From September 17 to 21, the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo and China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit was held in Guangzhou Nanjing. This east exhibition was held with the theme of "Number Enabling Development, Innovation Leading the Future - China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone 3.0 New Opportunities to help build a community of destiny", highlighting the "artificial intelligence (AI) singing the main role, enterprise as the subject", becoming an artificial intelligence event, promoting China and ASEAN cooperation into the "number age".

Comprehensive ¡°Change¡±

Since the preparation of this China-ASEAN Expo, it has become a vivid application scenario of AI in the vertical field of the exhibition industry. Stepping into the venue of the East Expo, the reporter felt the extremely high concentration of AI content.

When the guests at the opening ceremony of the East Expo spoke, the LED screen of the venue simultaneously displayed real-time translated subtitles in seven languages: Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, Malay and Indonesian. Participants from ASEAN countries can accurately know the content of the speech at the first time. This scene is realized with the help of iFlytek simultaneous interpretation, an application owned by iFlytek, which integrates functions such as real-time machine transcription and translation, intelligent subtitle projection, and multilingual speech synthesis and broadcasting, so that language differences no longer become an obstacle to international conference communication.

Liu Yan Liang, Senior Minister of Culture, Communities and Youth of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Singapore, said that the Expo has been filled with AI elements everywhere since its opening. The promotional film created by AI, high quality shows the close ties between ASEAN countries and China, demonstrating China's outstanding exploration spirit and innovative practical capabilities in the application of AI technology.

For exhibitors and visitors participating in the China-East Expo, AI is not only a visible exhibit, but also a useful tool.

Before the opening of the Expo, the "AI Hosting Expo" intelligent body, covering 17 application scenarios such as smart cloud exhibitions, smart conferences, schedule planning, can help exhibitors and spectators easily complete the schedule, efficiently match customers, accurately match business opportunities and other transactions.

Guangzhou International Exhibition Affairs Bureau Director Wei Donghui said: "This super AI assistant can help plan the most efficient schedule of attendance, accurately match the most desired customers through algorithms, can also support Chinese, English and ASEAN multilingual, answer questions at any time."

The exhibition area is 16,000 square meters, the exhibition halls are numerous, with the "AI Hosting" intelligent body, wherever you are, you can get accurate and clear navigation. If you are interested in a particular exhibition, as long as you use a mobile camera to identify the exhibition, the "AI Hosting" intelligent body can present the exhibition in different languages. If there is a willingness to purchase the product, it can also let the "AI Hosting" intelligent body arrange a negotiation schedule for both sides.

Guest at the Vietnam exhibition, Liang Raijin said: ¡°New products and new technologies can be seen everywhere at the East Expo, especially the intelligent ¡®assistant¡¯, which allows me to see China¡¯s AI technology really implement the scene, as if it came to the world of the future.¡±

Exhibits in the exhibition hall are full of "AI flavor"

AI not only integrated into all aspects of the East Expo meeting, but also became a focus content and hot topic for many exhibitors.

China Communications Construction Group Co., Ltd. displayed a number of representative infrastructure projects it has built in ASEAN countries through sand tables at the East Expo. Chen Zhong, deputy general manager of CCCC, said that CCCC is committed to creating a source of original technologies, firmly grasping a number of key core technologies and equipment, expanding applications in more scenarios and projects, and serving the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", China-ASEAN cooperation, etc.

"AI is the strategic technology that leads the technological revolution and industrial change, ZTE Group to play its own in industrial digitalization, digital industrialization, management of digitalization, data valuation and other aspects of synergistic integrated AI and numerical advantages, through the application of AI technology in the green low-carbon field, to create the ZTE characteristic of green development model," said ZTE Group to deepen the "AI +" special action, released the large model of the civil construction industry - ZTE "blue wing", based on the company's accumulated industry data in the civil construction design, construction, operation of the entire chain industry, with outstanding industry understanding and reasoning capability, has been applied in more than 30 scenarios.

