AI and Robotics Drive China's International Services Trade Growth

Artificial intelligence and robotics are significantly propelling the growth of China's international services trade, driven by rapid technological advancements. These emerging technologies were prominent at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), which opened on Wednesday in Beijing. Exhibitors showcased AI-driven innovations designed to enhance consumer experiences and industrial efficiency.

Credit: VCG

One notable exhibit featured smart glasses capable of estimating food calorie content and offering personalised dietary guidance. These glasses use multimodal recognition, allowing users to ask an AI assistant for nutritional information simply by looking at a food item. Wu Hainan, a representative for China Telecom, stated this new AI technology would "create new growth drivers for the consumption of services."

Industrial applications are also rapidly expanding, further boosting trade in services. At Beijing's Humanoid Robotics Data Training Centre, robots are being taught to perform various tasks, including household chores.

Yuan Jun, an employee at the centre, explained the complexity of teaching robots tasks like opening a fridge door. Robots typically produce steady force, but opening a fridge requires a sudden burst, necessitating hundreds or even thousands of training iterations.

Credit: VCG

During this intensive training, real-time data is continuously collected to refine AI systems. This data is increasingly in demand from international clients. Yuan Qinni, a cooperation director at the centre, noted that the data generated for AI training is their final product for trade, with nearly 10,000 entries produced daily, some delivered to North American partners.

China's AI sector has shown remarkable progress, with annual growth rates consistently exceeding 20% in recent years. Earlier this year, the government announced its "AI+" initiative to promote new service models. This programme is expected to make applications such as virtual tour guides, intelligent medical assistants, and AI learning companions more widely available.

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• China's international services trade is growing due to advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics.

• Innovations like smart glasses offering dietary guidance and robots learning household chores were showcased at CIFTIS in Beijing.

• AI training data, generated daily, is a key export, with some data delivered to North American partners.

Source: CGTN