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Chinese billionaire He Xiangjian, founder of home appliances giant Midea, creates US$428 million science fund focused on AI and climate research
- He Xiangjan said his fund ‘will help more scientists focus on their work and attract more youngsters to take part in technological advancement’
- The large science-focused endowment from the Midea founder underscores the increased effort by the country’s private sector to support basic research
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Ben Jiangin Beijing
Chinese billionaire entrepreneur He Xiangjian, founder and largest shareholder of home appliances giant Midea Group, on Sunday unveiled an eponymous 3 billion yuan (US$428 million) science fund to boost artificial intelligence (AI) and climate research in the country.
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He, 80, revealed the fund’s creation via a video recording played on the second day of the Greater Bay Science Forum 2023, which concludes on Tuesday in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province.
“Setting up the science fund will help more scientists focus on their work and attract more youngsters to take part in technological advancement and innovation in the country,” said He, who indicated that this initiative was both his duty and responsibility.
He called on the country’s younger generation to help shore up local scientific research, adding that “technology development is pivotal to a powerful nation and booming economy”, according to a report by state-backed financial newspaper Securities Times.
The large science-focused endowment from He underscores the increased effort by the country’s private sector to support basic research at a time of intense tech rivalry between China and the US.
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Robust basic research is the only way to make China a global scientific and technological power, Chinese President Xi Jinping told members of the Politburo – the Communist Party’s No 2 decision-making body – at a meeting in February.
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