Attendees walk past the Zhejiang Lab booth during the Light of Internet Expo in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Friday. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

Conference aims to build platform for communication among top experts

Business leaders and industry insiders said the sixth World Internet Conference will bring about new development opportunities for enterprises and scientific research personnel, as the conference is an ideal platform to showcase China's latest technologies, such as 5G and artificial intelligence.

Denis Depoux, managing director of global consultancy Roland Berger China said the annual World Internet Conference has established itself as one of the flagship events for global internet technology, attracting both domestic and foreign participants.

"The conference offers not only a window on the singular Chinese internet, home to unique e-commerce, payment, AI and cybersecurity innovations. It is also an opportunity to showcase new technologies such as 5G, virtual reality and AI, and more importantly the product and services applications deriving from those," said Depoux.

Gradually, the event has evolved from being a simple showcase of advanced technologies to a platform to think and experience practical applications, Depoux added.

Zhu Shiqiang, director of Zhejiang Lab, a research institute established jointly by the Zhejiang provincial government, Zhejiang University and Alibaba Group, said the conference is important, as many world-renowned companies and scientists in the internet sector will participate in it, and some significant achievements will be released.

"Insights into internet development will be shared during the conference, which also builds a platform for communication among industry experts, and each participant will reap the benefits," Zhu said.

Zhu hoped this conference will bring about more development opportunities for the tech enterprises and scientific research staff.

Established in September 2017, Zhejiang Lab explores the frontiers and key technologies in intelligent perception, intelligent networks, intelligent computing and intelligent systems.

Zhu added they will make full use of the conference to showcase their scientific research skills and achievements, observe and determine future internet development trends as well as introduce outstanding talents.

"The development of the internet in China started relatively late, but it is happening quickly. Today, we are in the first echelon in the world. We are now at the forefront of cloud computing, big data, AI, internet of things and 5G technologies," said Wu Xinhong, founder and CEO of selfie application maker Meitu Inc.

Wu said the integration of the internet with industry and the real economy will be much closer, because the internet is going to become an infrastructure to empower and serve other industries, and to elevate and even reshape the ecology of industries.

Shang Wenzhu, president of Hangzhou BroadXT Inc said this conference is an ideal window to display China's latest technologies, while noting China is taking the lead in autonomous driving technology.

The company's 5G self-driving minibus is set to make its global debut on the first day of the annual event. The vehicle will be used to help ferry participants to the venue during the conference.

"We want to let more people know that self-driving is safe through the display."

In September, Wuzhen authority and BroadXT inked an agreement to speed up the commercialization of 5G autonomous buses in Wuzhen. With a total investment of 650 million ($92 million), the 110-square kilometers of Wuzhen will be covered with intelligent networked transportation systems in the next three years.