Xi Calls for a Digital Silk Road Built on Data, AI and Smart Cities

At the opening of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on 14 May 2017, Xi Jinping called for a digital Silk Road built through cooperation in technology. China Daily reported his call to advance big data, cloud computing and smart cities, alongside work in artificial intelligence. Technology companies described plans to expand abroad. The speech put digital infrastructure inside China's wider programme of overseas investment.