AI: Industrial depth to help lower costs overseas

人工智能产业纵深发展，助力海外产品降价

China's vision to turn artificial intelligence from an expensive frontier technology into a resource for affordable, widely accessible applications will bring huge benefits to more countries, businesses and ordinary people worldwide, said leading industry experts and company executives.

业内权威专家与企业高管表示，中国提出愿景：将人工智能从成本高昂的前沿技术，转化为普惠亲民、随处可用的基础资源，这将为全球更多国家、企业与普通民众带来巨大红利。

They made the comments on Tuesday after President Xi Jinping, in his keynote speech on Friday at the 2026 World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai, said that AI should be developed "for the positive, for good and for humanity".

本周二，一众业内人士发表上述观点。此前，习近平主席于周五在上海2026世界人工智能大会暨全球人工智能治理高级别会议发表主旨演讲，提出人工智能发展要“向上向善、造福人类”。

"AI development should not be a solo performance by a single country, but a symphony of international cooperation," Xi said.

习近平主席指出：“人工智能发展不应是一国独奏，而应是国际合作的交响。”

He called for coordinated advances in the transformation and upgrade of traditional industries, the cultivation and growth of emerging industries, and forward-looking planning for future industries, so that all sectors and businesses can benefit from AI.

他呼吁协同推进传统产业转型升级、培育壮大新兴产业、前瞻布局未来产业，让各行各业、各类市场主体都能共享人工智能发展红利。

Long Yongtu, China's former chief negotiator for its accession to the World Trade Organization, said the rise of AI has become another turning point in the country's economic development.

前中国入世首席谈判代表龙永图表示，人工智能的崛起，是中国经济发展的又一个转折点。

He said that China's entry into the WTO in 2001 unleashed the vitality of millions of market participants after restrictions on foreign trade rights were relaxed, helping the country grow into the world's largest trader in goods and allowing ordinary people to increase their income through international commerce.

他谈到，2001年中国加入世界贸易组织，外贸经营权限制放宽，激活了千万市场主体活力，推动中国成为全球第一货物贸易大国，普通人也得以通过国际贸易增收致富。

"Now, entering the age of AI heralds a new era of opening-up. AI is triggering a similarly profound transformation by reshaping production relationships, corporate structures and the cost of starting a business in the country," Long said.

龙永图称：“如今，人工智能时代的到来，开启对外开放全新阶段。人工智能重塑国内生产关系、企业组织模式与创业成本，带来同样深刻的变革。”

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China has embraced AI with open arms, with the value of its core AI industries exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan ($177 billion) last year, maintaining annual growth of more than 20 percent for several consecutive years.

工信部数据显示，中国全面拥抱人工智能产业。去年我国人工智能核心产业规模突破1.2万亿元（折合1770亿美元），连续多年保持20%以上年增速。

Furthermore, the country is seeking to turn AI into real-world applications and a driver of economic growth.

除此之外，中国着力推动人工智能落地实景应用，使之成为经济增长核心引擎。

In the first half of this year, the industrial output of AI-related sectors, including integrated circuit manufacturing and in-vehicle intelligent equipment manufacturing, grew more than 30 percent.

今年上半年，集成电路制造、车载智能装备制造等人工智能相关产业工业产值同比增长超30%。

Long predicted that more individuals and small, specialized companies that use AI to perform work that previously required much larger organizations will emerge to become new drivers of the economy.

龙永图预判，未来会涌现大量个体从业者与专精小企业，依托人工智能完成过去大型机构才能承接的业务，成为经济增长新动力。

"Success should ultimately be judged not by model rankings or investment valuations, but by whether AI really improves people's lives," he added.

他补充道：“评判AI发展成败，最终不在于大模型榜单、企业估值高低，而在于人工智能是否真正改善民生。”

Efforts to push AI beyond chatbots and benchmark rankings into the physical economy include China's "AI Plus" initiative, which seeks to embed AI in manufacturing, finance, healthcare, energy and public services.

中国推出“人工智能+”行动，推动人工智能跳出聊天机器人、模型榜单的局限，深度融入实体经济，赋能制造、金融、医疗、能源、公共服务各大领域。

President Xi also said in his speech that China should facilitate technological innovation, industrial development and "scenario-based application of AI".

习近平主席在演讲中同时提出，中国要统筹推进人工智能技术创新、产业培育与场景落地应用。

Huo Fupeng, director of the innovation-driven development center of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that "China is leveraging its complete industrial system, enormous range of application scenarios and super-sized market to accelerate AI's deployment across thousands of industries".

国家发改委创新驱动发展中心主任霍福鹏表示：“中国依托完备工业体系、海量应用场景与超大规模市场优势，加速人工智能向千行百业渗透落地。”

"Its dense industrial supply chains and vast domestic market give developers an environment in which technologies can be tested, refined and deployed a...