*As China and ASEAN continue to deepen their trade ties, the rapid evolution of AI has opened new applications, further boosting economic engagement and reshaping industries across the region.

*In recent years, AI has played an increasingly important role in fostering deeper trade ties and cultural exchanges.

*Since the beginning of 2025, China has doubled down on its pledge to build a collaborative future with ASEAN countries in the field of AI, with a host of projects and application scenarios having successively advanced toward rapid deployment.

NANNING -- Vietnamese truckers, armed with AI-enabled gadgets that provide real-time navigation and safety tips, deftly maneuvered their way into China through Friendship Pass in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Meanwhile, several kilometers away at a buzzing e-commerce industrial park, Southeast Asian live streamers passionately engaged with their viewers, churning out a barrage of speech data for a specialized ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) language corpus to improve AI translation models.

As China and ASEAN continue to deepen their trade ties, the rapid evolution of AI has opened new applications, further boosting economic engagement and reshaping industries across the region.

ENHANCING CROSS-BORDER TRADE

As China's largest land port with ASEAN, Friendship Pass has seen its customs clearance and other port operations being swiftly transformed by AI.

Loaders for export to Vietnam go through the port of the Friendship Pass in Pingxiang, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 17, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

At a distribution center in Guangxi Pingxiang Comprehensive Bonded Area, a network of wall-mounted AI cameras carefully scans every piece of cargo on deck -- identifying any signs of discrepancies and flagging potential risks in real time.

The integration of new technology has greatly reduced the need for human intervention, enhancing accuracy and efficiency.

"In the past, each inspection post needed to be manned by a staffer," said Liang Baoming, head of the smart port project at Friendship Pass. "Now, thanks to this powerful equipment, one worker can oversee a task that used to require an entire shift of people."

Throughout this region, the application of AI is revolutionizing the transport and logistics industries.

In the command center of Guangxi Beitou IT Innovation Technology Investment Group CO., Ltd., located at a sprawling commercial hub in Guangxi's capital city of Nanning, a state-of-the-art risk management platform was actively monitoring real-time interactions between the support staff and a fleet of truckers ferrying goods between China and Vietnam.

"Our AI-enhanced platform analyzes drivers' facial expressions to spot signs of fatigue and send out real-time safety alerts," said Li Heng, deputy head of the company's technology institute. "Since its launch last June, the system has provided over 5,000 trucks and 10,000 drivers on the road with essential services such as satellite navigation, safe driving tips and emergency responses."

The innovation is part of a broader effort to incorporate AI into Guangxi's trade framework, aiming to optimize logistics and increase connectivity with ASEAN economies.

Texts from simultaneous interpretation generated by a large language model for AI interpretation of a Guangxi-based technology company are displayed during an international conference in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 13, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

So far, Beitou has made huge strides in developing a suite of products tailored for ASEAN markets, catering to the region's growing needs in integrated transport, water management, industrial finance and other emerging sectors.

Among these forward-looking solutions, products like air-ground inspection drones and a digital certificate platform have been meticulously crafted -- to meet the region's urgent demand for more efficient logistics and more secure cross-border services.

In recent years, AI has played an increasingly important role in fostering deeper trade ties and cultural exchanges.

This year, an AI translation model for ASEAN languages developed by Guangxi Daring Technology Co., Ltd. is set to widen access to cutting-edge language technologies for potentially under-represented languages in the region.

"Unlike generic models, this system is fine-tuned for languages like Vietnamese, delivering faster, more accurate translations with lower computational demands," said Wen Jiakai, general manager of the company. "And our focus on ASEAN languages helps ensure a high accuracy rate and linguistic consistency."

POWERING REGIONAL INNOVATION

Since the beginning of 2025, China has doubled down on its pledge to build a collaborative future with ASEAN countries in the field of AI, with a host of projects and application scenarios having successively advanced toward rapid deployment.

