Beijing to build $2b AI research park to meet 2025 goals: Xinhua

Beijing is planning to build a 13.8 billion yuan ($2.12 billion) artificial intelligence (AI) development park in the city’s west, the Xinhua News Agency reported, as China pushes ahead to fulfill its ambition to become a world leader in AI by 2025.

The AI park will house up to 400 enterprises and have an estimated annual output of 50 billion yuan, Xinhua said, citing a report from authorities in Beijing’s Mentougou district.

Zhongguancun Development Group, the developer of the project, will look to work with foreign universities and build a “national-level” AI lab in the area, Xinhua added.

Zhongguancun Development and representatives for Beijing’s Mentougou district could not be immediately reached for comment.

China’s plan to fast-track AI development comes amid heightened tensions with the US over the competitive applications of AI in military technology.

China aims to grow the local industry to more than 150 billion yuan by 2020 and 400 billion yuan by 2025, according to the State Council, China’s cabinet.

China has unveiled a series of plans to bolster talent, investment and research in AI, urging private, public and military companies to cooperate on national AI goals in a development roadmap released in 2017.

The country’s burgeoning AI industry has also attracted foreign companies. Last month, Alphabet Inc’s Google announced it would launch a Beijing-based AI research team, targeting local research talent, even though its search engine remains inaccessible in the Chinese mainland.

The new AI park will focus on attracting enterprises that work on big data and biometric identification.