The 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC), with the tagline "Global Solidarity in the AI Era", will be held in Shanghai's Pudong New Area from July 26 to 28. The event will highlight cutting-edge AI technologies, industry trends, and global governance practices.

As China's first pilot zone for AI innovation and application, Pudong has developed a high-level, comprehensive AI industrial cluster spanning from chips to terminals and from technology to applications. The district has launched industrial clusters such as the Zhangjiang AI Robot Valley, which brings together hundreds of innovative entities and generates over 160 billion yuan ($22.29 billion) in industrial output, accounting for 40 percent of Shanghai's total.

China's first national-local collaborative humanoid robot innovation center is thriving in Pudong and is implementing vertical models in industries such as manufacturing, finance, healthcare, shipping, and culture and tourism.

Amid the new wave of AI development, Pudong will focus on innovative technologies and attract top talent to enhance the AI industrial ecosystem.

In terms of key technologies, Pudong aims for breakthroughs. For embodied AI, it focuses on enhancing the "brain", with organizations like the national-local collaborative humanoid robot center releasing generative robot motion models. In spatial AI, the focus is on improving the "eyes" by tackling advanced technologies. For robot bodies, the goal is to make the "limbs" more agile by gathering key component firms.

For development factors, Pudong will utilize 14 major scientific facilities, numerous labs, and thousands of innovative enterprises to build a cutting-edge ecosystem. It plans to establish a large-scale smart computing center, a public data authorization platform, and a comprehensive funding system to support AI firms from start to success.

In terms of ecological services, Pudong will promote the Model Power Community brand in the Zhangjiang core area, creating an AI innovation ecosystem with new industrial spaces. The "two million" policy — providing 1 million square meters of low-cost space for startups and 1 million square meters of low-rent youth apartments — will support enterprises' growth, helping AI technologies transition into real-world applications.