Smart Mobility Powers Dual Circulation

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

China's intelligent vehicle industry is embracing global cooperation with openness and innovation, while international automakers reevaluate the strategic importance of the Chinese market. Crucially, China's auto industry needs stronger connections to the world and deeper integration through global collaboration.

The two-day World Intelligent Vehicle Conference (WIV) 2025 opened on July 30 at the Chongqing Yuelai International Conference Center. The conference, hosted by Asia Digital Group, was held under the theme of "Smart Mobility Powers Dual Circulation". The WIV adopted a "1+6+8" structure (one main forum, 6 topic forums, and 8 thematic activities). Over 100 distinguished guests from more than 20 countries were invited to attend the conference, spanning industry leaders (e.g., Mercedes-Benz, Qualcomm), engineering academia (the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Russian Academy of Engineering), specialists from global organizations and institutional investors, and corporate executives from Chinese top firms like Seres, XPeng, PCITECH and iFLYTEK. They discussed technical innovation for vehicle-road-cloud integration and further implementing the dual-circulation strategy, shaping the future of intelligent mobility together.

Pooling brilliant minds to seek the new driving force for intelligent automotive development

The automotive industry is increasingly shifting towards intelligent vehicles as its main path for evolution and improvement. Strengthening intelligent vehicle leadership through tech innovation, global collaboration on resource utilization, and vehicle-road-cloud integration is now the industry's top priority.

Mr. Fu Baozong, Deputy Director-General of the International Cooperation Center, National Development and Reform Commission, proposed three recommendations for the development of the intelligent vehicle industry: first, prioritize innovation to overcome critical technological bottlenecks; second, expand worldwide cooperation to build a global automotive industry ecosystem; third, consolidate the auto industry's foundation with coordinated industrial progress and robust security measures.

In his speech, Mr. Tu Xingyong, Deputy Director-General of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, emphasized that Chongqing will seize the opportunity of the "dual-pilot city", develop the new industry ecosystem for the intelligent and connected vehicles (ICV) fueled by convergent development of multiple technologies at a faster pace, and resolutely position the industry as the primary front for developing new quality productive forces. The municipality will continue to enhance its technological capabilities for industrial innovation, specifically by fostering a robust industry ecosystem and promoting the integrated development of technological innovation and industrial advancement in ICVs.

Mr. Zhu Dongfang, President of Asia Digital Group (hosting organization of the conference), said in his speech that according to IDC projections, global sales of connected vehicles will reach 78.3 million units in 2025, while autonomous vehicle sales are expected to hit 89.3 million units in 2026, representing a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8%. Intelligent vehicles are rapidly gaining traction in the market and are serving as the primary catalyst for the automotive industry's ongoing transformation. This emerging sector still holds substantial, untapped potential for further growth.

Representatives from various quarters across the world had an in-depth exchange and discussion on intelligent vehicles in the main forum. In his keynote speech, Professor Ching-Chuen Chan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), Founder of the World Electric Vehicle Association, Founding Chairman of the International Academician Science and Technology Innovation Center, and Distinguished Chair Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, emphasized that the automotive revolution needs to move beyond electrification to embrace intelligent and connected technologies, a process where China has consistently led the world. The reason lies in China's effective coordination of technical innovation, government policy, the auto industry, market, incentives, and investment. China boasts not only the world's most complete automotive industrial chain, but also the best cost performance of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide.

Professor Zhang Jianwei, International Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, mentioned in his keynote address that achieving truly reliable autonomous driving requires a crucial combination of traditional control methods and advanced data processing techniques. Future advancements will depend on a self-reinforcing data flywheel, continuously generating high-quality, real-world datasets through physical environments, simulations, and scenario engineering, ultimately enabling next-generation, universally adaptable intelligent driving systems.

Fabio Schina, Consul General of Italy in Chongqing, delivered a keynote speech, highlighting the importance of closer cooperation between Italy and China by signing more Memorandums of Cooperation and greater collaboration on the industry, higher education, research and so on. Cooperation is crucial under the circumstances of promoting EV revolution and expanding its market share in the EU and the rest of the world. He hopes there will be more international collaboration in this sector in the future.

Zhang Xinghai, Chairman and Founder of Seres Group, suggested that China's auto industry is evolving from delivering a "rigid physical environment" to offering a "dynamic and intelligent digital realm" at a faster pace. And the automotive supply chain has progressed into a converged network with multi-stakeholder participation, encompassing automakers, ICT firms, chip suppliers, and energy service providers, where effective resource integration, accelerated technological innovation, and enhanced product and service quality are achievable only through robust collaboration.

Liu Wei, Founder and CEO of PCITECH, said in his keynote speech that the development of TransHarmony, the transportation-focused HarmonyOS system, utilizes OpenHarmony and openEuler's technical architectures. Tailored to meet the industry's core demands for high reliability, real-time performance, and multi-source heterogeneous device interoperability, it has independently established a new, self-controllable, industry-grade IoT operating system through domain-specific enhancements. It is hopeful that TransHarmony not only delivers a robust infrastructure for smart transportation applications, but also offers extremely simple system topology and low latency communication, making future intelligent transportation more efficient, safe, and reliable.

Frank Meng, Chairman of Qualcomm China, pointed out that vehicle is more than a means of transport now as it is evolving into a highly intelligent and dynamic "third living space" at a faster pace. With the rapid rise of generative AI, automobiles have emerged as one of the most disruptive smart terminals since smartphones. AI is rapidly emerging as the new user interface (UI), coinciding with the accelerated development of software-defined vehicles (SDVs), and they are collectively reshaping the automotive industry. With over two decades in the automotive sector, Qualcomm will continue its technology partnership, collaborating with industry players, including those in Chongqing, to leverage the opportunities presented by the intelligent and connected vehicle era. Together, the automotive industry will elevate, fostering both advanced intelligence and a more premium experience.

