An artificial intelligence industry investment and promotion conference, themed "Connecting Futures through Digital Intelligence, Converging Wisdom in Hezhou," convened on September 16 in Hezhou, Guangxi, drawing over 160 delegates from leading AI enterprises, financial institutions, and research bodies across the region.
Organized by the Hezhou Municipal People's Government and co-hosted by the Municipal Development and Reform Commission alongside Guangxi Hezhou Investment Group Co., Ltd., the event showcased the city's strategic positioning as a pivotal intersection of Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan provinces.
Hezhou serves as Guangxi's eastern integration pilot zone and the first stop for industrial transfer and technology spillover from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The city is proactively absorbing computing and technological overflow from the east, leveraging its eastern connectivity corridor and low-latency network to expand application markets toward the sea while anchoring growth in its "Capital of Heavy Calcium Carbonate" industrial base and more than 60 deployment scenarios that provide a rich testing ground for AI.
In recent years, Hezhou has prioritized artificial intelligence and high-tech industries as core drivers for cultivating new productive forces, with industrial scale maintaining robust expansion. From January to July this year, the core output value of the AI industry surged by 52.99 percent year-on-year.
At the forum, Hezhou unveiled its competitive advantages across multiple dimensions. Geographically, high-speed rail links reach core Greater Bay Area cities within two hours, positioning the city as a必经之地 for the Shenzhen-Guizhou computing corridor and the Guizhou-Guangdong national backbone network, with latency to Guangzhou and Shenzhen ranging from just three to five milliseconds. In terms of energy, abundant hydropower, wind, and solar resources enable preferential electricity pricing for smart computing centers, bolstered by reliable green power supply.
On cost efficiency, industrial land, water, and labor expenses in Hezhou deliver significant advantages compared to the Greater Bay Area. Infrastructure-wise, the Pinggui Big Data Industrial Park has established a high-standard data center with dual power supplies and dual-circuit backup, capable of directly accommodating large-scale computing deployment, alongside 95 mu of reserved land for future expansion. Policy support stacks dual tax incentives from the Western Development Strategy and the China-ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Zone Coordinated Development Area, exempting qualified enterprises from local corporate income tax for the first five years followed by a sustained low rate of 15 percent.
In application scenarios, Hezhou's ground calcium carbonate powder and artificial quartz stone production respectively capture 40 percent and 60 percent of national market share, earning its title as "China's Calcium Carbonate Capital." The city also leads Guangxi in the number of Greater Bay Area "vegetable basket" bases and holds recognition as the world's longevity capital and China's first全域 longevity city, with cultural tourism assets such as Huangyao Ancient Town and Gupo Mountain positioning it as the bay area's ecological green backyard. Service standards are benchmarked against the Greater Bay Area, maintaining an open and dedicated approach to supporting enterprises.
Throughout the conference, experts and corporate representatives engaged in in-depth discussions on computing development and industrial applications, exploring new pathways for industrial integration, innovation, and cross-sector empowerment. The event also marked the lighting ceremony for the Yuanxun Dongzhi Hezhou Smart Computing Center, a project invested by Shanghai Shangxun Information Technology Co., Ltd., signifying a crucial advancement in Hezhou's computing infrastructure.
During the activities, attendees conducted on-site inspections of Hezhou's AI-powered smart scenic areas and other application scenarios, gaining firsthand insight into how computing power, algorithms, and data as new production factors support industrial growth and experiencing the tangible impact of AI across multiple sectors. With this conference as a catalyst, Hezhou is committed to accelerating the development of a favorable AI industry ecosystem characterized by inclusive business environments, robust industrial policies, and convenient service guarantees, fully embracing Greater Bay Area computing spillover and advancing toward broader markets through its eastern integration pathway.