China’s Guangdong unveils initiatives to boost AI industry

The province rolls out 45 measures to increase talent pool, chip supply and use of AI across industries in bid to steer hi-tech growth

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A calligraphy robot decorates a fan at the 7th Digital China Summit in the southeastern city of Fuzhou on May 24. China has been rapidly advancing its AI capabilities to compete against the US. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:47pm, 9 Jun 2024

Guangdong province, the economic powerhouse of south China, has unveiled 45 measures to boost the use of AI across a vast range of sectors as it strives to steer hi-tech growth.

The new measures, rolled out by the provincial government last week, stipulate that the value of Guangdong’s artificial intelligence industry should reach 300 billion yuan (US$41.4 billion) by next year and 440 billion yuan by 2027. These figures would amount to 2.3 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively, of the province’s 2023 GDP.

Computing power in Guangdong should exceed 40 exaflops by next year and 60 exaflops by 2027, the southern province said, using a measure of computational speed for how many floating-point operations a computer or system can perform in one second.

China has set a goal for its national computing performance to reach 300 exaflops by 2025.

If these goals are achieved, Guangdong will account for roughly 13 per cent of China’s total computing power.

“These measures were crafted to promote high-quality development in the province’s AI industry, to swiftly build new productive forces, to construct a modern industrial system, and to empower various sectors to enhance quality and efficiency,” the announcement said.

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