Rapid developments in advanced industries across China, including AI and robotics, were major topics of discussion at open press interviews on Friday with leading researchers and industry executives serving as deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), currently in its ongoing fourth session.
The NPC, China's top legislature, is holding its annual session from Thursday through March 12.
At a series of open press events, delegations from various parts of the country, including Beijing, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and east China's Jiangxi Province, took questions on how their regions are shaping China's technological progress.
Deng Langni, a deputy to the 14th NPC and vice chairman of Guangxi University of Science and Technology, emphasized that as sources of innovation, universities need to take the initiative and provide strong support for the AI industry's development at the local level.
"The rapid pace of industrial transformation poses serious challenges to traditional disciplines and majors, pushing universities to 'break down walls' and bring classrooms onto industrial chains. Taking Guangxi University of Science and Technology as an example, it has quickly launched a number of AI-related micro-credentials across the campus, enabling students from different majors to gain 'AI thinking' and provide urgently-needed compound talents for industrial upgrading in Guangxi," said Deng.
A deputy from Beijing, Lei Jun, founder of consumer tech giant Xiaomi, offered an optimistic vision on the transformative impact that technological advances will have in manufacturing and industry.
"Sci-tech innovation can accelerate the development of new quality productive forces. Private enterprises have a key advantage in being close to markets and users, responding quickly, and rapidly applying new technologies to real-world scenarios. Humanoid robots have already been deployed in automobile factories, and I believe that, in the coming years, they will enter factories on a large scale," he said.
During the open event hosted by the Jiangxi NPC delegation, deputies said that the province has mapped out six key areas for future industries, including bold new areas such as embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces and humanoid robots.
"Many aviation, automotive and equipment manufacturing companies in Jiangxi are using intelligent robots, virtual reality and metaverse technologies to upgrade manufacturing. Workers can remotely operate equipment using immersive interfaces. Over the years, we have been dedicated to researching the key algorithms necessary for the efficient collaboration among embodied intelligent humanoid robots, digital humans and people," said NPC deputy Min Weidong, also the dean of the Metaverse Research Institute at Nanchang University.
Innovation experts from across China highlight accelerated tech deployment
Smart innovations are driving the upgrade of China's manufacturing industry, said Nan Cunhui, chairman of Chinese smart energy solutions provider CHINT Group, on Saturday.
As a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, China's top political advisory body, Nan made the statement at a group interview on the sidelines of the ongoing 4th session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing, saying that CHINT Group's development over the past four decades is a good example of industrial transformation.
"The transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry cannot be achieved without technological innovation that integrates digitalization with intelligentization. Over the past more than 40 years of innovative growth, CHINT Group has evolved from a traditional electrical equipment manufacturer to a new energy solutions provider, and now to a comprehensive energy service provider. Each step of its transformation has been driven by technological innovation and digital integration which foster sustainable development," Nan said.
CHINT Group began its journey as a switch producer in 1984 and has gradually evolved into a major global smart energy solution provider. Today, the company integrates the entire industrial chain of power generation, storage, transmission, transformation, distribution and use.
From the extremely cold areas of Finland to the deserts of Saudi Arabia and the tropical rainforests of Ecuador, CHINT has expanded its footprints to over 100 countries and regions.
Since 2006, CHINT has ventured into the photovoltaic new energy field, quickly establishing international competitiveness in the development, design, investment, construction, operation and maintenance of photovoltaic power plants.
Nan said his company has been combining AI with the green energy industry and developing key technologies such as new-type energy storage.
"We keep making breakthroughs in key technologies such as virtual power plants, new-type energy storage and solid-state transformers, while steadily enhancing capabilities in intelligent manufacturing, green manufacturing, and service-oriented manufacturing. In our factories, the entire process, from order placement to product delivery, is driven by data and algorithms. This has reduced overall operating costs by 20 percent and increased efficiency by 50 percent," he said.
Nan said CHINT has shared its smart transformation with many small-sized companies in the country.
"In recent years, CHINT Group has leveraged AI and cloud platform technologies to develop industry-specific large models, leading supplier partners to carry out digitalized transformation, and promoting common growth of small, medium-sized and micro enterprises," he said.
China's fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee opened on Wednesday and is scheduled to run through March 11.
Innovation drives transformation of manufacturing industry: CPPCC member
