Guiyang shines in international spotlight

Experts from China and overseas talk about the role of big data in economic development during a high-level dialogue at the expo. [Photo/Li Qiuming for China Daily]

The China International Big Data Industry Expo, which ended on Wednesday, has gained growing international influence and helped the world know more about Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province. The area has pioneered the nation's big data development, an official said.

The four-day event attracted 803 overseas attendees from 61 countries and regions, up 49.8 percent and 117.8 percent year-on-year. Among them, 36 countries are involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Twenty countries, including Brazil, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Ukraine, joined the expo for the first time.

The number of overseas exhibitors grew 178.6 percent to reach 156. Companies from the United States and United Kingdom had the largest presence. Big overseas names included Dell, Pivotal, NTT Data, Google and Apple. A total of 39 Fortune Global 500 companies participated.

It shows attending the big data expo has become a fashion in big data-related industries to find innovative ideas and establish business partnerships, said Xu Hao, executive vice-mayor of Guiyang.

According to the event's organizing committee, more financial support was given to foreign exhibitors to build a booth there. Companies covered intelligent manufacturing, health, robots, the internet of things and intelligent energy supply. In addition, there were nine high-level dialogues, 53 forums, 26 report releases and six competitions.

Dang Minh Khoi, Vietnamese ambassador to China, attended the expo for the first time. He said he told embassy staff members they will come every year and send delegations to study in Guizhou.

Top professionals gave speeches at the expo, where the rooms were often packed with audiences. Many of the new views gave inspirations boosting the industry's development.

Speakers included Paul Romer, co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in economics and professor at New York University; Whitfield Diffie, renowned cryptologist and winner of the Turing Award, and Kevin Kelly, founder of US-based Wired magazine.

Cutting-edge technological achievements were displayed at the expo, such as the foldable mobile phone display, light-weight electronic bicycle and artificial intelligence broadcaster.

The experience of Guiyang in application of big data has been shared with the world.

The local government is accelerating to apply big data to the real economy, rural development, civil affairs and social governance.

Guizhou stories

At the High-Level Dialogue on Big Data and Global Poverty Reduction, foreign participants from African countries, such as Morocco, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique, learned how big data can help improve the lives of rural people after hearing the stories of Guizhou.

Big data is used in a kiwi fruit farm in Xiuwen county to monitor the climate, temperature and soil conditions to give a targeted solution for watering, fertilization and pollination.

The online platform of Guizhou-based fertilizer producer Wengfu Group can collect the data of farming and serve farmers to sell products, rent farming machines and learn agricultural skills.

The Diandingding app can monitor electricity usage and warn of possible fires in a village of Miao ethnic group in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, where wooden buildings are popular.

In Guiyang, facial recognition technology is used in airports, communities, railway stations and public security departments.

Intelligent devices are adopted in traditional manufacturing factories to increase productivity and optimize management.

Guizhou Tyre said its production grew by 26 percent after adopting an intelligent control system, intelligent logistics and big data analysis.

"Through big data, we found a new path of development that's different from that of other regions. The innovation-driven path can help us realize modernization," Xu said.

During the event, 125 projects were signed with a total investment of 100.76 billion yuan ($14.59 billion). That included Huawei's new projects in Guizhou.

Yang Pin, deputy general manager of the Guizhou branch of China Telecom, said his company released a new app to help poor farmers in Guizhou to sell agricultural products during the expo.

UK-based Relx Group, global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools, joined the expo for the third time.

Flavio Villanustre, senior vice-president and chief data security officer of the company, said he was quite impressed by how China has so many big data-related companies and institutes.

He added he found much business potential with them, and establishing links with those people is important to the future development of the company.

Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, a professor in internet governance and regulation from Oxford University, said he was amazed by how Guiyang developed so fast each time he came there.

"I saw more new buildings and roads. I felt the vitality of the city, which continues making progress."

He added the digital revolution is like the industrial revolution back in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the revolution is changing the economic models when old models cannot support the demands of growth.

"Digital economy can help our market operates better. Guiyang can grasp the opportunity of the digital era to develop itself."

Xu Hao said the expo is an important platform for the opening-up of Guiyang. And they will continue to make the event more international and professional and improve its influence, to promote the development of the big data industry in the region.