In February this year, Guangxi and Laos held a signing ceremony in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, formally establishing the China-Laos AI Innovation Cooperation Center.

Notably, this groundbreaking initiative marked the first AI-focused innovation platform ever created between China and an ASEAN country, with the primary objective of systematically bolstering Laos's technology foundation for its diverse industries to thrive in the digital age.

To date, Guangxi and Laos have inked over 10 Letters of Intent, eyeing an enhanced partnership concerning the development of AI and cross-border data sharing.

In April, Beitou partnered with MY E.G. Services Berhad (MYEG), Malaysia's premier digital services company, to develop the China-Malaysia AI Innovation Center, delving even deeper into areas such as blockchain and robotics.

Lai Shuiping, chairman of Beitou, highlighted the vast, but largely untapped potential for cooperation between China and ASEAN countries in AI.

According to Lai, the first project under this initiative will introduce a mutual recognition system for digital identity in both China and Malaysia, with Guangxi set to serve as the initial pilot region.

Once implemented, the system will empower Malaysian citizens to utilize "MyDigital ID" for seamless access to financial services and tourist attractions, while allowing Chinese citizens to navigate Malaysia with equal ease, paving the way for smoother business transactions and personal interactions.

This March also marked the official launch of Wuxiang Cloud Valley AI Intelligent Computing Industrial Park in Nanning, as this region continued to step up its efforts in terms of comprehensive AI development, encompassing AI computing power, service platforms, algorithm innovation, and cloud and data security.

The industrial park has also forged a partnership with local authorities to invest in the building of powerful training clusters and the advancement of research and development (R&D) of customized AI models.

In addition, this project is expected to generate leasing services for AI computing power designed for ASEAN industries, promoting cross-regional flow and shared use of core AI resources -- including computing power, technologies and talents.

According to Dong Weijun, the head of the industrial park, efforts are being made to accelerate the deployment of ASEAN-facing AI large models across various sectors, such as agriculture, apparel, consumer electronics, toys and cosmetics, thus nurturing vibrant industry clusters.

"By cultivating a robust AI industry ecosystem, this initiative will position Guangxi as a new highland of AI innovation tailored for the ASEAN market," he said.

GUANGXI AS AI HUB FOR ASEAN

In a bid to transform itself into a regional center for innovation, Guangxi has spearheaded the development of a cross-border industrial ecosystem by leveraging world-leading R&D from top-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, integrating these advancements locally before putting them in practice across ASEAN.

An interactive robot gestures at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nanning has also put the building of the China-ASEAN AI Innovation Cooperation Center in motion -- harnessing the power of AI to invigorate a wide array of industries.

Some prominent global and domestic enterprises have flocked to the city and set up regional operations to explore collaboration opportunities, with partnerships and joint ventures having gradually taken shape in promising fields such as model training, data annotation and AI applications in education and cultural tourism.

Launched earlier this year, the construction site of the AI Innovation Center at Nanning International Science and Technology Industrial City has become a hive of activity, featuring the frenetic pace of overhead cranes and engineering vehicles in constant motion.

This project, spanning over 70 square kilometers, marks a significant milestone in China-Singapore industrial cooperation, and focuses on a pivotal trio in terms of bilateral cooperation -- AI, new energy applications and new health technologies.

To underpin this ambitious vision, Nanning has rolled out an initial policy package aimed at driving the high-quality development of the project, according to an official document.

This package comprises 22 initiatives spread across seven key areas, including fostering industrial clusters, promoting open data governance, supporting model development and deepening cooperation with ASEAN nations.

Officials from Guangxi's Department of Industry and Information Technology have revealed that the region has outlined a big picture vision to construct a network of AI industrial parks and cutting-edge manufacturing clusters. The goal is to achieve a production output of AI-related industries that surpasses 100 billion yuan (13.9 billion U.S. dollars) by 2027, thereby initially establishing Guangxi as a leading AI hub for the ASEAN region.