The 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit hosted a forum on digital health on Saturday, focusing on innovative pathways for empowering healthcare through digital technologies.
This inaugural forum at the Wuzhen Summit focused on cutting-edge topics such as the integration of medical artificial intelligence (AI) with brain science and AI applications in healthcare.
Highlighting the core principle of "human-oriented technology," experts discussed how big data and AI can move from laboratories to clinical settings and ultimately benefit the general public.
Additionally, frontline practitioners shared their findings in areas such as the establishment of smart hospitals and internet-based healthcare services.
"Enhancing the management and treatment of chronic diseases is vital for us. AI can play a crucial role in both prevention and treatment. By leveraging AI-assisted big data monitoring and wearable devices, we can significantly improve the screening and detection rates of chronic diseases. For instance, AI can remind patients to take medicine and go for follow-up appointments, and also offer some risk warnings and dietary suggestions," said Luo Fengming, president of West China Hospital of Sichuan University.
Given the unknown and unpredictable challenges associated with AI, Luo said that AI technology should still playing an assisting role in the medical field, so as to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment processes.
World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit hosts forum on digital health
China's outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), adopted on Thursday, maps out a systematic path toward high-quality development by building new growth drivers through the fostering of emerging and future industries.
In the latest five-year blueprint, the emerging strategic industries China will nurture have been expanded to include new sectors like intelligent connected new-energy vehicles (NEVs) and robotics. It also outlines plans to establish emerging strategic industry clusters tailored to local conditions, each with its own distinctive features and complementary strengths.
Experts suggested that this marks a shift for emerging industries -- from isolated breakthroughs to scaled, clustered development.
"During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we aim to further promote and expand emerging industries in both scale and quality. The development of industrial clusters is a clear reflection of economies of scale. Building on the existing foundation, this will further sharpen the international competitiveness of our emerging industries. The blueprint's emphasis on new application scenarios and innovative business models will also help steer these industries toward a higher quality of development," said Wei Qijia, a researcher at the State Information Center, which is under China's National Development and Reform Commission.
The plan also identifies key frontiers to reach, including quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied artificial intelligence (AI) and 6G. Moving beyond mere technological roadmaps, it also stresses the need to build a full-chain incubation system for future industries.
"This forward-looking approach reflects a keen sense of foresight. The plan introduces mechanisms for identifying and monitoring emerging industries and making dynamic adjustments accordingly. If a particular new area or arena shows potential to foster emerging future technologies, it needs to be identified as early as possible. The blueprint's specific references to initiatives such as pilot zones for future industries and research institutes dedicated to their development also signal an important direction in terms of working methodology -- providing clear guidance on how to nurture the industries of the future," he said.
China's five-year blueprint set to foster emerging, future industries
