Ding Xuexiang, 62, is the sixth-ranked official on the party’s Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top governing body. He is responsible for science and technology, serving as director of China’s Central Science and Technology Commission.

In March, the government’s annual work report pledged to increase funding for embodied AI; the same day its central economic planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, announced a new 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) guidance fund to invest in hard technology such as robotics. Ding rose through the party ranks as a cadre, serving on Xi Jinping’s staff when Xi was party secretary of Shanghai.