There was a huge kerfluffle at NeurIPS last year involving statements about China, so they were already walking a fine line:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/15/neurips-keynote-speaker-apologizes-for-reference-to-chinese-student/

https://isg.beel.org/blog/2024/12/16/chatgpt-on-rosalind-picards-allegedly-racist-slide-at-neurips-2024-keynote/

Apologies all around:

https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/neurips-apology-moving-forward/

https://neurips.cc/Conferences/2024/PicardStatement

https://neurips.cc/Conferences/2024/StatementOnInclusivity