Expo shines spotlight on AI applications: China Daily editorial

The booming development of artificial intelligence, which has emerged as a force capable of shaping humanity's future, has raised the compelling question of how to harness the rapidly evolving technology so that it improves people's lives, promotes development and makes global growth more resilient.

Hangzhou, the host of the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo, which opens on Wednesday, offers some pointers in this regard. Home to the providers of some popular open-source AI large language models and thriving open-source communities, the city is now doubling down on the development of a number of cutting-edge sectors.

The theme of the five-day event — "Meet the AI future at GDTE" — highlights the city's forward-looking development approach, which offers an exciting picture of what AI can do to empower a city and beyond.

Hangzhou released its 2025 action plan to accelerate the development of its AI innovation ecosystem in June last year, announcing 17 initiatives and 20 supportive policies that aim to, among others, nurture over 700 key AI enterprises and cultivate AI applications across various sectors.

Reinforcing the city's commitment to boosting China's next wave of AI-driven growth, the announcement of the plan also marked the establishment of Hangzhou's embodied intelligence industry alliance, AI innovation center, and AI ecosystem space.

Some of Hangzhou's leading technology companies will be showcasing at the expo how AI is being used in novel commercial and everyday applications, with a full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer, a hybrid-driven dexterous hand, and Unitree Robotics' GD01 — the world's first mass-produced humanoid mecha — among the technologies being displayed.

But Hangzhou's growth path cannot be simply copied by other cities. This is why China is encouraging different regions to fully leverage their own strengths and advantages when harnessing AI to cultivate new quality productive forces. For cities rich in energy resources, computing power infrastructure may be a good choice, while cities enjoying strong manufacturing sectors could step up AI research and development for industry upgrading. The expo offers a window to view the country's efforts to diversify the practical use of AI, not least in embodied AI.

The expo features an embodied intelligence tournament where more than 100 teams will compete in over 10 events. Watching humanoids racing against each other and navigating through obstacles is fun for spectators, but such carefully designed competitions are always more than just entertainment, as they put the latest robot products to repeated tests, detect their problems and encourage companies to keep improving them before they become reliable and versatile assistants for humans.

Behind the games lies the goal of expanding the application of robots in the real world to help people work more efficiently and lead better lives, and turn the robot industry into a powerful and sustainable driver of the economy.

The expo is also expected to bring together a large number of representatives from different companies, countries, regions and international organizations.

Their upcoming discussions, whether on potential business contracts or more general cooperation, will contribute to an open world economy at a time when some countries' attempts to monopolize AI technologies risk making global growth less balanced.

By hosting the expo and making AI a prominent focus of the event, China is demonstrating its commitment to developing AI for good and for all. AI progress shared with more countries will not only help China reap more development gains but also benefit the entire world.