Wu Xiaoru, President of iFLYTEK, said the company is committed to developing an AI-enabled interaction system that truly understands users, making smart cabin interfaces more intuitive and natural. The interaction system understands users' emotions and empathizes with them, equipped with long-term memory to retain important user events. This ensures communication feels genuinely human, avoiding a robotic interaction. iFLYTEK enables this through full-duplex interaction, multilingual support, and multi-emotion settings. The next generation of in-car systems will leverage cloud-edge integration, combining cloud and on-device processing to ensure reliable and responsive command execution. This approach aims to deliver a seamless user experience while guaranteeing that every command is carried out reliably.

During the summit dialogue session of the main forum, distinguished panelists engaged in an in-depth discussion on the theme "Smart Mobility Powers Dual Circulation", offering insights to advance China's intelligent vehicle development. The participants included Xu Kuangyi, Academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering and Chief Scientist of Jiangsu Pulsar Technology Co., Ltd., Ye Shengji, Chief Engineer and Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Wang Tan, Co-Founder of XPeng AEROHT and General Manager of XPeng Motors Design Center, Yang Hong, Chairman and President of Shenzhen Hangsheng Electronics Co., Ltd., Antonio Wang, Vice President, Client System Research, Imaging, Printing & Document Solution Research, and Research Operation Center, IDC China.

Shaping the future of intelligent vehicles through a multidimensional collaborative approach

As the most dynamic and innovative automobile market in the world, China has seen its intelligent vehicle industry flourish. China's automotive market has also demonstrated formidable innovation capabilities. The country's auto sector is morphing from "the workshop of the world" to "the cradle of innovation".

The two topic forums were held in the afternoon of July 30. At the forum with the theme of "Towards a Future of Intelligent Mobility Tackling Core Technological Challenges in Intelligent Vehicles", business representatives from a host of companies, including Shenzhen Hangsheng Electronics, PCITECH, JOYNEXT, NAVINFO, ReachAuto, CARLINX, Nullmax, MORELITE, China Mobile, PCAUTO.com.cn, Xuanyuan Intelligent Driving, Volcano Engine, and TINNOVE, discussed enhancing basic research for intelligent vehicles and tackling core technological challenges, especially focusing on the latest technological advancements in vehicle-road-cloud integration. At the forum with the theme of "Global Expansion: Seizing Opportunities in International Markets", representatives from global organizations, including Electric Vehicle Association Of Malaysia, Association Pour le Développement de la Nouvelle Route de la Soie (ADNRS), IDC, Plum Ventures, Volcano Engine, North American Auto Professional Association (NAAP) and Equal Ocean, examined worldwide investment trends, shared global expansion strategies and successful collaboration experiences, and explored the best practices of cross-border cooperation on intelligent vehicles. The dialogue provided actionable recommendations to support Chinese intelligent car manufacturers in achieving sustainable, high-quality global expansion.

Multiple thematic activities also commenced simultaneously on July 30. Highlights of the product release event included: AVATR's immersive showcase and technical presentation on its new AVATR 06 model; DENZA's comprehensive brand strategy presentation, featuring detailed explanations of its N9, Z9, and N9 product lineup; DEEPAL's full reveal of the S09 – a six-seat smart flagship SUV designed for modern families; XPeng's debut of its latest G7 AI-powered family SUV, demonstrating tangible advancements in intelligent mobility. At the intelligent car technical innovation achievement exhibition area, a number of automakers displayed their latest products, including Tesla, Yangwang, AITO, Denza, Formula Bao, Li Auto, XPeng, NIO, ONVO, Deepal, Avatr, Wey, Voyah, Leapmotor, and BYD's Dynasty and Ocean series. MiracoMotor, Neolix, and Rino.ai presented their self-driving vehicles, demonstrating how autonomous technology is reshaping future lifestyles. The event also featured booths from Guangzhou Frontop Digital, Automotive Software Innovation Center (Chongqing), Kernelsoft, The Chongqing Representative Office of the World Trade Point Federation, Chongqing Automotive Accessories Industry Association, and BIZMEDIA Group. The Chongqing Intelligent Driving Experience transformed static displays into dynamic interactions. The participating guests can test drive vehicles from multiple brands and experience Chongqing's unique transport charm.

At the WIV Leaders' Roundtable and Chongqing Intelligent Vehicle Closed-Door Think Tank Meeting, experts from various fields and senior government officials focused their exchanges and discussions on the global development trends, technological orientations, and international development strategies of intelligent vehicles, as well as Chongqing's advantages in the development of the automotive and intelligent vehicle industries, relevant incentive policies, future development plans, and suggestions for industry progress.

Four topic forums with the theme of "Collaborative Innovation: Driving Cross-Industry Convergence", "Capital Empowerment: Unleashing New Investment Opportunities", "Global Connectivity: Exploring Cross-Border Growth Frontiers", and "Pilot Demonstration: Building Multidimensional Application Scenarios" will be held on July 31. Three thematic activities, Intelligent Mobility Ecosystem Matchmaking, Intelligent Vehicle Tech Innovation Challenge, and Chongqing Intelligent Mobility Ecosystem Tour, will also take place on the same day.

The WIV 2025 enables participants to bounce ideas, share resources, and seek win-win cooperation, safeguarding the high-quality development of the intelligent vehicle industry.