Global leaders attend inaugural World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit in Hong Kong
The inaugural World Internet Conference (WIC)
Asia-Pacific Summit (April 14-15) gathered around 1,000 local, Mainland and
overseas participants in Hong Kong to forge closer collaboration in developing
artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.
Themed "Integration of AI and Digital Technologies
Shaping the Future - Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in
Cyberspace", it was the first time that the WIC has held an international
summit outside Mainland China, affirming Hong Kong's role as an important
bridge connecting China with the rest of the world.
"Hong Kong's rise as an I&T (innovation and
technology) hub has been fast-tracked by our vibrant economy, which is powered
by free trade and boasts the world's third-largest financial centre. It helps,
too, that Hong Kong has long been a key business conduit between the Mainland
and the rest of the world," said Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR) John Lee at the opening ceremony.
"And it all comes together under our unique 'one
country, two systems' framework. This cardinal governing principle gives Hong
Kong the best of both worlds: access to the vast opportunities of the Mainland
market, while maintaining the advantages of our unmatched connectivity of our
common law system, free flow of information, capital, goods and people."
The opening ceremony was followed by a
government-enterprise dialogue session, which brought together ministerial
officials and senior representatives of industry corporations from a number of
countries and regions. Business leaders from Intel, Alibaba Cloud, Ping An
Group and many more also contributed to the in-depth exchanges on ways to
harness I&T to drive economic and business development.
"AI is no longer a futuristic concept. It is at the core
of developing new quality productive forces," said Professor Sun Dong,
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry. "The HKSAR Government
implemented a series of initiatives to support the development of AI and perfect
the local I&T ecosystem, with a view to developing AI as our core tech
industry to inject new impetus to the city's high-quality development."
The first day of the summit also featured a Main Forum on the
Digital Intelligence Future. Speaking at the forum, Financial Secretary Paul
Chan said AI-powered tools are enabling governments and businesses to deliver
smarter and more responsive services.
"To seize new opportunities brought by the digital
economy and address the associated challenges, we need a comprehensive and
forward-looking strategy. That's why, over the past two years, the HKSAR
Government has put in place a concrete action plan, covering such areas as
digital infrastructure and governance, digital transformation, cross-boundary
flow of data and talent development," Mr Chan said.
Day Two of the summit (April 15) presented three sub-forums
where expert speakers discussed issues related to "Large Artificial
Intelligence Models", "Digital Finance" and "Digital
Government and Smart Life".
The Commissioner for Digital Policy, Tony Wong, also unveiled
the "Hong Kong Generative Artificial Intelligence Technical and
Application Guideline", showcasing Hong Kong's leading role in the field
of generative AI governance.
Hong Kong's annual I&T flagship event, the Business of
Innovation and Technology Week (BIT Week), is also being held this month,
featuring a series of I&T activities, including the InnoEX and the Smart
Hong Kong Pavilion set up by the Digital Policy Office, Hong Kong World Youth
Science Conference and Xiangjiang Nobel Forum.
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