Alibaba is expanding its global cloud infrastructure with plans to establish new data centre regions in Europe, while also developing larger artificial intelligence models and a new AI chip aimed at strengthening its position in the fast-growing technology market.

The Chinese technology group announced on Wednesday that Alibaba Cloud will establish its first cloud regions in Finland, the Netherlands and Turkey. The company also plans to expand its data centre presence in Germany, France, the UAE, Malaysia and Hong Kong over the next 12 months.

Eddie Wu, CEO of Alibaba Group, said machine-based reasoning currently represents less than 3 per cent of total human thinking capacity but could eventually reach levels far beyond current capabilities.

“With this in mind, our target is that by 2032, the global data centre capacity operated by Alibaba Cloud will surpass 20GW, fueling the industry’s exponentially rising demand for AI,” Wu said.

The planned expansion is expected to increase Alibaba Cloud’s computing capacity as businesses and governments accelerate investment in AI systems that require greater processing power and data storage.

Alibaba is also expanding the capabilities of its Qwen family of AI models. Wu said on Tuesday that future versions could contain between five trillion and 10 trillion parameters, potentially making them several times larger than the biggest Chinese models currently available.

The Qwen models have become prominent in China’s AI sector and are among the most widely downloaded Chinese-developed AI models globally.

The company also introduced a new AI chip at its annual conference. Wu described the Zhenwu V900 as “the most powerful AI chip in China today”.

The chip is being developed as China faces continued restrictions on access to advanced semiconductors from the United States. The Zhenwu V900 is widely reported to offer roughly twice the performance of Nvidia’s H20 chip, which was designed for the Chinese market.

US export controls have restricted Chinese companies’ access to some advanced AI processors, encouraging Beijing and domestic technology firms to accelerate development of locally produced alternatives.

Alibaba’s announcement comes as China seeks to expand its domestic AI infrastructure while competing with technology companies in the United States and other major markets.

The company said the overseas data centre expansion would help provide additional computing resources for customers in several regions and support growing demand for cloud and AI services.

The announcement also comes ahead of an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington this week. Trade, semiconductor restrictions and concerns over the national security implications of artificial intelligence are expected to be among the issues discussed.

Alibaba’s investment plans highlight the growing connection between cloud infrastructure, advanced chips and AI model development as technology companies compete to build increasingly powerful systems.

Growing concern over the impact of artificial intelligence on employment is being reported across the world, with more people expecting AI to reduce the number of available jobs than create new opportunities, according to a global survey by the Pew Research Center.

The study, based on interviews conducted between February and June 2026, surveyed more than 50,000 people across 37 countries. It examined attitudes toward AI, including expectations about its effect on employment, economic inequality and its growing role in everyday life.

Moira Fagan, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center and one of the study’s authors, said public views of individual countries and confidence in their ability to regulate AI appear to be closely connected.

In Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, respondents were more likely to trust China than the United States or the European Union to regulate artificial intelligence.

Across the 11 middle-income countries included in the question, a median of 43% said they trusted China to regulate AI, compared with 35% for the United States and 34% for the European Union.

Fagan said favourable views of China were relatively strong in many middle-income countries and had increased in several places compared with the previous year. She said this may help explain the higher levels of confidence in China’s approach to AI regulation.

The survey also found that concerns about job losses were particularly widespread in wealthier countries. In Australia, South Korea and the United States, around seven in 10 adults or more expected AI to result in job losses over the next 20 years.

People in richer countries were also more likely to worry that AI could widen economic inequality. Fagan said this could partly reflect greater familiarity with the technology.

People who said they had heard or read a lot about AI were more likely to expect it to reduce employment opportunities, according to the research.

Age was another factor in public attitudes. In several countries, including Canada, France, Singapore, Sweden, Indonesia, India and Malaysia, adults aged 18 to 34 were more concerned about AI-related job losses than older respondents.

Views were less divided over the broader presence of AI in daily life. Across the 37 countries surveyed, a median of 37% said they were more concerned than excited about AI, while 41% said they felt equally concerned and excited.

The findings come as debate grows over the pace of AI development and its potential risks. AI company leaders, including Sam Altman, Elon Musk and Dario Amodei, have raised concerns about the risks associated with increasingly advanced systems.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also called for greater caution over the development of frontier AI models and closer international cooperation on safety.

European regulators are approving a growing number of autonomous vehicle projects, from supervised driver-assistance systems to driverless trucks and passenger services, signaling faster progress in the deployment of automated mobility across the region.

Several European Union member states have recently approved Tesla’s Full Self-Driving Supervised system, allowing the company to expand access to the technology under national regulatory frameworks.

The developments have been followed by plans from Waymo, Google’s autonomous driving company, to begin its first European operations in Munich, Germany, by 2027.

Madrid has also moved forward with autonomous transport testing. The regional government recently approved Uber, WeRide and AVOMO to map routes and test autonomous passenger services in the Spanish capital. The first rides are expected by the end of 2026.

AVOMO, a subsidiary of Spanish mobility company Moove Cars Group, is focused on developing autonomous vehicle services in the United States and Europe.

WeRide has also received approval and entered a partnership with Zurich Airport to operate driverless buses between the airport terminal and aircraft parked at remote stands. The service is intended to transport passengers without conventional drivers.

In Croatia, Pony.ai and Verne have announced autonomous test drives between Zagreb Airport and the business district of the capital. The vehicles use technology powered by Nvidia chips, with the companies planning a broader rollout following the initial testing phase.

Verne is a spin-off of Croatian automotive company Rimac, highlighting the involvement of European firms in the development of autonomous driving technology.

Germany has also approved a major autonomous freight project. Swedish transport technology company Einride announced on September 15 that it had received approval from Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, known as the KBA, for a Level 4 autonomous driving operation in partnership with German retailer Lidl.

Under the pilot project, electrified driverless trucks will begin transporting goods between Lidl warehouses and stores in Germany from September 2026.

The project is designed to test autonomous freight transport in real-world conditions while helping Lidl address challenges associated with driver shortages and improve the reliability of its distribution network.

Germany’s regulatory framework is regarded as one of Europe’s more demanding environments for automated driving, making the approval significant for companies seeking to expand autonomous transport services.

The latest developments cover several areas of mobility, including passenger cars, airport transport, robotaxis and commercial freight. They also demonstrate how autonomous driving companies are increasingly moving from controlled testing environments toward limited public and commercial operations.

Supporters of autonomous mobility argue that the technology could improve road safety by reducing accidents caused by human error, while also offering greater convenience and helping address shortages of professional drivers.

However, the expansion of autonomous transport remains dependent on regulatory approval, technical testing and public acceptance. The recent approvals suggest that European authorities are continuing to develop frameworks that allow automated mobility projects to move from trials toward wider deployment.