STORY: China's manufacturing sector revs up with AI-empowered innovation 
SHOOTING DATE: Recent footage
DATELINE: May 28, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:40
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of AI sector in China
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CARL FEY, Professor of Strategy at BI Norwegian Business School
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BRENDAN AHERN, Chief investment officer with Krane Funds Advisors LLC
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): STUART RUSSELL, Professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California at Berkeley

STORYLINE:

China is staying at the forefront of manufacturing innovation with a series of new pilot initiatives.

This year's government work report unveiled an AI Plus initiative designed to expand the digital economy and modernize manufacturing sectors.

International observers have shared their thoughts on the development of AI in China.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CARL FEY, Professor of Strategy at BI Norwegian Business School
"AI is really transforming the way business is working. To give examples of that, in Hefei, Midea Group which produces dryers for clothes, they have installed AI in their factory to listen to the sound profiles of a washing machine working. They have been able to decrease the defect rate by 30 percent. Another example of how AI is helping comes from the Haier Group and their activities in Tianjin. There they have a factory where they have used the Internet of Things in AI to link all of their different machines together. And they have an AI system to minimize electricity usage. As a result of this, they have been able to decrease energy usage by about 35 percent."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): BRENDAN AHERN, Chief investment officer with Krane Funds Advisors LLC
"This manufacturing upgrade (is) taking place in China. We see many of the technology companies that have expertise and AI or big data or cloud computing selling those services, selling that expertise to companies in the state-owned enterprises or manufacturing companies. So you're seeing a really interesting, dynamic element in the Chinese economy taking place."
SOUNDBITE 3 (English): STUART RUSSELL, Professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at the University of California at Berkeley
"There are tech giants - Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent. And they've been making a lot of progress, but then there are lots of specialist companies. I think the prospects for Chinese AI are very bright. People will use AI to increase the rate of innovation in science, in the arts, in music, literature, or all these areas. I think we'll see the emergence of new kinds of art forms that AI can facilitate. The potential is enormous in all areas."

According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the core artificial intelligence industry in China achieved a remarkable value of 578.7 billion yuan (about 80 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023. This industry is supported by a thriving ecosystem of over 4,400 enterprises.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)