China is promoting a synergy strategy between public policy and industry to turn “inclusive AI” into concrete applications — from rural autonomous delivery to medical assistance in the countryside — a theme highlighted at the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai.
Inclusive AI in the field
On the outskirts of Wuhan, a small fruit producer has multiplied deliveries thanks to an autonomous van developed by Zelostech. Without relying on expensive high‑definition maps, the vehicle combines sensors and AI to navigate in real time, enabling multiple daily trips and boosting the farmer’s income by an estimated 30–40%. For Zelostech, the payoff is twofold: reducing deployment lead times — from several weeks to under a day — and extending e‑commerce logistics into isolated areas.
Mapping, autonomous driving and logistical inclusion
Until recently, most autonomous vehicles depended on costly HD maps. Zelostech described the evolution of its solution, moving from a “light‑map” approach to a map‑free system based on multi‑sensor fusion that detects lanes, signs and other road users and makes positioning and driving decisions in real time. Local authorities and municipalities have opened public routes to autonomous delivery vehicles, illustrating the active role of public power in scaling these solutions.
AI‑assisted local healthcare
At the other end of the country, district physicians are using AI‑based medical assistants to improve care. Xunfei Healthcare’s system, powered by thousands of clinical protocols and a database covering more than 6,000 diseases, suggests possible diagnoses, checks drug interactions and aligns recommendations with national protocols. Deployed across 811 districts, it supports more than 250,000 primary care practitioners and has produced over 1.2 billion diagnostic recommendations, according to figures shared at the conference.
Verticalized services: education, finance and law
Sector‑specific verticals are becoming more accessible thanks to specialized models. Tools now help high‑school graduates evaluate their university admission prospects; financial platforms deliver cash‑flow analysis tailored to small businesses; and AI‑driven legal services provide contract review and locally funded risk alerts. These initiatives aim to make expertise once limited to specialists immediately usable by individuals and SMEs.
Compute capacity and the tech ecosystem
Onstage demos — compute super‑nodes, open‑source models with several trillion parameters, “agentic” phones and humanoid robots — reflect a robust hardware and software base. Organizers said the Chinese ecosystem processes more than 140,000 billion tokens daily (≈140 trillion tokens) with roughly 1,882 EFLOPS (FP16) of compute power, signaling a massive scaling up of AI capacity in the country.
Governance and international cooperation
Institutionally, a new intergovernmental organization dedicated to artificial intelligence was announced to coordinate opportunities and challenges at the global level. The country also plans cooperative initiatives to advance these efforts internationally.
