BEIJING: China’s top diplomat called Monday for new US President Joe Biden’s administration to lift restrictions on trade and people-to-people contacts while ceasing what Beijing considers unwarranted interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s comments at a Foreign Ministry forum on US-China relations come as Beijing presses the new administration in Washington to drop many of the confrontational measures adopted by former President Donald Trump.
Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in 2017 and imposed bans and other restrictions on Chinese tech companies and academic exchanges as he sought to address concerns about an imbalance in trade and accusations of Chinese theft of American technology.
Trump also upgraded military and diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy claimed by China as its own territory, while sanctioning Chinese officials blamed for abuses against Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and a crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.
“We know that the new US administration is reviewing and assessing its foreign policy,” Wang told diplomats, scholars and journalists at the Lanting Forum. “We hope that the US policy makers will keep pace with the times, see clearly the trend of the world, abandon biases, give up unwarranted suspicions and move to bring the China policy back to reason to ensure a healthy, steady development of China-US relations.”
While Biden has pledged reengagement and a more civil tone in US diplomacy, its unclear whether he will make any fundamental changes in Washington’s policies toward Beijing. China faces more opposition than ever in Washington due to its trade record, territorial disputes with neighbors, and accusations of technology theft and spying. Taiwan enjoys strong bipartisan support, as do criticisms of China’s human rights record, especially on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
In his first address before a global audience Friday, Biden said the US and its allies must “prepare together for a long-term strategic competition with China.”
“Competition with China is going to be stiff. That’s what I expect, and that’s what I welcome, because I believe in the global system Europe and the United States, together with our allies in the Indo-Pacific, worked so hard to build over the last 70 years,” the president said in remarks delivered virtually to the annual Munich Security Conference.
As is standard in Chinese foreign policy, Wang put the onus for improving relations squarely on the shoulders of the US and offered no direct proposals for major breakthroughs, even while encouraging increased dialogue.
Wang said China had “no intention to challenge or replace the United States” and was ready to peacefully coexist and seek common development.
Wang urged the US to “stop smearing” the reputation of China’s ruling Communist Party and to “stop conniving at or even supporting the erroneous words and actions of separatist forces for Taiwan independence and stop undermining China’s sovereignty and security on internal affairs concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.”
He said the US should reactivate all levels of dialogue that he said the US had effectively halted under the Trump administration, and boost cooperation on major bilateral and international issues. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the global economic recovery are the three biggest issues on which the sides can cooperate, he said.
On trade, Wang said China would defend the rights of US companies while hoping the US would “adjust its policies as soon as possible, among others, remove unreasonable tariffs on Chinese goods, lift its unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and research and educational institutes and abandon irrational suppression of China’s technological progress.”
The US should also lift restrictions on media, educational and people-to-people exchanges to reverse sharp declines in numbers of Chinese studying in the US and visits by Chinese for tourism or business, Wang said.
“I hope that the two sides will work together to steer the giant ship of China-US relations back to the course of sound development toward a bright future with boundless prospects,” he said.
While the tone taken toward the US by high-ranking diplomats such as Wang, senior foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi and President Xi Jinping himself appears more positive than under Trump, China’s Foreign Ministry spokespeople have remained combative.
At a briefing on Friday, spokesperson Hua Chunying contrasted the freak winter weather striking Texas with the robust social and economic interactions seen in China over the just-passed Lunar New Year holiday, without offering any show of sympathy.
“All this has given us a deeper understanding of what human rights truly mean and how to better protect them. We are more convinced that we are on the right path and have every confidence in the future,” Hua said.
China urges US to lift trade restrictions, stop interference
https://arab.news/bpt6p
China urges US to lift trade restrictions, stop interference
- Trump hiked tariffs on Chinese imports in 2017 and imposed bans and other restrictions on Chinese tech companies and academic exchanges
How AI is powering Saudi Arabia’s video games industry
- Technology is boosting efficiency and supporting local content development
RIYADH: Artificial intelligence is becoming a central force in Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding gaming and esports sector, shaping everything from game development and publishing to player analytics and competitive tournaments.
As the Kingdom accelerates its ambitions under Vision 2030, AI is increasingly being deployed not only as a technical tool but also as a strategic driver for industry growth and global competitiveness.
Saudi Arabia is integrating AI across studios, publishing platforms and esports operations to improve efficiency, expand local content creation, attract international investment and streamline tournament management. The broader goal is to position the Kingdom not only as one of the world’s largest gaming markets but also as a global hub for game development and esports infrastructure.
According to Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, the Kingdom is home to more than 23.5 million gamers — around 67 percent of the population. Market revenues are projected to reach $1.36 billion by 2026. By 2030, the sector aims to contribute more than SR50 billion to the national GDP and create about 39,000 jobs.
Women represent 42 percent of gamers and 18 percent of esports players, among the highest participation rates in the region.
