Shenzhen puts AI innovation and application high on the agenda in 2025

Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.Coming up on today’s programShenzhen aims to expand its AI terminal industry to a scale of 1 trillion yuan by 2026;China will impose extra tariffs of 10-15% on various US imports from March 10.Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours Shenzhen city, a technology hub in South China's Guangdong Province, on Monday released an action plan to propel the rapid development and application of AI technology, fostering a good number of AI-powered high-end industries.The action plan aims to enhance the city's industrial competitiveness by leveraging latest AI innovations. By 2026, an extra output value of 800 billion yuan will be attained by making use of AI technology, with the ambition to reach 1 trillion yuan. Additionally, it seeks to consolidate no less than 10 leading AI-powered industrial enterprises and launch over 50 innovative products across sectors such as smartphones, computers, and wearable devices, while working out more than 60 AI applications in smart finance, smart manufacturing and smart medical care. The action plan prioritizes a few key products, including AI-powered smartphones, computers, and tablets. The city plans to set up a comprehensive industrial ecosystem to transform smartphones from "smart tools" to "intelligent assistants" and upgrade computers from traditional devices to AI-powered work stations. Meanwhile, large-model all-in-one machines and AI wearable devices will be developed, focusing on smarter home, health care, security, and industrial automation applications, which will offer customized services to boost businesses and consumers.In addition to Shenzhen, other cities across China, including Beijing, Chengdu and Wuhan, have also introduced similar policies to support the development of AI-powered new industries. Wuhan, as a national AI innovation pilot zone, has launched the “AI+" action plan to integrate AI models into over 20 industrial lines this year.Given the very positive stance of local governments, AI innovation and application in China is likely to scale up, especially since the launch of DeepSeek during the Spring Festival that upended the tech landscape. Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, highlighted the significant progress made by DeepSeek at a press conference today. The rise of Chinese tech companies like DeepSeek shed light on the innovative and inclusive approach of China's sci-tech development, Lou said, adding that DeepSeek's adherence to an open-source technological approach has contributed "Chinese wisdom" to the world.China on Tuesday swiftly retaliated against fresh US tariffs, announcing a range of between 10 and 15 percent hikes to import levies covering a basket of American agricultural and food products, while placing 25 US firms under export and investment restrictions. An additional 15 percent tariff will be imposed on imported chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, while 10 percent tariff will be imposed on sorghum, soybean, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products, per the statement. The US’s unilateral tariffs measures seriously violate World Trade Organization rules and undermine the basis for economic and trade cooperation between China and the US, the Commerce Ministry said in a separate statement.Greater Bay Area, Greater futureBYD said on Tuesday it had raised USD5.59 billion in a primary share sale that was increased in size, making it the largest of its kind in Hong Kong in four years and the largest equity follow-on offering globally in the automotive sector in the past decade. The company said it sold 129.8 million primary shares in the deal, up from the original 118 million shares planned when the deal launched on Monday. BYD's shares opened down 8 percent on Tuesday, in line with the discount the stock was sold at in the deal. The UAE-based Al-Futtaim Family Office was a key investor in the share sale.Two Sessions highlightsChina should make efforts to enhance the market-oriented application of new energy storage, including fostering the market participation mechanism and establishing a regular safety inspection system, CATL's founder and Chairman Robin Zeng suggested during the Two Sessions.iFlytek's Chairman and CPPCC member Liu Qingfeng proposals for the Two Sessions are about new quality productive forces brought by AI. China should be alert to LLM hallucinations, construct a trustful information environment from the perspective of technical research and management, and extend trade-in policies to promote the development of the AI terminal industry, he suggested.Xiaomi’s founder and NPC deputy Lei Jun submitted five proposals to the Two Sessions, including accelerating the mass production of autonomous driving vehicles, fostering the intelligent EV ecosystem, and optimizing the NEV license plate design.Zhong Zheng, a deputy to the NPC and VP of Midea Group, suggested at the Two Sessions to enhance the legal protections for copyright and privacy for original content and using AI to review AI-generated videos for more efficient and accurate content oversight.The PBOC handled 736 proposals and suggestions from NPC and CPPCC members, the central bank said yesterday. “Five major articles” (digital, green, inclusive, pension, and technology finance), financial regulatory framework, high-level financial opening-up, and improvement of financial service capabilities were the main focus.Next on industry and company newsBAIC Group and iFlytek announced that the Chinese automaker and AI giant yesterday signed a deal on human-vehicle interaction, in-car intelligence, and AI technologies, big data analysis, and smart vehicle networking platforms.Huawei unveiled its AI-centric 5.5G solutions at #MWC2025 to help operators tap into AI-driven opportunities, enhance network autonomy, and drive business monetization, Cao Ming, VP of the tech giant and president of Huawei Wireless Solution, said yesterday.The number of tourists in Harbin, China's popular winter destination in northeast Heilongjiang province, jumped 9.7 percent to over 90 million during the winter season from Nov. 8 to Feb. 28 from a year earlier. The tourism sector raked in 137.2 billion yuan, up 16.6 percent from a year ago.China's manned space program will focus on the use of space stations, carrying out two manned and one cargo resupply missions this year while also aiming to conduct a manned lunar landing before 2030, the China Manned Space Agency announced yesterday.Chinese animated film “Na Zha 2" raked in USD2 billion globally, including presales, becoming the first Asian film to reach the milestone, according to movie data platform Maoyan.Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock marketChinese stocks rose on Tuesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite up 0.2 percent and the Shenzhen Component adding 0.3 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.3 percent and the TECH index closed flat.