(CFP Photo)

Ahead of the Spring Festival, some elementary students visited an educational base for artificial intelligence in Wuxi City, exploring bionic robots and other high-tech products that showcase the city’s industrial development priorities.

Shen Chunxiao, director of Economic Development Department of the Wuxi Economic Development Zone, said the city is aligning its strategy with the development trend of future industries.

For example, the zone has identified ten application scenarios for future industries, primarily focusing on industrial upgrading, urban governance and public service. These included the use of humanoid robots in industrial manufacturing, commercial services and healthcare, applications of navigation satellite in vehicle-road coordination, self-driving and intelligent parking.

Wuxi is not alone in its quest to accelerate the development of future industries within the delta region, one of the most vibrant, open and innovative city clusters in China. In the government work reports, Anhui Province has proposed "the construction of future industry pilot zones," and Zhejiang Province has expressed clear support for Hangzhou and Ningbo cities to facilitate similar initiatives.

Sun Meiyu, director of the CCID Future Industry Research Center, commented that the delta region continues to lead nationally in terms of scientific and technological capabilities. Playing a pioneering role in the technological innovation and the cultivation of future industries, the delta region has seen fast growth in artificial intelligence, quantum technology, 6G, future networks and the metaverse, with key technologies and enterprise cultivation leading the country.

Up till now, China has established 45 national advanced manufacturing clusters, with 18 located within the delta region, accounting for 40%.