AI Photo: VCG
With over 3,000 cutting-edge exhibits including over 40 large-scale language models (LLMS), over 50 artificial intelligence (AI) terminal products, over 60 intelligent robots and over 100 important new products, the 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC) set a new record on the exhibition scale, according to China's National Radio.
The event will showcase the immense potential of AI applications and advancements across a variety of sectors and convey the core message. It can only be transformed into true productivity when technology is deeply integrated into the manufacturing process and is embedded in everyday life and supply chains.
AI development in some countries is often characterized by sophisticated algorithmic competition held in labs and ramp extension speculation in capital markets. However, China has paved a unique path for this landscape. The exhibition at WAIC tells a compelling story of Chinese technical applications. These displays are not just laboratory prototypes. They are practical tools that are already integrated into factory workflows and are poised to improve households' daily lives.
This incredible ability to seamlessly embed advanced technologies into a variety of industries supports the central competitiveness of China's AI sector. By prioritizing real-world applications and promoting innovation that directly address social needs, China not only advances its technological capabilities, but also sets examples of ways to effectively utilize AI.
Recent remarks by Xie Shaofeng, Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, highlight this trajectory. The role of AI activation continued to be strengthened in the first half of this year. Cultivated and open sourced in China, LLM is accelerating its applications in industries such as electronics, raw materials, and consumer goods, creating a range of new models and business formats. At a press conference in July, Xie said more than 100 types of AI-driven terminal products, including mobile phones, personal computers, and glasses, became new economic growth points.
The advances in AI in China are largely attributed to its unique development pathways and benefits, mainly in the deep integration of industry and technology. China places AI within the framework of Intelligent Manufacturing, creating a noble cycle in which manufacturing supports AI and AI to return to manufacturing.
Supporting this integration is China's unparalleled manufacturing scale and the world's most complete industrial chain. All comprehensive industrial ecosystems from raw materials to final products provide a vast, diverse range of application scenarios through AI.
More importantly, China has a “pragmatism” gene in AI development. This always focuses on meeting real-world economic and social development needs, emphasizing the deep integration of technology implementation and manufacturing. This “realistic” orientation is China's true competitiveness in AI development.
This practical, application-oriented model is in stark contrast to the US AI strategy. Last week, Washington announced an AI Action Plan that focuses on maintaining US technical leadership and hegemony based on disclosed content rather than effectively solving problems and providing better economic and social development. Furthermore, loud manufacturing issues in the US have limited many advanced AI technologies to the lab. As a result, many cutting-edge technologies struggle to create important economic value.
Global AI development is at an important turning point. Technological advancements are fundamental in itself, but the more important criterion is whether technology can create true value. China's AI development experience clearly shows that innovation cannot be isolated from applications and industries. By relying on a strong manufacturing base and abundant application scenarios, China is efficiently converting the technical potential of AI into substantial productivity gains and economic growth momentum.
