KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Nearly 100 preliminary artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation agreements worth around two billion Chinese yuan were reached in Nanning during the recently concluded 23rd China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO), including more than one billion Chinese yuan in planned cooperation with ASEAN countries.
The expo’s new AI marketplace featured more than 70 companies displaying over 500 products, from large AI models and AI chips to AI glasses and intelligent robots, generating transactions worth over 28 million Chinese yuan (around US$3.9 million). (US$1 = RM4.08).
Nanning, the capital of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and permanent host of CAEXPO, is home to 1,552 AI-related companies, accounting for 57.3 per cent of Guangxi’s total, according to a statement.
ArcherMind Technology has set up its ASEAN headquarters in the city, with its robots used in schools in ASEAN countries including Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, while iFLYTEK has signed a strategic agreement with Nanning to develop AI applications for ASEAN markets in education, healthcare and urban governance.
In the first eight months of 2026, Nanning’s foreign trade rose 2.4 per cent year-on-year to 65.171 billion Chinese yuan. Trade with ASEAN reached 18.246 billion Chinese yuan, or 28 per cent of the total, while trade with Vietnam grew 18.6 per cent.
The Pinglu Canal, which opened on Sept 16, allows vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes to sail directly from Nanning to the Beibu Gulf. For cargo from southwest China, it shortens the inland waterway route to the sea by more than 560 kilometres compared with the route via Guangzhou Port.
Nanning is planning industrial development along the canal, including port upgrades at Liujing and a dedicated railway line to improve rail-water transport, while non-ferrous metals, green chemicals and equipment manufacturing industries are increasingly clustering along the route.
-- BERNAMA