2025 Zhongguancun Forum highlights AI, humanoid robots

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The 2025 Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum) is underway in Beijing, bringing together global experts and industry leaders to discuss cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid robot innovation.

The ZGC Forum features a series of events including the "AI Theme Days" which run from March 27 to 31. This segment comprises two core forums, five specialized forums, and many featured activities.

Seven significant AI achievements were unveiled at the Future Artificial Intelligence Pioneer Forum on Saturday, including the Beijing AI Public Computing Platform Eco-Network. This network will amalgamate computing resources nationwide and optimize resource allocation, thus garnering considerable attention and discussion from attendees.

Li Dahai, co-founder and CEO of ModelBest, an AI technology company, expressed enthusiasm about the platform's potential to provide high-quality computing services at a lower cost, and to facilitate innovation.

"Through such a plan, we can obtain very good computing power services, which have not only high quality but also lower cost. This is extremely helpful for us to better engage in innovative work. In fact, the government has also built a good data trading platform on the basis of the computing power platform. Through such a data trading platform, we can also more conveniently access more data providers, allowing large models to have more data nourishment," he said.

This year's ZGC forum also spotlights various humanoid robots, showcasing the boundless applications of new technologies.

The humanoid robot of "Tiangong" can adeptly navigates challenging terrains involving slopes, rocks, and sandbags, showcasing its skills in traversing complex landscapes. 

"Our goal is to imbue robots with true intelligence, enabling them to comprehend commands, interpret their surroundings, autonomously plan task sequences, and ultimately assist in achieving objectives. In scenarios like electricity inspection which involved high voltage power cabinets, the ‘Tiangong’ robot can execute relatively hazardous maneuvers with precision," said Li Yipeng, a staff member at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center.

Meanwhile, another humanoid robot also demonstrated football playing and completed with celebratory gestures after scoring a goal.

A robot developed by the Linkerbot Beijing Technology, capable of playing the piano with dexterity, stands out for its nimble hands. It can effortlessly handle tasks like screwing bolts and conducting research experiments.

"The robot can perform very delicate operations, such as tightening screws, in advanced manufacturing applications," said Zou Hanzhang, a staff member of the marketing department of the company.

According to the organizer, this year's ZGC Forum displays nearly 100 representative robots from 15 companies, and the humanoid robots are breaking new ground with AI in entertainment, commercial services, and are progressively finding applications in logistics sorting, healthcare and elderly care sectors.

2025 Zhongguancun Forum highlights AI, humanoid robots

More than 20 U.S. warships are enforcing blockade against Iran, U.S. Central Command posted on social media platform X on Sunday.

Since April 13, the U.S. military has ordered 61 merchant ships to change course and has disabled four vessels, said the post.

Following a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, the former has continued its naval blockade against Iran, while Iran has demanded its lifting.

A top Iranian diplomat on Sunday warned that the presence of French and British warships in the Strait of Hormuz to accompany the U.S. "illegal and internationally unlawful" actions will be met with a "decisive and immediate" response from Iran's armed forces.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, made the statement in a social media post while responding to France's deployment of its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to prepare for a future joint mission between Paris and London to secure the freedom of shipping and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Gharibabadi said the British government has also announced that to accompany France, it will send a warship to the Red Sea, adding any deployment and stationing of trans-regional destroyers around the Strait of Hormuz under the pretext of protecting shipping "is nothing but an escalation of the crisis, the militarization of the vital waterway, and an attempt to cover up the true root of insecurity in the region."

He added that maritime security cannot be ensured through a "show of military power," especially by actors who themselves contribute to the problems through their support, participation, or silence in the face of the anti-Iran "aggression and blockade."

He claimed that Iran, as a coastal country, has the right to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and determine its legal arrangements.

Meanwhile, the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Iran's Navy Commander Shahram Irani as saying the navy has deployed light, homegrown submarines in the Strait of Hormuz to counter the "enemy's" warships.

Also on Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron said in Nairobi, Kenya, that France had "never envisaged" a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz, but rather a security mission to be "coordinated with Iran," noting that he was sticking to his position of opposing a blockade from either side.

Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz beginning Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following their joint strikes on Iranian territory.

The United States has also imposed a naval blockade on the strait, preventing ships traveling to and from Iranian ports from transiting the waterway.

Sporadic clashes erupted last Thursday and Friday between Iran and the United States in and around the Strait of Hormuz after Washington launched a project, called Project Freedom, to guide stranded ships out of the waterway.

Over 20 US warships enforcing blockade against Iran