The 2nd China (Guangxi)--ASEAN College Students Invitational Competition On Digital Economy and AI Application Innovation was grandly inaugurated in Kuala Lumpur.

—China and Malaysia Jointly Designated Data Annotation and Corpus Training Base, Setting a New Benchmark for Industry-Education Integration

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 23, 2026, with the support of the Malaysian government agency and leveraging the favorable opportunity presented by the Secretariat of the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit to deepen regional economic, trade, and digital industry collaboration, the opening ceremony of the 2nd China (Guangxi)—ASEAN College Students Invitational Competition On Digital Economy and AI Application Innovation was successfully held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Under the theme of "Digital Intelligence Empowerment • Creating a Connected Future," this competition closely aligns with the trends of China-ASEAN digital economy cooperation under the RCEP framework and actively responds to the Belt and Road Initiative. It recruits participating teams from universities across China and ASEAN countries, aiming to establish an international benchmark platform for industry-education integration and youth exchange in the China-ASEAN digital economy. The event is hosted by the China-Malaysia Institute of Modern Craftsmanship of Digital Economy and jointly organized by institutions such as Guangxi Vocational College of Finance and Guangxi Tus innovation Cross-border E-Commerce Co., Ltd receiving extensive support and active participation from government, enterprises, and academic sectors in both China and Malaysia.

At the opening ceremony, representatives from Chinese and Malaysian government, enterprises, and educational institutions—including LI Gaoyan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangxi Financial Vocational College and Prof. Dato' Indera Ir. Dr. Lee Sze Wei, president of Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology; and Zhuge Ronghe, Deputy General Manager of Guangxi Tus innovation Cross-border E-Commerce Co., Ltd. and Executive Director of the AI Cross-border Digital Economy Committee of the Guangxi International Chamber of Commerce—delivered speeches. All parties highly recognized the cross-border industry-education integration platform established by the event and expressed their expectation to leverage it as a bridge to deepen and solidify practical cooperation in the China-ASEAN digital economy.

In addition, a plaque presentation ceremony was held simultaneously at the opening ceremony, officially awarding the "China-Malaysia Institute of Modern Craftsmanship of Digital Economy Data Annotation and Corpus Training Base" to WEHIVE GLOBAL MARTECH SDN BHD, a leading local digital marketing technology company in Malaysia. This marks a substantive step forward by both China and Malaysia in the field of foundational artificial intelligence data services. The establishment of this base not only provides industry-level corpus resources and authentic training scenarios for cultivating digital economy talents in the region but also offers robust support for the technical implementation and commercialization of projects participating in this competition. It establishes a comprehensive, deeply integrated chain of "competition + training + industry," fostering synergistic alignment between the education system, talent pipeline, industrial chain, and innovation ecosystem.

Compared to previous editions, this year's competition has undergone a comprehensive upgrade, precisely focusing on the core objectives of cultivating digital economy talent and facilitating the commercialization of research outcomes, with three key highlights: First, an innovative scoring system. The competition incorporates practical AI tool proficiency into its core evaluation criteria, requiring participating teams to create project promotional posters using mainstream AI tools, addressing the common issue of "emphasizing concepts over practical application" in similar events and truly achieving learning and application through competition. Second, a multicultural team formation model. The competition encourages students from China and ASEAN countries to form cross-border teams, fostering cross-cultural exchange, technical complementarity, and conceptual synergy. Third, an enhanced technology commercialization mechanism. The competition offers winning teams dual support— "cash prizes plus full-cycle incubation at the Nanning Comprehensive Pilot Zone Overseas Talent Offshore Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base" —bridging the "last mile" from competition to market implementation, establishing a complete transformation cycle of "competition—cultivation—incubation—implementation" to significantly improve the industrial viability and market competitiveness of participating projects.

This competition draws on the innovative education model of the China-Malaysia Institute of Modern Craftsmanship of Digital Economy, with a core focus on empowering youth innovation and entrepreneurship through AI technology. It aims to identify and cultivate young digital economy talents possessing international vision, practical skills, and innovative thinking, while promoting the application of AI technologies in emerging sectors such as cross-border e-commerce and digital finance. Moving forward, the competition will continue to serve as a bridge, injecting youthful momentum into the high-quality, coordinated development of the China-ASEAN digital economy, and supporting the sustained deepening and steady advancement of industry-education integration between China and Malaysia under the Belt and Road framework.

SOURCE TusCBEC