WIC Asia-Pacific Summit to be held in Hong Kong in mid-April

BEIJING, March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn：

The World Internet Conference (WIC) held a press briefing in Beijing on March 17 to introduce the upcoming WIC Asia-Pacific Summit, which will take place in Hong Kong from April 14 to 15. The briefing outlined key highlights of the event and the latest preparations.

Ren Xianliang, secretary-general of the WIC, and Sun Dong, secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, attended the event and took questions from the media. The press conference was chaired by Liang Hao, executive deputy secretary-general of the WIC.

The WIC Asia-Pacific Summit is hosted by the WIC, organized by the HKSAR Government, and co-organized by the Hong Kong Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau.

This summit will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) under the theme "Integration of AI and Digital Technologies Shaping the Future – Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace." The summit will feature an opening ceremony, the main forum, and sub-forums on key topics, including large AI models, digital finance, digital government and smart life, providing a platform for collaboration and exchanges to drive digital and intelligent transformation across the Asia-Pacific region.

Ren highlighted Hong Kong's role as a global financial, trade, and shipping hub, as well as a key intersection of culture and technology. He emphasized that Hong Kong's open, innovative spirit aligns closely with AI development, making it an ideal location for the summit. The event aims to foster a cross-regional, cross-sector, and cross-cultural dialogue platform to promote open collaboration, innovation-driven growth, and digital connectivity across the Asia-Pacific.

Sun noted that Hong Kong serves as a vital bridge between China and the world and has been actively advancing technological innovation in line with national strategies. The city has introduced a series of innovation and technology development initiatives to drive the growth of new quality productive forces, foster a thriving innovation ecosystem, and establish a new real economy leveraging Hong Kong's unique strengths. He pointed out that Hong Kong's AI Supercomputing Centre, launched in late 2024, and the upcoming Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute will further boost AI research, commercialization, and application development. The summit will discuss latest developments in these emerging and future industries.

The Asia-Pacific Summit will uphold the WIC's global, professional, and high-level standards, featuring discussions on AI infrastructure, technology industries, and security governance. The event will bring together high-level representatives from international organizations, governments, leading enterprises, and industry associations, as well as renowned experts and scholars from around the world.

Confirmed attendees include representatives from international organizations such as the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, the IPv6 Forum, the British Standards Institution, the JSC Development Fund of Georgia, the Great Silk Way International Youth Union, and the Pakistan Information Security Association. Distinguished experts, including Kilnam Chon, "Father of the Internet in South Korea," and Nii Narku Quaynor, "Father of the Internet in Africa," as well as executives from leading global technology firms like IBM, 360 Group, Ant Group, Ping An, Lalamove, MTel, H3C, and Renmin University of China, will also participate. In addition, representatives from rising internet start-ups, including those from Hangzhou's "Six Little Dragons" tech cluster, will be in attendance.

During the summit, a government-business dialogue will be held, where ministerial-level officials, senior industry representatives, and WIC enterprise member executives will discuss innovation-driven economic growth and global expansion strategies for enterprises.

A promotion event for the 2025 Practice Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace and the WIC Awards for Pioneering Science and Technology will also be held on the sidelines of the summit, where the submission requirements for both initiatives will be introduced. Representatives of past award-winning projects will share their experiences, and a special member day activity at China Unicom Global will be organized as well.

The World Internet Conference Digital Academy will also host an advanced training program on cybersecurity emergency response. In addition, research findings including Intelligence Governance for Good and for All—Empowering Global Sustainable Development and Comparative Study on Cross-Border Global Data Flow Policies, and a series of reports under the think tank cooperation program will also be released at the summit.

SOURCE chinadaily.com.cn