Hong Kong is well placed to help China win global AI race

The world is racing to lead in artificial intelligence as it is believed that whoever controls AI dominates the world and Hong Kong may hold a key for China to get ahead in this race.

Recently, the city's tech minister Sun Dong spoke at the launch of the New Industrialisation Development Alliance. He said the group represents a big step for the SAR's tech future as it would help startups, universities and businesses work together.

This week, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation will announce a partnership with a technology firm focused on RISC-V, a chip architecture based on open-source technologies and later this month, the Zhongguancun Forum will be held in Beijing to bring over 1,000 tech experts from over 100 countries.

The idea is that together, Hong Kong and the mainland will beam brilliance in AI.

But will this work as planned?

The minister tied the ongoing efforts to Beijing's grand plan to push for new industrialization - or the so-called 'new quality productive forces' mentioned by the country's leader Xi Jinping - with AI at the center.

This already means three HK$10-billion projects in the chief executive's policy addresses, with the first HK$10-billion helping universities turn research results into real products, the second HK$10 billion supporting high-tech firms setting up new factories and the third, due for launch next year, guiding private funds to drive tech growth.

There is also a new HK$100-million fund to help local manufacturers shift to smart tech.

Sun believes the alliance would foster collaboration among stakeholders, link tech firms - including those listing in Hong Kong - with the city's universities, and provide funding opportunities.

The idea is to create an innovation chain here and combine it with the mainland's industrial base.

As a financial city with an Internet network freer than the mainland's, Hong Kong is best suited for the role. In theory, these make the city an ideal spot for Chinese AI companies to utilize as they try to reach the world.

Needless to say, Chinese tech firms, including some prominent players sanctioned by the US, have included Hong Kong in their strategic plans.

Hong Kong's universities are collaborating with mainland experts with a view to building better AI models with the help of each other's database. In the best case scenario, along with tons of data from the mainland, the duo could together create a giant AI database to deliver an edge over others.

HKIC, meanwhile, will host the first International Young Scientist Forum on AI to attract high-end talent and promote technical exchanges and industrial development in AI, focusing on RISC-V chips.

The US is surely ahead in the AI race. After all, they have top research and the best chips. The US government has also blocked China from acquiring some tech.

Still, China's AI is developing at breathtaking speed. DeepSeek has shocked the world and Manus, an AI personal agent, is the latest innovation to rock the tech world.

In the quest for further success, Hong Kong's role cannot be overstated. However, it is not a simple task to mix data for new breakthroughs.

For example, which character to use - Hong Kong traditional or mainland simplified Chinese? A tech expert has opined that traditional Chinese would be suitable because its characters are richer in meaning while occupying less digital space to enhance computing more efficiently than those using simplified Chinese or English.

However, would this be politically incorrect to prefer the traditional Chinese to the simplified?

Nonetheless, before the city is a big dream. For now, everyone is watching who will win the race.