BEIJING — Honeywell China announced a partnership at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing to integrate its manufacturing management system and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities with ByteDance's corporate software, Lark. William Yu, Honeywell China President, stated that clients could achieve a three to five times increase in returns using the integrated system.

The China International Supply Chain Expo launched in 2023. Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC, spoke during a panel at the expo on Wednesday regarding the role of AI in manufacturing. Kande stated, "The use of AI in manufacturing will create jobs and opportunities in China and outside China where companies leverage Chinese technology."

A PwC report indicated that Chinese companies engage in cross-industry collaboration using AI more frequently than businesses outside of China, particularly more than U.S. firms. Separately, U.S. tech companies are expected to participate in the APEC digital week in China, where they will host workshops to promote American AI capabilities. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also contributed to the expo by sending a video message.

Apple Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan attended the expo for the first time this year. In terms of market projections, McKinsey reported that the Asia Pacific region could account for approximately 34% of global data center demand by 2030. Comparatively, North America is projected to account for 46% of global data center demand by 2030, according to McKinsey. Morgan Stanley anticipates 50,000 Chinese humanoid robots will ship this year, an increase from its previous predictions of 28,000 and 14,000 shipments for the year.