Guangxi emerges as regional hub for AI growth

Innovation inroads

On Sept 6, Nanning, the capital of the autonomous region, hosted the finals of the Artificial Intelligence+Automotive Innovation Competition, which attracted teams from across China as well as Southeast Asian nations.

Under the theme "Intelligence Drives the Future: Empowering the New Era of Automotive Development with AI", the event showcased how cutting-edge AI is reshaping the automotive industry. Twenty competing teams were eventually selected for a road show to highlight their innovations.

"I was deeply impressed," said Phoy Yong Hao, chief operating officer of ServAuto Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian auto service company. "It was my first time in China, and witnessing the country's AI trends and advancements made me realize that China's AI development has already reached a relatively mature stage."

AI streamlines and accelerates industry development, providing the best solutions for both customers and brick-and-mortar stores, he said. "The competition reveals that the prospects for China-ASEAN AI cooperation and the automotive trade are truly exciting," Phoy said.

Liu Kainan, executive president of Guangxi Minzu University's Xiangsihu college, said the goals of the automotive innovation competition were to translate cutting-edge technologies into real application scenarios in Guangxi, lower the entry barriers, and empower local small and medium-sized enterprises.

"We also hope that the initiative will allow students to engage directly with advanced application environments, which will be of immense value not only for Guangxi's future AI-driven industrial integration but also for equipping its students with forward-looking career opportunities," he said.

Several Chinese university teams made the final of the competition, according to a media release.