Photo: Chen Xia/GT

From artificial intelligence (AI) calculation, self-driving cars to astronomy, leading Chinese tech companies including Baidu, Huawei and Tencent picked different areas to promotetheir AI businesses, their executives disclosed on Thursday during the opening ceremony of this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), China's largest tech gathering.  

Baidu chairman and CEO Robin Li Yanhong said that Baidu plans to launch self-driving vehicles in about 30 domestic cities in the next two or three years. The company is also researching its latest smart cars which are expected to be launched also in the next two or three years.

Huawei has placed its focus on the construction of city infrastructure based on AI-driven calculation center. Hu Houkun, rotating chairman of Huawei, said on Thursday that more than 20 domestic cities have started to plan and construct AI calculation center projects, some of which Huawei has already participated. 

"I think under today's complicated international political environment, we should strive to develop root technologies, especially processors and voltage calculation framework," he said. 

Tencent, on the other hand, is using AI technologies to fuel the country's astronomy industry. The company would launch an exploration plan in partnership with China's National Astronomical Observatories to search for pulsars with help of AI technologies.

As one of the world's largest gathering of tech companies, the 2021 WAIC has attracted more than 300 exhibitors including such industrial big names as GE, Qualcomm and Huawei. Six Turing Award winners also attended the conference. 

The plans also reflect China's forceful push of AI industries, as the country beefs up efforts to achieve industrial upgrading as well as shake off dependence on overseas countries. 

China tops the world in terms of AI patents, while has surged into the world's leading ranks in technologies such as image and voice recognition, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xiao Yaqing said on Thursday. 

"China's core industrial scale has continuously grown, and the country has already generated a complete industry chain and ecosystem that covers infrastructure, tech as well as application throughout the AI industry," Xiao was reported as saying. 

Global Times