AI Photo:VCG

Chinese companies showcased their latest advances in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) at the ongoing World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, particularly AI chip capacity and large language models, amid the possibility of export restrictions on AI chips from the US.

A series of announcements of new large language models and AI chips made by a number of companies on Friday demonstrated China's undeterred efforts in AI development despite curbs from the US, experts said.

At the WAIC on Friday, Chinese AI chip company Kunlunxin showcased its AI chips at the conference, pledging to make computing more intelligent and to collaborate with the industry to strengthen China's AI sector.

Wang Yong, vice president of the company, emphasized the role of the Kunlun chip in en-hancing the computing power of large language models at a forum on Friday. 

Kunlunxin has already achieved mass production on two generations of its high-performance AI chips. Tens of thousands of its AI chips have been manufactured and de-ployed in various AI scenarios such as the smart finance, smart industry along with other sectors.

The AI industry in China is experiencing a surge of activity, with companies like Alibaba Cloud and SenseTime also unveiling updated AI models and services at the WAIC.

Alibaba Cloud on Friday showcased its model-centric AI development paradigm MaaS and its comprehensive large model service layout.  SenseTime on Friday announced that it will carry out a comprehensive upgrade on the company's foundation model system "SenseNova" and introduced a series of large model product updates under this system. 

Huawei, another Chinese tech giant, launched its new AI model called Pangu 3.0 on Friday, which aims to reshape various industries. 

In addition, the National Standardization Administration officially announced the drawing up of national standards for large model testing.

It showed that despite the potential restrictions on AI chip shipments from the US, China remains determined to promote its AI industry, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to AI development, experts said.

The US Commerce Department may soon move to halt shipments of chips made by Nvidia and other chip makers to customers in China and other countries without obtaining a li-cense, as reported by WSJ. 

However, based on what the WAIC has showcased, the potential restrictions will not limit Chinese companies from continuing their commitment to innovation and AI breakthroughs. On the contrary, it will only accelerate the pace of AI development in China, Xiang Ligang, a Chinese telecom industry analyst, told the Global Times on Friday. 

Facing a potential supply shortage and increasing requirements for computing power in large models, many Chinese AI companies are hoping to fill the gap left by the US in the chip supply market. 

A sales representative from an AI startup told the Global Times at the WAIC that their AI chips have surpassed Nvidia's high-end chips in certain areas. "It's a step-by-step process. Although there is still a gap with Nvidia overall, we remain committed to our path," he said.

Zhang Yaqin, head of the Institute for AI Industry Research, Tsinghua University said at the WAIC that China's AI talent and data capacity are strong enough. 

"In the past five years, many innovative and original algorithms have been accomplished by Chinese scientists," Zhang said.

Despite concerns about "decoupling," this year's WAIC retains its global appeal. The ex-citement surrounding the AI industry in China has attracted a diverse range of participants from around the world, debunking the notion hyped by some foreign media that geopolitical tensions have overshadowed the event. 

The WAIC organizers said that more than 400 companies are participating in the event this year, with a total exhibition area of 50,000 square meters at its main venue. These figures are the highest since the event's inauguration in 2018.

Although some US tech companies did not attend the event in person due to geopolitical concerns, it does not mean they are not interested in the market, which is too large to aban-don, according to Xiang. 

"This is especially true for companies like Nvidia. If China forms an AI ecosystem that can replace it, it will lose the Chinese market and even some overseas markets," Xiang said.

China's AI industry is currently experiencing a development boom, with the core industry's scale reaching 500 billion yuan ($69.4 billion) and the number of AI enterprises exceeding 4,300, said Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xu Xiaolan at the WAIC opening ceremony. 

China has been accelerating its construction of AI-related infrastructure, ranking second globally in total computing power and having over 2.8 million 5G stations, Xu added. Additionally, more than 2,500 digital and intelligent workshops and factories have been established across the country, resulting in a 20.7 percent reduction in research and development cycles and a 34.8 percent improvement in production efficiency.

Companies such as Tesla have also shown strong enthusiasm for China's AI industry. Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised China's AI industry development during his address at the WAIC opening ceremony.

China will have strong AI prowess in the future as there are many intelligent people in the country, Musk said.