China going all out to develop AI sector
July 14, 2020 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
China is going full steam ahead to develop its artificial intelligence (AI) sector, with research and some applications already in a leading position, business representatives and government officials said. China is working to build a massive AI industry despite some external challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the U.S. government’s technology blockade. The efforts have borne positive results. By the end of 2019, China’s AI core industries, with 2,600 companies, had realized CNY51 billion in industrial value, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei said at the opening ceremony of the 2020 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai. A spokesperson from Microsoft told the Global Times that China has become an important source of innovation for the whole world. China is “definitely in a leading position” in AI research and development (R&D), whether it comes to Chinese papers submitted and published at major global AI conferences or Chinese researchers who are engaged in AI research in universities and research organizations. Besides, China is making rapid progress in some AI technologies, such as quantum computing, he said. “In this environment, we have confidence in the development of AI in China. Given more time and talent inputs, China will definitely play a significant role in AI development in the world,” the spokesperson said. Minister Miao also stressed that some Chinese AI technologies, such as voice recognition, are now leading the world.
Chinese industry giants are making ambitious blueprints for AI development. Baidu CEO Robin Li Yanhong said that Baidu plans to have more than five million smart cloud servers. It also aims to train 5 million AI talents in the next five years. Ma Huateng, CEO of Tencent Group, also said during the WAIC that the tech giant is “studying and applying the new technology every day”. However, no matter how hard the Trump administration tries to block Chinese technologies rising in the AI race, U.S. firms will not ignore the Chinese market, which has complex AI application scenarios to help promote their development, analysts said.
“The restrictions on normal communications on talent and technologies cannot obstruct the growing momentum of China’s AI advances,” said Zuo Shiquan, an expert in AI at the Beijing-based China Center for Information Industry Development. Zuo told the Global Times that China is ramping up efforts to carve its own advantages in the AI sector. Zhang Wenhong, head of Shanghai’s Covid-19 medical experts’ team, said during the WAIC that AI has played an important role in helping manage city life during coronavirus lockdowns, the Global Times reports.
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