分类： technology

Alibaba Group has intensified its artificial intelligence development strategy following the departure of two prominent technical leaders from its Qwen large language model team. The company’s Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu confirmed in an internal communication that Chief Technology Officer Zhou Jingren will assume enhanced responsibilities in advancing Alibaba’s signature AI model.

The leadership transition follows the resignation of Lin Junyang, a core technical leader who announced his departure via social media with a brief message: “me stepping down. bye my beloved qwen.” Yu Bowen, head of post-training for the Qwen model, subsequently also announced his exit from the company.

Lin, recognized as one of Alibaba’s youngest P10-level technical leaders at age 33, played a pivotal role in developing the Qwen3-Max model featuring over one trillion parameters and later guided the release of the Qwen3.5 series of smaller models.

According to internal sources, the restructuring emerged as Alibaba’s Qwen initiative evolved from a foundational model project into a group-level strategic priority. The transformation necessitated organizational adjustments that ultimately led to Lin’s decision to resign.

In response to these developments, Alibaba is establishing a foundation model support group jointly coordinated by CEO Wu, CTO Zhou, and Fan Yu. This new structure aims to mobilize company-wide resources to accelerate large model development. Wu emphasized that building foundational AI models represents a critical long-term strategy for Alibaba, with continued commitment to open-source approaches and increased investment in artificial intelligence research and development.

The company simultaneously announced plans to recruit additional leading AI researchers to strengthen its base model team talent pool, signaling Alibaba’s determination to maintain competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.

The Chengdu High-tech Zone in Sichuan province transformed traditional Lantern Festival celebrations into a spectacular showcase of technological innovation and local talent on Tuesday evening. The event featured a groundbreaking fusion of artificial intelligence and cultural expression that highlighted the region’s growing status as a tech hub.

The centerpiece of the celebration was an immersive light display projected across the 52,000-square-meter LED screens of the Tianfu International Financial Center’s iconic twin towers. This visual spectacle, developed in collaboration with Kuaishou’s advanced AI model Keling, unfolded across seven thematic chapters that blended holiday motifs with digital artistry. The 218-meter towers served as a dynamic canvas for displaying slogans from nearly 50 leading enterprises within the zone, turning corporate messaging into an artistic experience.

Beyond the visual spectacle, the event featured an innovative musical performance where employees from the zone’s electronic information, biomedicine, digital economy, and future technology sectors debuted six original compositions. These works, created through human-AI collaboration, drew inspiration from both professional experiences and daily life, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can enhance creative expression.

The celebration effectively demonstrated how traditional festivals can serve as platforms for technological demonstration and talent recognition, while simultaneously promoting local enterprises and innovative capabilities to a broader audience.

China has declared an accelerated push toward technological self-reliance as a cornerstone of its national development strategy. Science and Technology Minister Yin Hejun outlined a comprehensive roadmap for the 2026-2030 period following the opening session of the National People’s Congress, positioning scientific innovation as critical to China’s transformation into a global technology leader.

The strategic blueprint emphasizes original and pioneering research across the entire innovation chain. Minister Yin highlighted intensified focus on strengthening basic research infrastructure while advancing cutting-edge domains including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biomanufacturing, and nuclear fusion. The approach marks a significant shift from conventional research conversion models toward integrated planning of technological and industrial innovation.

Technological advancement is positioned as the driving force behind new quality productive forces and modernized industrial systems. The ministry plans to enhance coordination across China’s national innovation ecosystem, particularly leveraging three major international science hubs: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. These regions will serve as primary innovation sources, industry leadership centers, and talent attraction clusters.

Substantial infrastructure development accompanies the strategy, including construction of major scientific facilities, establishment of world-class academic journals and databases, and reforms to science evaluation systems. While emphasizing domestic capability building, the plan also commits to international scientific cooperation through leadership in major global research initiatives.

The commitment follows demonstrated progress in China’s innovation capacity. The nation climbed to 10th position in the global innovation index, with 2025 research investment exceeding 3.92 trillion yuan ($570 billion). A landmark achievement saw basic research funding reach 7.08% of total R&D expenditure, surpassing the 7% threshold for the first time. These investments have yielded breakthroughs in open-source large models, semiconductor chips, and pharmaceutical innovations.

China has achieved significant technological independence in blockchain development through groundbreaking domestic innovations, according to statements made by a national legislator during the National People’s Congress sessions in Beijing.

Dong Jin, deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress and director of the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing, revealed that China has successfully developed and deployed indigenous blockchain technologies across multiple critical sectors. This represents a substantial shift from the pre-2019 era when most blockchain applications in China relied exclusively on foreign technologies without domestic core capabilities.

The breakthrough came following a strategic initiative launched by the Beijing municipal government in late 2019, which assembled hundreds of top scientists worldwide to establish a dedicated research institute. Through collaborative efforts, Dong’s team developed two revolutionary technologies: the world’s first software-hardware integrated blockchain operating system, featuring 3 million lines of completely open-source code, and the world’s inaugural 96-core dedicated acceleration chip specifically designed for blockchain applications.

These innovations have produced remarkable performance improvements, with the specialized chip enhancing blockchain processing capabilities by fiftyfold while successfully addressing the computational bottlenecks that previously constrained large-scale blockchain networks. The development marks a significant milestone in China’s digital infrastructure advancement, providing what Dong described as a ‘Chinese core’ for the nation’s technological ecosystem.

Currently, these homegrown blockchain technologies have been implemented across 16 central government departments and 27 state-owned enterprises. In practical application, China’s taxation system now processes tens of billions of invoices annually through this domestically developed blockchain, ensuring complete authenticity, trustworthiness, and traceability for every transaction.

The expansion of these applications has culminated in the establishment of a comprehensive national blockchain network that safeguards China’s high-value core data related to cross-border trade and global payment systems, positioning the country at the forefront of blockchain technology implementation and security.

China has solidified its global leadership in quantum technology through groundbreaking achievements that redefine technological boundaries, according to Pan Jianwei, a prominent national political adviser and quantum physicist. Speaking ahead of the 14th CPPCC National Committee session, Pan revealed how China has transformed technological constraints into strategic advantages during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

The nation has maintained unparalleled dominance in quantum communication while securing first-tier global positioning in quantum computing capabilities. Most remarkably, China has achieved international prominence across multiple domains of quantum precision measurement through revolutionary innovations.

Among the most significant breakthroughs is the Jinan-1 micro-nano satellite, described by Pan as a ‘cosmic messenger.’ This compact, cost-effective satellite has enabled quantum-secured communication spanning over 10,000 kilometers between China and South Africa—setting an unprecedented global record for secure quantum transmission distance.

Concurrently, Chinese scientists have developed the strontium atomic optical lattice clock with unimaginable precision, operating with less than one second of error across 30 billion years. This redefinition of temporal measurement provides ‘Chinese time’ to the world while ensuring strategic security and economic operational independence.

Perhaps most impressively, China overcame comprehensive international embargoes on dilution refrigerators—critical components for quantum computing—by independently developing large-capacity systems meeting rigorous global standards. These domestically produced refrigerators now support the advanced processors powering the Zuchongzhi quantum computer, demonstrating China’s remarkable capacity to mobilize national resources and convert technological bottlenecks into growth opportunities.

Pan emphasized the emergence of a younger, more interdisciplinary research team capable of both frontier exploration and engineering breakthroughs. Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China plans to intensify original innovation, accelerate industry-academia-research integration, and transform scientific achievements into practical applications. Quantum technology is poised to become a fundamental driver of new-quality productive forces, ultimately empowering high-quality economic and social development nationwide.