China in next phase of AI revolution: Report

China is competitively positioned in the next phase of the artificial intelligence revolution, characterized by real-world application rather than computing power, as the country leads in the scale of its market, human resources and manufacturing ecosystem, said a white paper released on Tuesday.

Titled China and the Global AI Race, the paper was produced by the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and it explores the latest developments in AI, with a particular focus on the role of China in this technological frontier.

"The physical world will become the space of highest potential for AI development in the next few years," said Sun Tianshu, dean's distinguished chair professor of information systems at the school, in the paper, citing smart hardware, especially robotics, as an example of that integration.