At the 2026 Global Digital Economy Conference held in Beijing, a series of new artificial intelligence (AI) applications were introduced, showing how technology is increasingly closely linked to people's practical needs.
One of the products that attracts attention is the smart diagnostic device applying AI in traditional medicine. Through facial and eye scanning, the system can create personal health reports in just a few minutes, replacing the more time-consuming direct examination process.
Mr. Zhou Chao - Business Director of Guanwei Smart Technology Company (Beijing) said that the business is using AI to digitize and standardize traditional medicine, helping long-standing knowledge to reach more people in the world. The device currently supports more than 10 languages, including English, Korean, Russian and Thai.
In the manufacturing sector, Xiaoyubot company introduced a smart welding system that can automatically locate and perform operations after the operator marks the weld line. According to the business, people only take about three minutes to get acquainted with the system.
Mr. Qiao Zhongliang - founder and CEO of Xiaoyubot emphasized that the core value of artificial intelligence lies in its ability to serve the real economy and improve working conditions for workers.
Not only in industry, AI is also increasingly present in daily life. Robot dogs, AI tourism photography services or new digital platforms are becoming popular in many cities.
Technology businesses are also expanding their influence to the international market. TikTok is currently operating in more than 100 countries and territories, while ByteDance's Dola platform and Zhipu AI's AI infrastructure projects have been deployed in many countries in Asia and the Middle East.
Mr. Joe Weinman - founder of the International Institute for Future Industries said that the combination of support policies, research capacity and high-quality human resources is helping Beijing play an important role in many new technology fields.
According to Ms. Jiang Xiaojuan - professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the current innovation model focuses on openness, sharing and serving the needs of the people.
She believes that open-source AI models are helping to narrow the technological gap between countries, reduce innovation costs and open up many cross-border cooperation opportunities.
In the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China identified the digital economy as one of the new growth drivers, while promoting the application of digital technology in education, healthcare, elderly care, culture, tourism and consumption.
Experts attending the conference also called for strengthening international dialogue on data security, cross-border data flows and technology standards to build a safe, reliable and sustainable digital environment.
Mr. Gong Ke - Executive Chairman of China's New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy Institute commented: "Whether it is the digital economy or artificial intelligence, neither is the ultimate goal, but the driving force serving the sustainable development of humanity.
