The Hong Kong Productivity Council showcased an “AI Smart Factory” exhibit at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, highlighting how artificial intelligence can assist mainland Chinese companies in shifting from experimental tech to practical industry applications and expanding internationally.
“There are many AI enterprises in mainland China with great potential for overseas growth,” stated Edmond Lai, the organization’s Chief Digital Officer and CEO of domestic operations. He reflected on his experience at this year’s WAIC, which concludes today. This was the second time the council participated, and plans are underway to establish service centers in the Yangtze River Delta region.
The council also promotes its international expansion support platform, known as The Cradle, Go Global Service Centre, launched in 2025. This initiative is in partnership with innovation hubs from the Yangtze River Delta, Zhongguancun, and the Greater Bay Area. Its goal is to help Chinese companies meet international standards, protect intellectual property, manage supply chains, and enter overseas markets more effectively.
A significant challenge for mainland companies pursuing global markets involves demonstrating compliance with international standards and securing overseas intellectual property rights, Lai mentioned.
Taking a factory in Mexico as an example, Lai noted that some companies struggle with employee attendance issues—around 10 percent of workers may be absent. Relying on mainland-based staffing models can lead to scheduling discrepancies and operational gaps. Additionally, products like delivery robots often face barriers in integrating with foreign elevator systems, which hinders their deployment abroad.
About 70 percent of the council’s clients are small and medium-sized businesses, 20 percent are government bodies, and the remaining are sizable corporations. The council seeks situations where current solutions do not fully satisfy industry needs. For instance, if a manufacturing solution is only 80 percent complete, it might only be 20 percent effective in actual use, and refining that last 20 percent is often crucial to achieving full operational success.
The council’s role isn’t to replace companies’ technical expertise but to fill gaps in practical knowledge that determine project success. Yunji Technology, a robotics firm that went public in Hong Kong last October, exemplifies this collaborative approach. With support from the council, Yunji has established a research partnership to expand into Southeast Asia and the Middle East. By June 30 last year, its service robots were already operating in over 30,000 hotels and 100 hospitals worldwide.
Looking ahead, the council demonstrated its own cutting-edge AI platform, “HKPC Picasso,” at WAIC. This open AI system offers six large language model modules, enabling rapid development and deployment of diverse smart solutions, having helped create more than 500 AI applications so far. When a client requested a new application, the team developed and delivered it within just half a day for testing.
The council also collaborated with Hongrita Group, a Hong Kong-funded mold manufacturer, to develop an AI-powered digital management system. This connected data across production sites in Shenzhen, Zhongshan, and Malaysia, automating a fully automated “lights-out factory.” Post-upgrades, Hongrita reported a 30 percent reduction in annual inventory and a 15 percent increase in overall equipment efficiency.
The exhibition also featured emerging tech directions like quantum computing frameworks aimed at optimizing workshop scheduling and logistics routing—still in R&D phases, with practical application possibly years away, explained an HKPC team member.
Lai expressed hope that future participations, especially involving companies from the Yangtze River Delta, will showcase more successful cases. The council aims to continue fostering technological innovation and industry upgrades in the years ahead.