China shares 'dividend of intelligence' with the world

CHONGQING — At the 2025 World Smart Industry Expo held Sept 5-8 in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, a visitor got into a car and voiced a simple command. Within seconds, the air conditioning was adjusted, the seat massage activated and soft music started to play.

Meanwhile, kilometers away, a smart home system welcomed its owner by automatically setting the indoor temperature and drawing the curtains. This seamless integration of intelligence into daily life epitomizes China's rapidly evolving smart industry, which is now becoming a catalyst for global collaboration.

"Unlike earlier models that performed rigid, single tasks, today's intelligent vehicles offer emotionally perceptive interactions," said Hao Chenye, a product manager at Changan Automobile. "By monitoring the driver's mood, the car can adjust ambient lighting and fragrance, and even operate home devices in real time."

Such innovations are microcosms of China's broader intelligent ecosystem. From artificial intelligence and robotics to smart homes, new technologies are reshaping industry and lifestyles, fueling continuous social transformation.

China's intelligent economy is expanding at a staggering pace. Industry scale surpassed 700 billion yuan ($98.27 billion) in 2024, maintaining an average annual growth rate of over 20 percent for several years. The nation has also remained the world's largest industrial robotics market for 12 consecutive years, with service robot output surging 34.3 percent year-on-year to 10.519 million sets in 2024.

China is actively pursuing international partnerships, exemplified by initiatives such as the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization and the Global AI Governance Action Plan. During the recent expo in Chongqing, China reaffirmed its commitment to deepening global AI collaboration and promoting a shared vision of technological governance.

Chinese companies are already making strides overseas. In June, unmanned logistics vehicle manufacturer, Zelos, became the first company to receive a driverless logistics license in Singapore. Also, iFlyTek's transcription SaaS software now serves more than 1.5 million users abroad and has entered the supply chains of multiple European and US multinational corporations.

China's integration of AI across industries opens vast opportunities for international cooperation, said Stephan Sprink, general manager of German AI firm ComPro GmbH. "We've already established several partnerships with Chinese companies and are optimistic about future collaborations."

At the heart of this technological revolution lies a human-centric philosophy. For instance, Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology Co Ltd, a global leader in focused ultrasound, has exported its noninvasive Haifu Knife tumor treatment systems to 35 countries and regions, benefiting over 330,000 patients.

"Our equipment is installed in more than 3,000 domestic medical institutions and over 80 overseas hospitals in Belt and Road partner countries," said Xu Shu, head of the marketing department at Haifu Medical. "In March, we performed the world's first 5G remote focused ultrasound surgery, successfully treating a patient in Kenya."

In 2024, DeepSeek opened its top-tier AI architecture to the global community, catalyzing a wave of innovation. At one point, Chinese models occupied four of the top five spots on open-source leaderboards.

This spirit of openness extends to public welfare. In August, the China Meteorological Administration launched MAZU, an AI-powered multi-hazard early warning system, and donated its urban disaster prevention module, MAZU-Urban, to international partners. Since January, the system has been trialed across 35 countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania.

From Braille displays aiding the visually impaired to health-monitoring sleep lamps and rehabilitative bionic robots, intelligent devices designed with empathy are entering households across China.

"Robots need not be cold machines and innovation must be human-centric," said Xi E'e, brand operations director at Chongqing's Industrial Innovation Park. "We aim to expand innovations into homes, healthcare and outdoor scenarios, so that everyone can share in the dividend of intelligence."

Xinhua