The Public Investment Fund, through its gaming arm Savvy Games Group, has invested billions of dollars in game studios, publishers and esports platforms worldwide. The investments are designed to strengthen local content creation while attracting global developers and investors to Saudi Arabia.
INNUMBERS
23.5 million Number of gamers in Saudi Arabia, representing about 67% of the population
$1.36 billion Revenue the Kingdom’s gaming market is expected to reach by 2026
SR50 billion Amount the gaming and esports sector aims to add to GDP to create 39,000 jobs by 2030
A spokesperson for Savvy Games Group told Arab News that AI is already integrated across its portfolio, particularly within ESL FACEIT Group.
“AI is used across our businesses. At ESL FACEIT Group, AI is already embedded in operations, particularly around data analytics and fair play,” the spokesperson told Arab News. “For example, EFG uses Minerva, an AI-powered moderation system that identifies and reduces toxic or abusive behavior by analyzing player communications and behavior patterns at scale. This enables faster and more consistent decisions and helps create healthier competitive environments for players.”
However, the spokesperson said AI itself does not automatically create a competitive advantage.
“AI tools are increasingly accessible to studios everywhere, which means they are not a competitive advantage on their own,” the spokesperson told Arab News. “The advantage comes from how clearly studios define their use cases and how effectively they apply AI to support their goals.”
For Saudi studios seeking international audiences, understanding how AI systems generate results is also critical to maintaining cultural accuracy and relevance in game content.
Within development studios, AI is helping accelerate production while lowering costs. AI-powered tools assist with concept art, 3D modeling, animation and world design, while automated testing systems can simulate thousands of gameplay scenarios to identify bugs and balance issues before release.
Steer Studios, for example, is applying AI in asset production and testing workflows. Automating repetitive tasks allows creative teams to devote more time to storytelling, gameplay design and world-building — key elements that distinguish successful games.
AI is also playing an important role in localizing content for Arabic-speaking audiences. Studios including Fahy Studios, Starvania Studio and Lobah Game Studio use AI for dialogue generation, translation and other localization tasks, helping Saudi-developed games reach global markets more quickly without losing cultural context.
For live-service and mobile games, maintaining player engagement is crucial to long-term revenue. AI systems track player behavior in real time, adjust difficulty levels, refine matchmaking systems and personalize in-game experiences.
Publishing platforms such as Nine66 and Sandsoft also rely on AI-driven analytics to support developers. These tools help predict player lifetime value, optimize marketing campaigns and manage online gaming communities.
“Our approach aligns closely with KSA’s focus on digital transformation, innovation and long-term capability building under Vision 2030,” the Savvy Games Group spokesperson told Arab News. “We see AI as an enabler of productivity, operational efficiency and ecosystem sustainability.”
The spokesperson added that partnerships, including collaboration with Humain, allow Saudi companies to explore scalable and responsible applications of AI across studios.
Opinion
This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)
“We take a pragmatic approach,” the spokesperson told Arab News. “We focus on technologies that provide real benefits. Any AI solution we use must improve efficiency and make day-to-day work easier.”
Artificial intelligence is also transforming the esports ecosystem.
Esports Infra — a platform created by Singapore-based Samarium in partnership with Saudi AI firm Wakeb — is designed to streamline the management of players, teams and content creators.
“Esports suffers from fragmentation,” Jonas Moaz, Esports Infra founder, told Arab News. “Talented players often don’t have a clear path to professionalism. Organizations struggle to find players, and content creators lack tools to connect with audiences.”
The platform uses machine learning to classify player skill levels, computer vision to analyze gameplay and predictive analytics to forecast development potential.
“We expect to improve the efficiency of building esports organizations — particularly in talent discovery and time management — by up to 50 percent,” Moaz told Arab News.
In addition to player analytics, the platform assists with scheduling, contract management and sponsorship evaluation, giving teams and brands clearer insights into performance and commercial value.
Despite AI’s growing role, its use in esports competition itself remains tightly regulated. Organizations such as the International Esports Federation prohibit AI from influencing live matches.
“We fully respect those regulations,” Moaz told Arab News. “Our tools support analysis but do not play on behalf of players. AI operates outside match time or as a statistical layer.”
Protecting player data and ensuring fairness remain key priorities for developers and platform providers.
“This is a top priority for us,” Moaz told Arab News. “Player data is encrypted and used only to improve the experience. To ensure fairness, we regularly audit our algorithms to prevent bias.”
Saudi Arabia’s gaming sector is steadily evolving from a consumer-driven market into a center for game creation and esports infrastructure. AI is embedded throughout this transformation — from accelerating game development and localization to analyzing player behavior and professionalizing competitive gaming.
If the targets outlined in Vision 2030 are achieved, AI will play a defining role not only in improving industry operations but also in helping Saudi Arabia compete globally in a sector increasingly driven by data, efficiency and advanced technology.
