The head of Alibaba Group’s Qwen artificial intelligence division, Lin Junyang, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from his role, just two days after the company released updated AI products.

Twelve people were killed after a firecracker store exploded and caught fire in China’s Hubei province.

Asian shares mostly climbed on Wednesday, led by gains in Japan, while several regional markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. U.S. stock futures were little changed, and oil prices edged higher.

Gold extended its decline, slipping further below the $5,000-an-ounce mark in subdued trading conditions as much of Asia remained closed for the Lunar New Year and US markets were shut Monday for a holiday.

Alibaba has announced plans to invest 3 billion yuan (about $431 million) to promote its Qwen artificial intelligence app during the Lunar New Year holiday, intensifying competition among China’s leading tech companies in the fast-growing AI chatbot market.

Nvidia has told Chinese clients it aims to begin shipping its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China before the Lunar New Year in mid-February, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Heavy snow blanketed South Korea for the second consecutive day Tuesday, disrupting transportation services and causing traffic congestion for people heading to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday.