BEIJING: Alphabet Inc’s Google said on Wednesday it is opening an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in China to target the country’s local talent, even as the US search firm’s products remain blocked in the country.
Google said in a statement the research center is the first of its kind in Asia and will comprise a small team operating out of its existing office in Beijing.
Chinese policy makers have voiced strong support for AI research and development in the country, but have imposed increasingly strict rules on foreign firms in the past year, including new censorship restrictions.
Google’s search engine is banned in the Chinese market along with its app store, email and cloud storage services. China’s cyber regulators say restrictions on foreign media and Internet platforms are designed to block influences that contravene stability and socialist ideas.
While tightening restrictions are likely to hamper a re-entry to the Chinese market for Google, the firm has increasingly focused on exposing its AI products in China.
This year Google held a Go tournament in cooperation with local authorities in eastern China, pitching its AI against Chinese world champion Go player Ke Jie. The event was highly publicized overseas but local media was muted.
Earlier this month Google CEO Sundar Pichai made an appearance at a conference run by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s top cyber regulator, where he steered away from market access issues to discuss the potential of AI.
Google said the new Chinese AI research center will join a list of similar overseas centers operating in New York, Toronto, London and Zurich.
Google launching artificial intelligence research center in China
Google launching artificial intelligence research center in China
Gold slips over 1 percent on strong dollar, easing rate-cut bets
- Chile central bank issues first gold purchase in decades
- BMI expects silver to average $93/oz in 2026
Gold prices fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, pressured by a stronger dollar and diminishing hopes for a reduction in borrowing costs as the ongoing Iran war stoked inflation concerns.
Spot gold dipped 1.1 percent at $5,118.16 per ounce by 1:31 p.m. ET (1731 GMT). US gold futures for April delivery settled 1 percent lower at $5,125.80.
The dollar gained for a third consecutive session. The greenback is a competitive safe-haven asset, and a stronger US currency makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies.
“The higher dollar index, rising treasury yields and lack of interest-rate cuts are the negative factors, but the conflict in the Middle East has been generating some safe-haven flows,” said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures.
Two tankers were ablaze in Iraqi waters in an apparent escalation in Iranian attacks that have cut off Middle East energy supplies. In reaction, oil prices rose sharply for the day.
Iran will avenge the blood of its martyrs, keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and attack US bases, new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said.
Higher crude prices feed into inflation by raising transportation and production costs. Gold is considered an inflation hedge, but high interest rates weigh on it by making yield-bearing assets more attractive.
“If they can prevent oil prices from climbing further, gold should be in a good place... On the bullish side for gold, the main argument is that central bank buying and steady exchange-traded fund inflows, which have remained positive all year,” Streible added.
Chile’s central bank issued its first major gold purchase since at least 2000. In February, the bank boosted its gold reserves to $1.108 billion, up from $42 million in January, equivalent to 2.2 percent of total reserves.
Elsewhere, spot silver eased 1 percent to $84.90. Prices gained more than 146 percent last year.
Analysts at BMI wrote in a note they expect silver to average $93 per ounce in 2026, with strong investment demand consolidating the gains witnessed in 2025, and offsetting price-induced demand destruction in solar panels and jewelry.
Spot platinum lost 1.1 percent to $2,145.75, and palladium fell 1 percent to $1,620.86.
