Amazon is shutting down its AI research lab in Shanghai amid rising U.S.-China tensions.
The move cuts a key part of Amazon Web Services’ AI development outside the U.S. The lab opened in 2018, focusing on natural language processing and machine learning.
Wang Minjie, a scientist at the lab, said on WeChat the closure is due to "strategic adjustments amid U.S.-China tensions." 
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser confirmed cuts to roles in AWS but framed it as a tough business decision.
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said
"made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams"
in its Amazon Web Services unit.
This shuttering follows recent AWS layoffs hitting marketing and training teams in the U.S.
Amazon has been pulling back in China for years. It closed its e-commerce marketplace there in 2019 and shut down the Kindle store this year.
Geopolitical pressures and trade restrictions, including U.S. limits on chip sales to China, have strained American tech companies’ China operations.
The FT first reported the Shanghai lab shutdown.
AWS’s Shanghai lab was a foothold in the intense AI race but is now a casualty of global political friction.
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