The 2020 China Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit Forum kicks off in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Dec 23. [Photo/chinanews.com]

The 2020 China Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit Forum kicked off in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Dec 23. It was attended by a number of industry leaders and government officials.

The forum was organized by the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Public Security and sponsored by the Xiamen government. It is aimed at injecting new momentum into the innovative development of the country's AI industry and bolstering the cross-border application of AI technology.

Xiamen has made strong efforts to promote the high-quality development of the AI industry, with an array of supporting measures being rolled out in recent years. A three-year action plan was also released this November by the local government, which noted that new technologies such as electronic information, AI, and industrial internet will be a focus in the coming years.

Statistics show that the city has set aside more than 53 million yuan ($8.12 million) to develop its AI industry over the past two years.

With the help of these policies, the city has formed a complete industrial ecosystem for the AI industry and is now home to nearly 200 AI enterprises with more than 12,000 patents.

Efforts have also been made to accelerate the construction of information infrastructure such as 5G. Xiamen has built more than 4,000 5G base stations thus far, and some parts of the city now have full 5G coverage. Local authorities have said that by the end of 2022, more than 20,000 5G base stations will be built across the city to offer a solid foundation for the high-quality development of its AI industry.