large storage systems has become central priorities.

Zhang Liqun, a research fellow at the Development Research Center of China’s State Council, highlights the public good nature of infrastructure, in contrast to the exclusivity of ordinary commodities. In this context, “appropriate forward planning” implies that government investment in emerging infrastructure, such as communication networks, computing capabilities, and scientific research platforms, must stay ahead of evolving societal needs to ensure public services are both proactive and resilient.

“For example, the growth of emerging industries and the upgrading of traditional industries rely on services like real-time communication and artificial intelligence enabled by traditional infrastructure,” Zhang added. “Government-led investments must anticipate demand to close critical gaps in a timely manner.”

Infrastructure development is a complex undertaking that encompasses policy, funding, planning, and technology, requiring coordinated, well-designed implementation. According to Xiang Aibing, director of the transport integration and innovation research center at the Institute of Comprehensive Transportation of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, despite tremendous progress, China still faces structural weaknesses in new infrastructure and in meeting the higher standards of quality development and public expectations.

Challenges persist in central and western regions and in special zones, where full coverage of gas pipeline and mobile communication network is lacking. Rural areas still struggle with “last-mile” connectivity, and integration across transport, energy, and digital infrastructure remains insufficient.

“The term ‘appropriate’ reflects the need for infrastructure development to align with the pace of economic and social development, while ‘forward-looking’ emphasizes its guiding and enabling function,” Xiang noted. 

“During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China must ensure that the supply of new infrastructure — its capacity, regional distribution, technological sophistication, implementation schedule, and scale — keeps pace with evolving development needs, creating a virtuous cycle of supply and demand,” Xiang added.

The resulting improvements in public services and growing market opportunities are drawing increasing attention from enterprises.

Li Qian, chairwoman of Net Zero, a tech firm based in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said: “New infrastructure creates substantial opportunities for business expansion. We are making sustained investments, with appropriate forward planning, in computing power infrastructure to position ourselves for rising demand.”

Lunkr Technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., the world’s first commercial company supporting the IETF multilingual email standard, provides digital solutions for clients in Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Zambia, and other countries. Wu Xiucheng, executive vice president of the company, noted that advancing new infrastructure with appropriate forward planning during the 15th Five-Year Plan period is a strategic move that enables digital industry growth and fosters new technologies and business models. 

“Going forward, we will scale up our AI-driven products and services to better capitalize on emerging opportunities in email systems and cybersecurity,” Wu added.

By Liu Wenxin, People’s Daily

“Digital” and “intelligent” are two buzzwords in China’s recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, which calls for digital and intelligent development in the manufacturing sector, digital and intelligent transformation of the service sector, and upgrading and retrofitting traditional infrastructure with digital and intelligent technologies.

The evolution from “digital” to “digital and intelligent” reflects a deeper strategic shift. Digitalization involves the application of digital technologies to modernize and upgrade industrial and supply chains across the real economy. In contrast, intelligent digitalization builds upon this foundation by integrating technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), enabling autonomous learning, optimized decision-making, and predictive analytics. This integration aims to enhance production efficiency, resource allocation, management, and innovation.

For example, a large supermarket chain under digitalization would collect real-time data on procurement, warehousing, and sales for analysis. Under intelligent digitalization, an AI system could dynamically adjust pricing and devise sales strategies based on factors like inventory levels and product shelf life.

This transition represents a strategic response to accelerating technological advancement. AI is emerging as a transformative technology on par with the steam engine, electricity, and the internet. Its rapid development is propelling the global economy into an era of intelligent transformation.

For instance, in synthetic biology factories, AI enables continuous, high-efficiency optimization of microbial fermentation, increasing efficiency tenfold. In high-speed train research and development, simulation models powered by AI have reduced aerodynamic calculation times from an entire day to mere seconds.

By emphasizing “intelligent digitalization,” the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan demonstrate China’s commitment to seizing the opportunities presented by AI and advancing its systematic application.

China is well-positioned to advance from “digitalization” to “intelligent digitalization.”

In recent years, China’s AI industry has grown rapidly and now ranks in the global top tier. China’s AI sector has seen robust growth, with the number of enterprises exceeding 5,300 as of September, accounting for 15 percent of the global total. The industry’s scale exceeded 900 billion yuan ($127.11 billion) in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 24 percent.

Computing power infrastructure continues to expand. As of the end of June 2025, China had 10.85 million standard racks in operation nationwide, with its intelligent computing power reaching 788 EFLOPS, ranking among the top in the world.

Algorithm innovation is also flourishing. China has released 1,509 large AI models, the highest number globally, accounting for a substantial share of the 3,755 models launched worldwide to date and supporting the global open-source ecosystem through models like DeepSeek and Qwen.

The transition from “digitalization” to “intelligent digitalization” hinges on the integration of AI across sectors to drive high-quality development. Effective AI advancement requires practical application. To this end, China is implementing the “AI Plus” initiative, which focuses on strengthening technological capabilities to foster the “intelligent industrialization” of AI while accelerating the intelligent transformation of traditional industries. These efforts aim to expand application scenarios, support the high-quality development of the AI industry, and enable AI to contribute more substantially and effectively to economic and social development.

Looking ahead, leveraging AI’s “multiplier effect” will provide a robust material and technological foundation for advancing Chinese modernization.