Nanning issues policies to support China-ASEAN AI industry center

Nanning City, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Friday launched a series of policies to support the development of a China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Cooperation Center.

The first batch of policies consists of 22 articles, applicable to AI companies that settle in the center from March 1, 2025, and will be valid until Dec 31, 2027.

The new policies will provide enterprises and teams that settle in the center with free office space for no less than two years, with a maximum of 15 square meters per person and a maximum cumulative space of 500 square meters, as well as a startup capital subsidy of up to 5 million yuan (over 680,000 U.S. dollars). Up to 50 million yuan (about 5.84 million U.S. dollars) will be issued each year to support model research and development, and up to 5 million yuan of support will be provided for projects seeking breakthroughs in key core technologies.

The new policy focuses on supporting the construction of intelligent computing centers with a scale of more than 100PFlops.

Newly recruited high-end sci-tech talents in the technology-based AI enterprises above the designated size will be given salary rewards at a rate of up to 10 percent of their after-tax salary.

"We will increase financial and taxation support, and push forward tax reductions and exemptions for the center. For enterprises that meet the current relevant tax preferential policies such as the China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone, we will provide support for the local share part of corporate income tax under the policy of 'five-year exemptions and five-year reductions'. We will also establish an artificial intelligence industry fund with a total scale of 5 billion yuan (about 683.6 million U.S. dollars), focusing on supporting early-stage and growing AI companies and projects," Zhong Hong, executive vice mayor of Nanning City, said at a press conference on Friday.

The "five-year exemptions and five-year reductions" policy means that enterprises or projects under government support are exempt from corporate income tax from the first to the fifth year of its operation, and the tax is levied at half the statutory tax rate from the sixth to the tenth year.

Nanning issues policies to support China-ASEAN AI industry center

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono in Beijing on Monday, with both sides hailing the robust growth of bilateral ties.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Wang said that China and Indonesia should jointly develop emerging industries like green energy and the digital economy, as well as expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

Wang highlighted key projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and "Two Countries, Twin Parks" as benchmarks for connectivity.

The Chinese foreign minister said both sides should uphold free trade, promote two-way investment, and build a secure, stable, and smooth industrial and supply chain.

Wang added that China is willing to import more Indonesian products, and that he hopes the Indonesian government will safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese-funded institutions and personnel in Indonesia.

Sugiono said China is Indonesia's largest trading partner, and a major source of foreign investment.

He added that Indonesia is committed to comprehensively deepening its relations with China, and looks forward to strengthening exchanges at all levels.

Chinese FM holds talks with Indonesian counterpart on bilateral ties