Emerging intelligent technologies, represented by information technology and artificial intelligence, are expected to play a bigger role in promoting industrial upgrading and a new wave of globalization, and more efforts should be made to bolster international cooperation in science and technology, according to speakers at the 24th Vision China event on Friday.

Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, called for creating an open and innovation-friendly environment and promoting international scientific and technological cooperation in the intelligent era.

"We should jointly safeguard the open global innovation network and help make international science and technology cooperation more open, inclusive and mutually beneficial via faster and deeper international media exchanges and cultural interaction," Qu said at the online event.

Qu noted that more efforts are needed to pay close attention to the real needs of the people and solve the problems that trouble them, improve global science and technology governance mechanisms, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Jointly organized by China Daily and the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Tianjin Municipal Committee, the event, titled "New Era of Intelligence: Digitalization Drives Growth, Intelligence Wins Future", was broadcast online to a global audience on Friday night. It coincided with the ongoing 6th World Intelligence Congress, which started on the same day and runs until Saturday in Tianjin.

"The World Intelligence Congress has grown into an important channel for scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries, and a unique window for showcasing to the world a real China in a vivid and all-around way," Qu added.

Intelligent industry is becoming a core driving force for promoting high-quality development and industrial upgrading in Tianjin. The city has set up a special fund of 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) for intelligent manufacturing and a 100-billion-yuan industry fund for the new generation of artificial intelligence.

It has also rolled out a series of supportive policies to develop AI-related sectors, including independent and controllable information systems, intelligent security, big data, advanced communications, intelligent connected vehicles and industrial robots.

Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a Brussels-based international association promoting digital and internet cooperation, emphasized that globalization will not disappear, and expects a new wave driven by AI will be much more profound, inclusive and sustainable.

He noted that this new and smart globalization is indispensable in reducing inequalities in times of price instability and the erosion of the purchasing power of the middle-income group. "AI coupled with 5G and other wireless technologies is called on to play a crucial role in improving agricultural production and reducing food import dependency," he added.

"Despite a tough time experienced by many corporations around the globe, such as COVID-19, geopolitical tensions and economic downturn, we still found that most companies are accelerating plans to implement AI," said Wilson Chow, PwC's Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry Leader.

Chow said more than 50 percent of those surveyed by PwC have accelerated their AI adoption plans in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, and 86 percent of them said that AI was a "mainstream technology" in their companies in 2021.

AI has wide applications in various fields, such as space technology, climate change and environmental protection. Yang Yuguang, vice-chair of the Space Transportation Committee of the International Astronautical Federation and a professor at China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Ltd, said there will be greater use of AI in spacecraft, especially in missions beyond Mars.

Zeng Yi, a researcher at the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said AI should also be applied to facilitate climate analysis and forecasting to promote energy conservation, and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"AI has fueled a new round of technological revolution. Intelligent manufacturing technology is propelling a magnificent transformation in the textile industry," said Jiang Yaming, executive deputy director of the Textile Future Technology Research Center of Tiangong University, and dean of the institution's School of International Education.

Jiang added the AI has given greater impetus to the world-class disciplines of textile science and engineering in Tiangong University, and also serves as the new driver in the construction of an intelligent Tianjin and an intelligent China.