Xinhua Headlines:China's
intelligent technology powers economic recovery amid pandemic
新华社2020-06-26
-Chinahad 797 AI enterprises at the end of 2019,
accounting for 14.8 percent of the world's total and makingChinasecond only to theUnited Statesin terms of the
number of AI firms.
- The application of
digitalization, networking and intelligence has madeChina's economy and society more
resilient amid the epidemic.
- As of October 2019,Chinahad registered 440,000 patents in the AI industry, ranking first in the world,
according to a report.
by Xinhua writers Li
Kun, Song Rui and Fang Ning
TIANJIN, June 25
(Xinhua) -- Without real exhibition halls, the fourth World Intelligence
Congress (WIC), a major artificial intelligence (AI) event held in north China's
Tianjin Municipality, rode the technology wave to draw 392 million online views
in its annual session from Tuesday to Wednesday.
A man wearing a mask uses a facial recognition device before entering the
fourth World Intelligence Congress in northChina'sTianjin, June
23, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
To prevent the spread
of COVID-19, organizers adoptedChina's
advanced cloud-based virtual solutions for online viewers to take part in or
watch a series of business activities and competitions, such as the world
intelligence driving challenge, which drew 145 teams from countries including
theUnited States,JapanandGermany.
A total of 131
domestic investment projects with total investment of 80.9 billion yuan (11.4
billion U.S. dollars) and 17 foreign investment projects with total investment
of 1.6 billion dollars were signed online.
Jin Xiangjun, vice
mayor of Tianjin, said at the closing ceremony Wednesday that 40 websites and
online platforms broadcast this year's WIC, drawing viewers from the United
States, Britain, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and
Singapore.
CHINA'S SOLUTION
Entering a booth on
the website of WIC, one was greeted by a virtual human-like robot who
introduced exhibitors' products with pictures and video clips.
A report released at
the WIC by the Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence
Development Strategies saidChinahad 797 AI enterprises at the end of 2019, accounting for 14.8 percent of the
world's total and makingChinasecond only to theUnited Statesin terms of the number of AI firms.
A medical worker fromTianjinMedicalUniversityGeneralHospitalconducts online inquiry via mobile phone inTianjin,
northChina,
March 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
"The spread of
COVID-19 has grounded trips. WIC provided global AI industry players a platform
for exchanges at this time," said Zhou Hongyi, founder of Chinese internet
security firm Qihoo 360.
Experts and
entrepreneurs at the congress said that the pandemic still spreading around the
world has put off many international exhibitions and congresses, but helped the
world embrace a faster development of intelligent technology.
China has come up with new solutions for online communication
demands worldwide. The 127th China Import and Export Fair, the country's oldest
and largest trade expo, was held online for the first time and concluded
Wednesday, drawing some 26,000 domestic and foreign companies which exhibited
1.8 million products.
Tencent has been one
of the Chinese tech companies empowering the trade fair and the online WIC.
Ren Yuxin, chief
operating officer of Tencent, said that the application of digitalization,
networking and intelligence has madeChina's economy and society more
resilient amid the epidemic.
Tencent and the
United Nations in March announced they will form a global partnership to hold
thousands of conversations online for the 75th anniversary of the United
Nations.
Liu Qingfeng,
chairman of Chinese tech firm iFlytek, said at the WIC that the company's
telephone robots have helped with the survey of millions of people inChinaon
COVID-19. The robots have been introduced in theRepublicofKoreato help undertake a survey on public health conditions.
First adopted during
the anti-epidemic fight in the city ofWuhan,
the previous epicenter of the outbreak inChina, the robots finished asking
questions to 1 million people in the city in six hours.
As of October 2019,Chinahad
registered 440,000 patents in the AI industry, ranking first in the world,
according to a report by China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency
Response Team.
"Experiencing
the COVID-19 epidemic, there is no longer a pure 'traditional industry' inChina. Every
industry has more or less started with the digital process," Ren said.
The driverless electric container truck loaded with containers heads for
the dock at theTianjinPortin northChina'sTianjin, Sept.
26, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ran)
SHARED FUTURE
During the WIC,Chinalaunched
the last satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). With its
integration with new technologies, such as big data and AI, the BDS system is
used by more than half of the countries in the world, adhering to the principle
of "developed byChina,
dedicated to the world."
COVID-19 knows no
borders, and AI technological innovation should also go beyond national
boundaries to provide public goods for the fight against COVID-19 and help
build a community of health for all, said Wan Gang, chairman of the China
Association for Science and Technology, in his speech to the WIC.
Chinese internet
medical platform WeDoctor launched its global anti-epidemic online fuwu on
March 14 in five languages, serving 3.49 million users in 220 countries and
regions. A total of 11,225 Chinese medical experts have rendered free online fuwus,
offering over 14 million consultations on the platform around the world so far.
"Internet
medicine has stepped into the era of digital health, when all medical resources
should be used to build up a community of digital health," said Liao
Jieyuan, chairman of WeDoctor.
(Video reporters:
Wang Hui, Li Kun and Yang Zichun; Video editor: Jia Xiaotong)