The Global Times reports that several AI services were showcased at the recent China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing. Artificial intelligence (AI) has already assisted many people in job seeking in China. At the 2024 CIFTIS, Alipay unveiled an AI-powered public employment robot named Xiaogu, designed to support the intelligent transformation of employment services. The matching rate of people and job posts has been increased by at least 10 times, according to Alipay. While AI-powered services like this may go unnoticed by many, the application of AI technologies in sectors such as tourism and gaming is more visible. The integration of AI with scenic spots is creating a new and enhanced travel experience. In the scenic area of Mount Huangshan in Anhui province, an AI escort service is available. It can recommend tour guides, taxi bookings, and food options, based on tourists' spatial positioning. Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that enhances or provides additional information about what people see in physical reality through digital images, sounds, and text. AI enhances AR by enabling it to recognize and augment the real world more effectively.
AI technologies have also been applied in museums. Many global tourists visit exhibition halls using AR technologies in Chinese museums, enhancing the quality of their travel experience, as AI helps remove some barriers such as in language, Tian Feng, Dean of SenseTime's Intelligence Industry Research Institute, told the Global Times. OUTPUT, a Shanghai-based new digital content operation platform, has created digital content and scenario-based experiences in conjunction with Beijing's Palace Museum and Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden. “We have helped showcase the treasures of the Palace Museum digitally in Singapore and participated in the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival in Paris and Shanghai to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France,” Liu Yinmeng, Founder and CEO of OUTPUT, told the Global Times. “The development of AI technologies will bring great change and opportunity to many industries, such as tourism, sport and gaming,” Tian said.
“AI Plus” was mentioned in the Government Work Report for the first time in 2024, saying that China will launch an AI Plus initiative, and build digital industry clusters with international competitiveness and will also promote the digitalization of the service sector. “AI Plus” will serve as a key driving force, deeply integrating with industries such as healthcare, education, and cultural tourism, and promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, Wang Peng, Associate Research Fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
China has experienced rapid development in the creative industry, also known as the orange industry, industry observers said at the Orange Industry and Sustainable Investment Forum, a sub-forum of the 2024 CIFTIS. The UN defines the creative economy as cycles of creating, producing, and distributing goods and services that use creativity and intellectual capital as primary inputs. According to UNCTAD, in 2020, China was by far the largest exporter of creative goods, at a reported value of USD169 billion. As the service sector has gained prominence in the creative industries, China's creative service exports have grown from USD59 billion in 2020 to USD67 billion in 2022, the Global Times reports.
The China Daily adds that Zhejiang recently became the first province in China to launch a province-wide AI-powered digital health assistant. The Provincial Health Commission introduced the artificial intelligence assistant, known as Anzhener or Angel, in partnership with Alipay, a leading Chinese mobile payment service provider.
