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China’s hi-tech scientists have a moment in the Beidaihe sun at political elite’s retreat
- Dozens of researchers in high-priority fields such as AI and quantum physics invited to annual gathering on the Bohai Sea
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![Politburo member Cai Qi (seated centre) was on hand to greet dozens of prominent researchers in Beidaihe, Hebei province, on August 3. Photo: Xinhua](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/10/1b0f42a7-6215-4eda-b5c4-133a214dc361_54f76972.jpg?itok=4H8wKsk7&v=1723241416)
Some of China’s leading lights in artificial intelligence, quantum physics, deep-sea exploration and aerospace were invited to the political elite’s annual summer retreat this year, highlighting Beijing’s priorities in its tech self-reliance drive.
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Among the nearly five dozen researchers in the natural and social sciences at the Beidaihe seaside resort in Hebei province were computational scientist Andrew Yao Chi-Chih and award-winning physicist Xue Qikun.
The researchers were invited by the Communist Party’s decision-making Central Committee and the State Council, and greeted by Cai Qi, President Xi Jinping’s chief of staff and the party’s No 5 official.
Cai was joined by the party’s personnel chief, Li Ganjie, and Vice-Premier Shen Yiqin, a state councillor in charge of culture and education.
The retreat in Beidaihe, a coastal town on the Bohai Bay, about 300km (186 miles) east of Beijing, is also known as the “summer summit” and a traditional gathering of the party’s elders and power brokers.
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