BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) – Government officials in eastern China’s economic powerhouse Jiangsu province on Saturday highlighted plans to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure and upgrade manufacturing as President Xi Jinping urged the province to lead technology-led growth.
Jiangsu Province is China’s second largest economic city and one of its most important manufacturing and export bases.
The province will generate around 14 trillion yuan ($2 trillion) in output in 2025, making its economy larger than countries such as Spain, and is central to Beijing’s push to maintain growth and industrial competitiveness amid rising geopolitical and trade tensions with the West.
Jiangsu Governor Liu Xiaotao, leader of the province’s delegation to China’s National People’s Congress, said on Saturday that the province has more than 1,500 artificial intelligence companies, 66 large-scale AI models and 283 algorithms registered with regulators, and ranks second nationally in computing power.
Wu Yonghong, a transportation department official, said Jiangsu province will develop about 50 pilot applications using AI to improve infrastructure management and logistics services, deepening the “AI plus” transportation initiative.
Zheng Haitao, mayor of Yangzhou city in Jiangsu province, said AI has already been applied across the local manufacturing industry, with 186 smart production lines built in areas such as auto parts and environmental equipment.
Zheng said Yangzhou has introduced incentives such as computing subsidies and AI talent programs to attract enterprises and build a local AI ecosystem.
President Xi himself represents the Jiangsu delegation and regularly participates in its deliberations. Speaking to Jiangsu lawmakers on Thursday, he urged the province to take the lead in developing “new high-quality productive capacity”, a Chinese government term meaning economic growth through technological innovation.
Xi’s comments were reinforced in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan on Thursday, which mentions AI more than 50 times and includes a detailed “AI Plus” action plan aimed at embedding the technology throughout China’s economy and society.
China’s National People’s Congress will be attended by approximately 3,000 members from provincial and local delegations, including officials, executives, academics, and workers. These lawmakers debate and pass legislative and policy priorities during the annual congress held in Beijing.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Tom Hogue)
