Overview of the World Intelligence Congress

The 4th World Intelligence Congress was successfully held on June 23, in 2020. This conference is regarded as the first ever international event under the measures on regular COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, and it is also the first high-end event that went virtual in China. The conference provided the best-in-class cloud platforms to support the whole process, bringing Big Data, Virtual Reality together with 5G that you have come to expect from high-end technologies that allowed attendees to participate anywhere, anytime. During two days of the conference, it has achieved the outstanding results from the aspects of politics, professional and society.

Characteristics of the 3rd WIC

First, it featured high specification. The 3rd WIC was co-sponsored by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Radio and Television Administration, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Association for Science and Technology and the Tianjin Municipal People’s Government. The 3rd WIC was engaged in deep cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), and developed strategic partnership with 15 enterprises including Alibaba, Baidu, Huawei, BCG and ABB.

Second, it had a wide-ranging agenda. The 3rd WIC included main forums, thematic forums, closed-door meetings and training lectures, which promoted the implementation and sharing of intelligent science and technology. During the Congress, a world intelligent science and technology exhibition was held，with 157 domestic and foreign enterprises and institutions exhibiting and 521,000 visitors attending. The 3rd WIC also held a variety of competitions, including China (Tianjin) Industrial App Innovation & Application Competition, China Hualu Cup·Data Lake Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, World Intelligent Underwater Robots Challenge and the 1st International Intelligent Games. All this helped form a “four in one” international platform of intelligent conferences, exhibitions, competitions and intelligent experiences. At the closing ceremony, taking an unmanned car, the host conducted a “dialogue over time and space” with Einstein whose image and voice were generated by the multi-modal synthesis technology.

Third, it was highly academic. Under the theme of “Intelligence New Era: Progress, Planning and Opportunity”, the 3rd WIC attracted 39 experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from home and abroad who delivered speeches at the opening ceremony and summits, and shared new achievements, new trends and new blueprints of the intelligent science and technology industry. The 3rd WIC gathered more than 5,000 dignitaries, scientists, entrepreneurs, academicians and experts from all over the world, who discussed the cutting-edge trend of intelligent science and technology and looked forward to the development of the intelligent industry. Focusing on such topics as smart city, 5G industry, industrial Internet, artificial intelligence and safety, intelligent healthcare, and artificial intelligence and the rule of law, 34 well-attended paralleled forums provided a high-end platform for exchanges and communication.

Fourth, it highlighted the intelligent science and technology industry. During the 3rd WIC, Tianjin signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the China Association of Science and Technology. The Congress published Policies on Accelerating the Development of the Intelligent Science and Technology Industry, established the 10 billion special funds for smart manufacturing and the 100 billion funds for the intelligent science and technology industry, and rolled out the “Haihe River Talent” Action Plan. All this provided powerful support for the development of the intelligent science and technology industry. The Congress witnessed 145 projects signed with an estimated investment of RMB 121.02 billion (USD 17.2 billion) and a promotion mechanism for intelligent science and technology projects was established to facilitate the coordination between the city and its affiliated districts, which resulted in 3,717 signed projects and an agreement investment of RMB 231.1 billion (USD 32.8 billion). These efforts aimed to translate the influence of the Congress into industrial competitiveness. Remarkable achievements were thus made in invigorating the industry, gathering talents and attracting investment through the Congress.

At present, Tianjin’s intelligent science and technology industry has covered nine advantageous areas—independence, safety and reliability, big data and cloud computing, intelligent connected vehicles, intelligent terminal, advanced communication, robots, intelligent security, intelligent healthcare and smart manufacturing. It is home to more than 300 intelligent high-tech enterprises with annual revenue from main business of over RMB 100 billion (USD 14.21 billion).

The theme of the Fourth World Intelligence Congress is "Intelligence New Era: Innovation, Energization and Ecology." The most influential academic authorities, industrial elites, international institutions and professional media from the world’s intelligent science and technology field will gather in Tianjin for the grand event, in which they will stir thoughts, generate the spark of wisdom, build consensus and discuss the future. The Congress will attract frontier ideas, top technologies, high-end products in global intelligent science and technology, as well as create the most authoritative, quality and standard global event taking lead in the trend of the intelligent era.