China-Eurasia Expo showcases advances in AI, robotics and drones

Smart innovation took center stage at the ninth China-Eurasia Expo, bringing new highlights to the landmark Eurasian economic and trade gala.

For the first time, the expo set up a dedicated zone for new quality productive forces, spotlighting cutting-edge advances in artificial intelligence, the digital economy and low-altitude economy.

A rich array of smart products were showcased at the event, including laser-assisted robots that boost cotton planting efficiency, an intelligent aerospace system for cross-border ecological conservation, and intelligent robotic equipment.

Leveraging the expo's role as a national-level open platform, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is harnessing AI to streamline industrial, technological and trade linkages.

The expo acts as a cooperation hub that integrates domestic and overseas resources, distinctive industries and global markets, energizing Xinjiang's opening-up and unlocking broader market, investment and growth opportunities for global players in the AI sector.

The exhibition showcased Xinjiang's latest strides in data center development, smart agriculture and smart city construction across Urumqi, Karamay and other key regions. Endowed with abundant green power and energy resources, Xinjiang is reshaping the landscape of global computing capacity.

Nearly 40 enterprises from Karamay displayed more than 170 exhibits, covering oil and gas chemicals, digital computing power, new energy and advanced materials, smart agriculture, as well as cultural and creative industries.

Traditional oil and gas equipment and high-end fine chemical products underscored the city's solid energy industry foundation, while innovative offerings such as energy storage devices, industrial drones and intelligent management systems marked its new breakthroughs in digital and green industries under the national "East Data, West Computing" strategy.

Hami, as a gateway city along the Silk Road Economic Belt, presented exhibits spanning modern coal chemical engineering, titanium-magnesium and superhard advanced materials, new energy equipment, hydrogen energy, computing power, the low-altitude economy and modern logistics.

It also serves as a hub for cross-regional data transmission, as a center of the national integrated computing power network and as a national pilot city for coordinated computing and power development. The city hosts cross-border fiber-optic exit hubs for China's three major telecom operators, boasting compound strength in energy, computing, telecommunications and logistics.

"We hoped, via the expo, to further promote Hami's resource strengths, making our computing resources better empower domestic development, and also expand outreach to the countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, sharing China's wisdom and models to fuel growth across the region," said Li Chao, deputy head of an energy and computing integration institute in Hami.

Moving forward, Hami will build a pioneering computing power zone for the digital Silk Road and a national demonstration zone for coordinated computing and power development. Centered on cross-regional data cooperation, the city will press ahead with key projects including green power supply and industrial clustering.

Guided by China's "East Data, West Computing" strategy and bolstered by its unique geographical edges, Xinjiang is accelerating the construction of a national-level computing hub that is to serve the Eurasian continent.

The region has built four major computing clusters in Urumqi, the Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, Karamay and Hami, with intelligent computing capacity totaling nearly 30,000 petaflops.

Its continuously upgraded cross-border communication network consists of 28 optical cables connecting Central and West Asia, delivering a total bandwidth of 4,660 gigabits per second. The infrastructure lays a foundation for cross-border computing scheduling, digital technology sharing and digital service exports.

Another highlight of this year's expo was the inaugural independent exhibition zone for the low-altitude economy, where multiple ton-level industrial drones were revealed. The showcase demonstrated China's robust new quality productive forces and deepened industrial and economic cooperation between China and Eurasian nations.

United Aircraft, a leading domestic industrial player, brought five flagship drone series to the expo, covering scenarios such as large-scale delivery, plateau emergency rescue, oil and power facility inspection, smart agricultural operations and medical supply delivery in remote areas.

The company presented a systematic low-altitude solution tailored to Eurasia's complex terrains, revealing its development layout rooted in Xinjiang, which radiates to Central Asia and expands globally.

The expo also catalyzed the implementation of a comprehensive low-altitude economic cooperation framework signed between United Aircraft and Xinjiang Airport Group.

The two sides will jointly build a full-coverage low-altitude operation network across Xinjiang, and set up equipment technology centers and comprehensive operation service platforms targeting the Central Asian market.

Taking Xinjiang's status as China's western gateway, the partnership will promote China's mature, replicable low-altitude industry development model across Eurasia.

In addition, two synthetic biology enterprises based in Wusu — Xinjiang Guanghe Green Energy Biotechnology and Cathay (Wusu) Biomaterial — showcased their industrial achievements and advancements in fostering new quality productive forces at the expo.

A subsidiary of the Beijing-based Guanghe Green Energy Biotechnology, Xinjiang Guanghe established its presence in Wusu in 2025, specializing in the research and industrial application of microbial proteins. Meanwhile, Cathay (Wusu) Biomaterial, a repeat participant at the China-Eurasia Expo, has secured new practical cooperation outcomes at each session.