At the Tokyo Expo, you can see creative AI products everywhere.Rokid Glasses, the consumer-grade smart glasses launched by Spiritual Technology, weighs less than 50 grams, can full gesture control. After the user wears it, virtual and reality instantly blend, can be applied to daily life scenes such as navigation, pronouncement, translation, payment, questioning.

As a popular field of AI applications, all kinds of robots are very popular at this East Expo. The human-type robots brought by cosmetic technology can be "boxing" with the audience. The explosion-proof robot "Ten Quijote 1", can be first time into the hazardous area for reconnaissance and rescue when there is a fire, explosion and other emergencies.

In order to better present all kinds of AI products, the Tokyo Expo for the first time set up 10,000 square meters of AI specialty and new quality productivity specialty, Huawei, Alibaba, Xiamen and other 200 artificial intelligence heads of enterprises and start-ups team concentrated, a large number of hard-core products in the same competition.

This year's CAEXPO highlighted the theme of AI and received positive responses from ASEAN countries. A number of ASEAN ministries and institutions organized enterprises to participate in the exhibition. Brunei's AI medical system, Malaysia's green energy AI scenario application, and Thailand's "Digital Economy 4.0" achievements gathered in the exhibition hall, making the East Expo an ASEAN AI technology show.

Chanida, chief operating officer of Mandala AI, a Thai technology company participating in the exhibition, told reporters that Mandala AI attaches great importance to this East Expo, hoping to let the Chinese market understand the company's business through the exhibition, and also hoping to take the opportunity to learn from Chinese enterprises and explore cooperation opportunities.

Intelligent development blueprint.

Through this China-ASEAN Expo, participants saw the huge development potential of AI and their willingness to cooperate was stronger.

ASEAN Secretary-General Gao Jinhong said that China is developing rapidly in the field of AI. It is not limited to a certain industry, but covers agriculture, education, transportation, medical care, manufacturing, construction and other aspects. It is believed that there will be more new fields of AI applications in the future, which are worthy of joint exploration by China and ASEAN.

With an open and cooperative attitude, China uses the international platform of the China-East Expo to promote AI cooperation with ASEAN countries to deepen and become more practical.

On September 16, China's Ministry of Science and Technology released the "Three-Year Plan for Action to Empower ASEAN's Artificial Intelligence to Develop Scientific and Technological Capacity (2025-2027)", aiming to promote cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in AI technology exchange, industrial empowerment, capacity building and talent training, and jointly create an artificial intelligence innovation ecosystem.

On September 18, 2025, China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Ministers' Roundtable Conference was held in Nanjing, and the conference announced the launch of the construction of China-ASEAN National Artificial Intelligence Application Cooperation Center, to develop concrete cooperation around consolidating the basis of AI development, providing open-source services, strengthening industrial cooperation, promoting talent cultivation, promote the landing of pragmatic cooperation projects, and promote the application of AI technology.

In addition, during this year's East Expo, Nanning also held a series of themed activities such as the "AI Industry Big Coffee Dialogue Salon", released the "TOP100 List of China's AI Going Overseas Future Unicorns", and continued to hold the "AI Empowering Thousands of Industries Super League" to attract dialogue, exchange and strengthen cooperation between AI enterprises in China and ASEAN countries.

The colorful activities have enhanced the understanding of each other, and representatives of ASEAN countries have been full of expectations for AI cooperation with China.

Indonesian Embassy Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador to China, Peelenge, said that Indonesia attaches great importance to the AI industry and has set the goal of AI contributing to economic growth.The development of the digital economy and AI industry requires more investment and more talent.

"AI has great application potential in education, medical care and other fields, and is crucial to solving Laos' development problems. China has rich resources and experience in cultivating and developing AI talents, which can help ASEAN countries cultivate talents, develop related industries, and promote high-quality growth in key economic fields." Lao Minister of Technology and Communications Povankham Vondala expressed his belief that ASEAN and China will continue to strengthen cooperation in the field of AI in an inclusive and innovative way to ensure that AI brings tangible benefits to the region and even the world. (Economic Daily reporter Yuan Yong Tong Zheng Hu Hongli)