(Bloomberg) — Shanghai’s high-tech zone boosted security measures ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, even as some of the area’s biggest firms remained tight-lipped about any incoming VIP.
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Some roads toward the massive Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park that specializes in artificial intelligence developers and chip design firms were blocked Tuesday afternoon. Police at pedestrian crossings turned away people and vehicles as they sealed off the area.
Xi is making his first trip to the financial hub since 2020, and the city’s bruising two-month Covid lockdown last year, the South China Morning Post reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. He’s set to tour the Shanghai Futures Exchange and several technology giants during the three-day trip.
Read more: Xi to Make First Shanghai Visit Since Lockdown, SCMP Says
The Shanghai government news office said it had no comment on the SCMP report.
Shanghai-based chip stocks including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. and Will Semiconductor Co. rose Monday on the reports about Xi’s travels. Representatives for those companies declined to comment on any expected visit when contacted by Bloomberg News.
Shanghai is a major outpost for some of China’s biggest tech operations, including SMIC, which made the 7nm processor hailed as a major triumph after years of US sanctions. Other major firms include AI firm SenseTime Group Inc., which has approval to roll out large-language models to the public, and e-commerce upstart PDD Holdings Inc.
–With assistance from Jing Li.
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