Automotive software plays a key role in driving the digital transformation of the auto industry, said an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Tuesday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.
The city hosted the China's inaugural Intelligent Vehicle Software Ecology Conference from Monday to Tuesday, drawing to it over 500 experts, scholars and corporate representatives for in-depth discussions over topics such as automotive operating systems, chips, open source models, and the synergy of software and hardware.
"We plan to carry out open source projects in key areas such as intelligent driving, build high-quality open source communities, and establish an open source ecological community. We want to use open source models to promote the innovative development of basic software for smart cars," said Wang Yanqing, director of the MIIT's Department of Information Technology Development.
An official with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) pledged to promote the integrated development of the industrial chains of centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and work with companies of all sizes that are involved in the supply chains and specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to build open source platforms.
"We will support the application of basic automotive software and automotive chips, accelerate iteration, and work with various entities to create an industrial ecosystem that is integrated and mutually beneficial to deliver win-win results," said Gou Ping, vice chairman of SASAC.
China to build smart automotive software industry through open source communities
China's trade with the five Nordic countries is projected to surpass 50 billion U.S. dollars by the end of this year, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce told a press conference on Tuesday.
The 6th China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum is set to open on Thursday in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Despite global headwinds, China-Nordic trade has continued to grow steadily.
In the first eight months, trade between China and the five Nordic nations - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway - expanded by 5.7 percent from the same period of last year, according to Wang Yupeng, deputy director of the ministry's Department of European Affairs. Among them, trade with Sweden and Denmark each exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars.
High-value-added products such as computer and communication equipment, pharmaceutical goods, ships, automobiles, and auto parts were key drivers of the growth.
"China's direct investment in Nordic countries reached one billion dollars in the first eight months of 2024, accounting for more than one-fifth of our total investment in Europe during the period," Wang told reporters in Beijing.
The China-Nordic Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum is China's first and only long-term mechanism dedicated to economic collaboration with the Nordic region. Nearly 100 cooperation projects worth a combined total of over 160 billion yuan (about 22.5 billion U.S. dollars) have been signed during the previous five editions.
The Nordic region is an important source of foreign investment for China. The commerce ministry encourages Nordic companies to establish research and development centers in China and to explore new cooperation opportunities in sectors such as electric vehicles and renewable energy.
China-Nordic trade expected to exceed 50 bln USD in 2024
