Imagine walking into a 170,000-square-meter showcase where AI-powered vehicles glide silently past smart city models and robots navigate obstacle courses. This Friday, the World Smart Industry Expo 2025 opened in Chongqing Municipality in the southwest of the Chinese mainland, offering a first glimpse at how artificial intelligence will reshape life over the next decade.
Under the theme Pooling Together Wisdom and Strength, more than 600 leading enterprises from the Chinese mainland and abroad are displaying over 3,000 innovations across five major sectors: intelligent connected new energy vehicles (NEVs), digital cities, intelligent robotics, low-altitude economy and smart homes. Attendees can explore 130,000 square meters of indoor exhibits and 40,000 square meters of outdoor experience zones.
More than 100 new industry standards, products and technologies are set to debut, while six professional competitions — including the 2025 RoboCup Asia-Pacific Chongqing Invitational Tournament — bring together global smart industry practitioners for high-level exchange and challenges.
Dealmakers are also busy: organizers expect 298 major projects to be signed during the event, with a total contract value exceeding 200 billion yuan (roughly 28 billion US dollars). This flurry of partnerships underlines the fast pace of digital transformation across sectors.
Last month, China issued a guideline to deepen its AI Plus initiative, aiming to boost the penetration rate of smart terminals and systems above 70 percent by 2027 — and to usher in a fully AI-powered intelligent economy and society by 2035. The Chinese mainland currently leads the world in AI patent ownership, with over 5,000 dedicated enterprises, and its AI market is projected to surpass 700 billion yuan (about 98 billion US dollars) in 2025.
For young global citizens, business and tech enthusiasts, and digital nomads, the expo is more than a display of cutting-edge gadgets: it is a window into a future where connectivity, automation and sustainability converge. Which innovation will transform your daily life?
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Smart industry expo in China offers glimpse into intelligent society
cgtn.com
