Ahead of the National People’s Congress this week, when the Chinese government will deliver its annual work report and set its top economic agenda, a prominent economic indicator is looking like a bit of an embarrassment for President Xi Jinping.
Since last January’s DeepSeek moment, AI development has become a dominant theme. China is producing some of the world’s most competitive large language models. The adoption rate, especially in manufacturing, has risen sharply. A flurry of AI listings has helped Hong Kong reclaim its throne as the top international equity fundraising market. The government is not only pushing companies to build ...