China's Got a Huge Artificial Intelligence Plan
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"The positive economic ripples could be pretty substantial," said Kevin Lau, a senior economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong. “The simple fact that China is embracing AI and having explicit targets for its development over the next decade is certainly positive for the continued upgrading of the manufacturing sector and overall economic transformation."
Chinese AI-related stocks advanced Friday. CSG Smart Science & Technology Co. climbed as much as 9.3 percent in Shenzhen before closing 3.1 percent higher, while intelligent management software developer Mesnac Co. surged 9.8 percent after hitting the 10 percent daily limit in earlier trading.
AI will have a significant influence on society and the international community, according to an opinion piece by East China University of Political Science and Law professor Gao Qiqi published Wednesday in the People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party.
PwC found that the world’s second-biggest economy stands to gain more than any other from AI because of the high proportion of output derived from manufacturing.
China is in a race to automate before everyone else so that it can hold onto as much of the world’s manufacturing capacity as it can. That has meant it is the world’s largest market for industrial robots and virtually ensures it will have its own automation products in the market within the decade.
However, while the technical knowhow to produce precision engineered machines is important, the software governing them is where the real intellectual property lies. That is where China has to play catch up and why it is investing so much in artificial intelligence.
Baidu is the Chinese company making the biggest play for the mantle of AI leader in China and has been striking deals with companies like Nvidia, Facebook and Netflix.
The share has been confined to a volatile triangular trading range since 2015 but posted its first higher high in May. The price is back testing that high now and a clear downward dynamic would be required to question potential for additional upside.