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China’s core artificial intelligence (AI) industry is projected to surpass 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025 (about $170 billion), up from more than 900 billion yuan in 2024, according to a new industry assessment.
The estimate was outlined in a report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), an institute affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, during an industry forum in Beijing. The report said the value of China’s core AI sector had already exceeded 900 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to cross the 1.2 trillion yuan mark, or about $170 billion, in 2025.
CAICT noted significant advances in AI capabilities over the past year, with language performance improving by about 30% and multimodal understanding by around 50%. The academy described the current period as a turning point, where AI is moving beyond technical innovation to become a productive force delivering tangible real-world outcomes.
The report also highlighted the growing use of large language models in manufacturing. Since the start of the year, the share of AI application scenarios in the manufacturing sector has risen from 19.9% to 25.9%, reflecting faster adoption across industrial processes.
In parallel, the integrated AI and robotics sector is expanding rapidly. CAICT said more than 350 companies are now active across this industrial chain, with around 40 billion yuan in financing channelled into the sector in 2025, underlining strong investor interest and policy support.
Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Rescuers in Nepal used helicopters on Thursday to scour for hundreds still missing after a wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border with China's Tibet, sending catastrophic floods through towns and valleys, killing 162 people.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allied foreign ministers Washington will focus on sanctions and other pressure on Iran “for the time being”, Axios reports. Meanwhile, Iran and Oman have resumed talks on a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for greater economic cooperation among Muslim countries, saying their combined economic weight remains disproportionately small compared with their population, strategic location and resources.
A humanoid robot developed by Chinese smartphone maker Honor has run 100 metres in 9.32 seconds, beating Usain Bolt's men's world record of 9.58 seconds, China's state broadcaster reported on Saturday.
An artificial intelligence agent running an experimental store in San Francisco has recommended dismissing a human employee after the worker repeatedly arrived late for shifts.
Nvidia is teaming up with some of the biggest names in global finance in a move that underscores how artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the world's most sought-after investment themes.
Parts of Europe and the Arctic will briefly fall into darkness on Wednesday, 12 August, as the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun in a total solar eclipse.
Meta said one of its AI models hacked another company's systems during cybersecurity testing, intensifying concerns about how developers can contain increasingly capable AI systems following similar incidents involving Anthropic and OpenAI.
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