​Internet industry conference shines light on future development

The opening ceremony of the 24th China Internet Conference in Beijing, July 23, 2025. [Photo by Liu Sitong/China.org.cn]

The 24th China Internet Conference opened in Beijing on July 23, with industry experts gathering to share their thoughts on the development and future of the internet sector. 

At the event's opening ceremony, Wu Hequan, former vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the internet sector has entered an era of development driven by artificial intelligence (AI). As such, he said that the industry should rely on AI agents, instead of generative AI, to create new application scenarios in order to realize commercial success. 

Wu added that "AI for Internet" and "Internet for AI" will empower new quality productive forces and drive the transformation of business formats; however, related applications still require further innovations in technology and to business models. 

Tang Ke, deputy general manager of China Telecom, spoke about the profound upgrading of AI-related computing power, data, algorithms, applications and security technology amid the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation that has reshaped the industrial ecosystem. 

To ride this trend, Tang explained that China Telecom has been innovating technologies and fully developing its strength in AI. In addition, the company is building smart cloud capabilities, exploring computing power coordination to improve efficiency, and enriching AI applications while ensuring security. 

Cheng Jianjun, vice president of China Mobile, said as a new driving force for digital economy, computing power has been growing faster than they could have been imagined. He explained that the company has so far established 13 smart computing centers and are currently building several super-large smart computing centers. 

He added that the company has also invested in quantum technology, including a quantum computing cloud platform that has connected 500 universities and colleges and incubated a dozen enterprises. Meanwhile, to serve the development of low-altitude economy, the company is building a digital infrastructure network enabling integrated sensing and communication.

Hao Liqian, deputy general manager of China Unicom, spoke about his company's efforts to accelerate the integrated development of computing power, network, digital technology and large-scale models, and their focus on offering AI services that are convenient, efficient, practical, safe and inclusive. By innovating services, the company has also helped various regions such as Beijing and Chongqing to upgrade their government service hotlines to go smart. 

Zhu Zheng, senior vice president and chief development officer of the popular e-commerce company Pinduoduo, introduced a program they launched in April. The company plans to invest 100-billion-yuan worth of resources over the next three years to improve the e-commerce ecosystem and help businesses on their platform transform and upgrade. 

According to Zhu, the company has so far connected 1,000 agricultural areas and helped 16 million agricultural workers to participate in the digital economy. Meanwhile, the firm also provides digital services for manufacturing enterprises regarding product design and development, production and branding. 

Gao Ji, chief executive officer of Chinese semiconductor provider HiSilicon, said that the audio video industry is highly relevant to the development of the internet sector. The company aims to provide an improved consumer experience with audio and video products. 

Han Yonggang, vice president of China's leading cybersecurity company QAX, said the company has aligned cybersecurity capabilities with digital development. He said that AI security means ensuring safe use of AI technology as well as using AI as a new driving force to enhance our security capabilities. He called for cybersecurity management and technology to be better connected, ensuring cybersecurity management with systematic technical support. 

The China Internet Conference was organized by the Internet Society of China and will run until July 25.