BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Artificial intelligence (AI) is considered an important force for China-ASEAN cooperation in fields such as infrastructure construction, digital economy and innovation-driven development, helping tap into considerable market opportunities, according to attendees at the Second China-ASEAN AI Summit held from November 13 to 15 in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
As ASEAN member states pay great attention to infrastructure construction and geoinformation and mapping is the prerequisite for infrastructure construction, the cooperation in geoinformation and mapping is highly valued by China and ASEAN. Industry insiders predicted that the scale of China-ASEAN cooperation in geoinformation and mapping will exceed 10 billion U.S. dollars in the following five years. In this context, AI technology, as one of the trend in geoinformation and mapping, is expected to promote infrastructure cooperation between China and ASEAN.
Digital economy is also an important area of China-ASEAN cooperation. The value of ASEAN's digital technologies is projected to reach 625 billion U.S. dollars by 2030, according to the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.
China will deepen cooperation with ASEAN in the fields of digital economy, including promoting the application of digital technologies such as AI and 3D printing in epidemic prevention and control, supporting digital transformation of industries, and promoting development of smart cities, according to the China-ASEAN initiative on establishing digital economy partnership.
Relevant enterprises have made their contribution to China-ASEAN cooperation in digital economy. For example, Chinese tech giant Huawei will continue to help Thailand build an ASEAN-targeted digital hub, and facilitate the implementation of Thailand's 4.0 strategy by applying new technologies and new market business models in the country, said Abel Deng, CEO of Huawei Technologies (Thailand).
In addition, AI is expected to bring benefits to innovative development. By taking advantages of China-ASEAN internet application and innovation platforms on the basis of joint construction of AI system, big data center, intelligent computing center, etc., AI-related academic exchange, technology research and development, patent sharing, and talent training can be carried out, said Lu Dongliang, chairman and president of China-ASEAN Information Harbor Co., Ltd, adding that the Lancang-Mekong cooperation fund was built on the idea.
China has been ASEAN's largest trading partner for ten consecutive years. Chinese enterprises have made more than 100 billion U.S. dollars of investment in ASEAN, creating over 100,000 jobs for local residents. (Edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, sudan@xinhua.org)
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