hina has been invited to attend Rishi Sunak’s flagship summit on synthetic intelligence (AI) regardless of tensions with Beijing.
Relations with China have been strained by a sequence of safety rows, together with the arrest of a parliamentary researcher beneath the Official Secrets and techniques Act.
However China’s standing as a know-how superpower has led the Authorities to increase an invite to the summit on AI security at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire in November.
The summit is a part of the Prime Minister’s plan to place the UK as a worldwide chief on AI.
Overseas Secretary James Cleverly mentioned: “We can not hold the UK public secure from the dangers of AI if we exclude one of many main nations in AI tech.
“That’s why China has been invited to our AI Security Summit in November.
“The UK’s strategy to China is to guard our establishments and infrastructure, align with companions, and interact the place it’s within the UK’s nationwide curiosity.”
Public affirmation of the arrest of the researcher – who insists he’s utterly harmless – got here solely weeks after Mr Cleverly turned the primary Overseas Secretary in 5 years to go to China on the finish of August.
The Prime Minister’s representatives for the AI summit are participating with China and different international locations to find out the exact nature of their participation within the Bletchley Park gathering.
Downing Avenue declined to say whether or not the invitation was prolonged to President Xi Jinping, saying it could be as much as the Chinese language authorities “to set out whether or not they intend to attend or certainly who they might ship”.
“It is going to be for every nation to determine who they suppose is the suitable consultant,” Mr Sunak’s official spokesman informed reporters.
Mr Sunak beforehand mentioned the gathering could be open to “like-minded” international locations.
Requested whether or not China was thought-about as such, given its inclusion, his spokesman mentioned: “I feel our place on China is nicely established and certainly is ready out within the built-in overview refresh.
“We recognise that China is an authoritarian nation and represents a big problem.
“And it’s proper solely to have interaction when it’s within the curiosity of the British public and I feel that’s what you’re seeing us do right here.”
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