The event featured few foreign firms, and the speaker list was dominated by Chinese tech executives, The Post observed during a visit on Saturday. About 20 foreign firms, or 4 percent of the 550 exhibitors, had booths at the Tianjin Expo, most of which were clustered in one corner of the eight exhibit sections, where foot traffic was light.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the World Intelligence Expo, calling for more global cooperation in AI development. However, the US is stepping up efforts to block China's access to advanced chips and AI technologies.
The US Treasury Department on Friday released draft rules to block investment in China's chip, AI and quantum computing sectors on national security grounds. Under these rules, investments by U.S. entities in these areas would require government approval.
At the Tianjin Infrastructure Investment Group's booth, a slide deck rotating on a TV screen acknowledged the hurdles Chinese companies face in trying to make advanced chips, ranging from advanced lithography machines, precision materials and other parts of the chip. Lack of access was noted. – The process of making.
“The AI industry is massive cluster computing between graphics processing units and optical modules,” reads one slide. “But the development of our electronic chips is challenged by a chokehold on our access to advanced manufacturing processes.”
He added that the infrastructure investment group is investing in optical chips technology to overcome these bottlenecks.
Some foreign business delegates at the show were still looking for business opportunities. “China is a huge market that cannot be ignored,” said Hysun Yoon, an executive at South Korea's leading developer SOSLab.
“We're here because the China market is much bigger than many other markets,” Yun said.