Following the milestone of China-ASEAN bilateral trade exceeding one trillion US dollars, the question of how to inject new, sustainable momentum for growth has emerged. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a pivotal part of the answer. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is positioning itself as an "AI bridge" connecting innovation and markets between the two sides.
The Fifth Session of the 14th People's Congress of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was held in Nanning from February 2nd to 6th. The session outlined a plan to allocate 45 billion yuan over three years to support the development of new quality productive forces led by artificial intelligence. Guangxi will focus on building high-quality data sets and ASEAN language corpora, establishing high-standard digital parks, and promoting the construction of platforms such as the Guangxi Artificial Intelligence Institute, AI laboratories, and a Guangxi-ASEAN embodied intelligence pilot training ground.
The AI development path chosen by Guangxi has distinct characteristics: "R&D in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou + Integration in Guangxi + Application in ASEAN." This is not merely about accepting industrial transfer; it aims to build a "super interface" capable of adapting technology, integrating scenarios, and connecting with markets.
By 2025, this layout has begun to show results: the China-ASEAN National AI Application Cooperation Center commenced construction in Guangxi. Throughout the year, Guangxi secured 208 new AI industry projects and facilitated over 30 cross-border cooperation projects. A series of tangible outcomes, from a "Sugar Industry Large Model" to industrial humanoid robots and national-level smart factories, provide solid evidence of Guangxi's integration capabilities.
This "bridge" has already achieved concrete connections on the ASEAN end. Guangxi is engaged in large model R&D cooperation with eight ASEAN countries, and the first smart fisheries project developed in cooperation with Vietnam has been completed and put into operation.
An expert from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences pointed out that building a secure and reliable digital environment and promoting standard interoperability are prerequisites for deepening China-ASEAN AI cooperation. Guangxi's practices are exploring a sustainable regulatory framework for future, broader digital economic and trade cooperation.
The deeper impact lies in the reshaping of regional value chains. An analyst from the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences views AI as a key driver ushering China-ASEAN trade into a "new round of growth." He indicated that AI acts like an "all-encompassing scenario," generating demand across the entire chain from computing power and data to intelligent terminals. The core of the "R&D in North/Shanghai/Guangzhou + Integration in Guangxi + Application in ASEAN" model is to enhance the digital capabilities and added value of local industries in ASEAN countries through technological empowerment. This not only aligns with ASEAN's development needs but will also continuously create a market for China's core technologies, high-end components, and solutions, propelling bilateral cooperation from traditional trade complementarity towards a new stage of "technological synergy and innovative symbiosis."
Naturally, building this "bridge of AI cooperation" still faces numerous practical challenges, including developmental disparities within ASEAN, rapid technological iteration, and a complex external environment. However, what Guangxi demonstrates is a strategic patience focused on long-term ecosystem building—the emphasis is not only on short-term projects but more on building platforms, cultivating scenarios, and strengthening mutual trust.
As artificial intelligence, via this increasingly solid bridge, deeply integrates into the industrial transformation and social development of ASEAN countries, it will connect not just the growth of trade figures, but a new chapter where the entire region moves hand-in-hand into the intelligent era to share a prosperous future.