Google is opening an artificial intelligence center in China -- even though it's blocked there

Google's popular search service might be blocked on the Chinese mainland, but that's not stopping the company from expanding its presence in the country's burgeoning artificial intelligence sector. Google's parent Alphabet said in a statement that it had launched the Google AI China Center on Wednesday in Shanghai, the company's first facility of its kind in Asia. The center is focused on "basic AI research" and will be made up of a team of researchers based in Beijing. The center will be headed by Fei-Fei Li, a Stanford University professor who is chief scientist of AI and machine learning at Google Cloud, and Jia Li, head of research and development at Google Cloud AI. The tech giant's AI push in China comes amid growing recognition of the country's rise as a major contender in the space.