AI technologies take center stage at Digital China Summit in Fuzhou

The two-day 8th Digital China Summit, which concluded on Wednesday in Fuzhou City of east China's Fujian Province, showcased the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, offering a glimpse into the future of daily life.

With an experience area of 56,000-square-meter that will remain open until May 4, the summit aimed to highlight China's strides in digital transformation and the expansion of its digital economy.

One of the most captivating exhibits at the event is an AI-powered household robot, which is poised to become a crucial part of everyday life in the near future.

Designed to take on various household chores, such as sorting out items, the robot is powered by an advanced "embodied AI model" trained with data from hundreds of thousands of real-world interactions.

"We are demonstrating how the robot organizes things in a kitchen. The robot is now distinguishing between fruits, vegetables, and other items. Behind the robot is our embodied AI large language model, which has been trained with data from hundreds of thousands of real-world interactions," explained Zhang Jian, an exhibitor.

In addition to the home assistant robot, the summit featured a collection of AI-powered robotic dogs. These robots are designed for a range of functions -- some patrol forests for disaster prevention, while others serve as community patrollers to assist with local governance.

A particularly unique model is a six-legged robot dog, built to navigate a variety of terrains, making it far more versatile than traditional four-legged models.

"The robot's main function is to make up for some shortcomings in the daily patrol work of grid-based community workers, such as reaching areas that are inaccessible to humans or dangerous sites, like fire scenes," said Dong Yating, another exhibitor.

The fusion of AI with tourism and cultural consumption is also rapidly accelerating. Several exhibitors presented AI-driven travel assistants, which use digital human avatars infused with local cultural elements. These AI assistants offer personalized services such as sightseeing recommendations and route planning for tourists.

"In the future, we will deploy these AI-based digital humans at popular tourist attractions or museums, incorporating them into augmented reality (AR) glasses. Visitors can have a personalized travel companion by simply wearing the glasses," said Xu Huimin, an exhibitor.

With AI continuing to evolve, the event offered a clear vision of how these innovations are set to change the way people live, work, and explore the world.

AI technologies take center stage at Digital China Summit in Fuzhou

China is willing to continue working with Russia within the framework of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, maintain timely communication on major issues, and make joint efforts to help de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, safeguard regional peace and stability, and uphold common security for the world, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

China and Russia, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, should uphold fairness and justice on matters of principle, adopt an objective and balanced approach, and seek greater understanding and support from the international community, Wang said.

Noting that China has consistently advocated the resolution of international and regional hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation, Wang said that the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, hostilities are still escalating, and the fundamental solution to ensuring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz lies in achieving an early ceasefire and bringing the war to an end.

For his part, Lavrov said Russia is highly concerned about the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

Regarding the ongoing conflict and the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, Lavrov said Russia maintains that military operations must be stopped immediately and efforts should return to the track of political and diplomatic settlement to address the root causes of the conflict, and the UN Security Council should play a constructive role in this regard.

Russia stands ready to maintain close communication and coordination with China and continue to make efforts and speak out in support of a ceasefire and the end of the war, he said.

China willing to cooperate with Russia to de-escalate Mideast situation: FM