Global Times: AI-driven services are creating new engines of BRI cooperation
China exports AI services under BRI, boosting digital trade, connectivity, and global cooperation in tech-driven sectors.
Beijing, China, Sept. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At a technology park in Beijing, engineers at Beijing Zhongguancun Kejin Technology Co are fine-tuning algorithms that power multilingual customer service systems.
These tools, once limited to pilot projects, are now deployed at large scale in China and have been extended to Southeast Asia, serving clients in Singapore and Malaysia under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework.
For the company's president, Yu Youping, the overseas rollout marks a transition from domestic success to taking China's mature and reliable technologies abroad, bringing tangible benefits to international markets. The company now ranks fourth in China's intelligent customer service market.
Yu told the Global Times at the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) on September 11 that the company is leveraging its self-developed large language models to help Chinese and overseas firms tackle challenges in cross-border operations, ranging from language and cultural barriers to compliance and efficiency issues.
The company's trajectory mirrors a broader trend: China's rising role in exporting emerging technology services, from the digital economy to healthcare and green energy, which is increasingly shaping cooperation with BRI countries.
Leading the trends
As the BRI enters its second decade, the shift from physical infrastructure to digital connectivity is becoming more pronounced.
Beijing Zhongguancun Kejin Technology Co has partnered with insurance giant ReMark to build a compliance framework and intelligent customer service system aligned with Southeast Asian data regulations, enabling users in Indonesia and Malaysia to adopt standardized compliant services more efficiently.
Yu noted that his firm focuses on developing and applying vertical large models and intelligent agents, making AI technology better suited to overseas business scenarios in sectors such as finance, retail, and manufacturing, rather than staying at the level of general-purpose capabilities.
The BRI is now also defined by digital connectivity and innovation.
"When we talk about the BRI, the intention is to connect the world through infrastructure. China has introduced multiple initiatives to unite many countries globally," Jimmy Ebi Patrick, minister-counsellor at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing, told the Global Times. "For us, Nigeria joined the BRI in 2018. Since then, we have benefited from the expertise China brings."
The green economy and healthcare are very promising digital sectors, he said. "The government of Nigeria is very interested in developing these areas. If there are opportunities, Nigeria is very open to them."
For Slovak travel entrepreneur Slávka Pančíková, CEO of Horehronie Travel, China's role as a hub for high-tech innovation, including AI services, is equally significant.
"China is actually a big player, and we are happy to be in the view of the Chinese people. It is very important for all Europeans to have such a huge number of tourists from such a different place," Pančíková told the Global Times.
Observing China's use of digital platforms and smart solutions, she added, "It is good for us to observe and bring some of these experiences back to our country. Absolutely, it is amazing,"
Pakistan's IT sector also sees potential. Aswad Hassan, CEO of Bytesol, told the Global Times how Chinese cooperation can accelerate the global outreach: "This initiative is a good one. Many companies come to China to collaborate with different firms and to promote Chinese products in the world. I think this is an amazing initiative."
These perspectives reveal how China's export of AI-driven services is resonating across diverse regions.
At the same time, official data showed China's robust foreign trade. According to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), China's foreign trade in services rose 8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025 to 3.89 trillion yuan ($536 billion). Trade in knowledge-intensive services reached 1.5 trillion yuan during the same period, up 6 percent.
For BRI partners, the momentum signals both opportunity and competition in accessing advanced tools.
Opening-up, shared benefits
Insiders noted that China's vast user base has provided an unparalleled foundation for training large models, and as Chinese companies expand abroad, these advances are set to benefit other countries and regions.
China's digital infrastructure has taken a leading position globally in both scale and technology. By the end of June 2025, the number of 5G base stations had increased fivefold from 2020 to reach 4.55 million, while the number of gigabit broadband users had surged 34 times to 226 million, and the country's total computing power now ranks second in the world, Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration, told a press conference on August 15, 2025.
"China's opening-up is a very wonderful idea, because it not only provides space but also creates opportunities for other countries to emulate, to open up further, and to show respect for one another," Patrick of Nigerian embassy noted
"We can see that innovations are moving forward, and China is a massive user and consumer of innovation. They also bring many new ideas to us, which we can apply even in tourism," Pančíková said
From Nigeria's infrastructure projects to Slovakia's tourism initiatives and Pakistan's IT services, the appetite for AI-driven cooperation is growing.
China-based firms, like Beijing Zhongguancun Kejin Technology Co, are not only responding the growing demand but also setting benchmarks in how AI can serve global clients.
Amid rising global trade uncertainties, China's promotion of digital technologies and services under the BRI has created new opportunities for partner countries that go beyond traditional infrastructure, Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.
Song noted this trend covers not only "hard connectivity" through physical projects, but also "soft connectivity" in areas such as digital rules and governance, helping bridge the digital divides and share the dividends of technological progress.
"For instance, China has supported the establishment of smart factories in Saudi Arabia and introduced advanced technologies into Uzbekistan's textile industry, generating substantial employment," Song noted.
Through the BRI, China has brought mature, practical technologies as well as management expertise to participating countries, while emphasizing localized production and talent training.
At the same time, Chinese enterprises have built industrial parks along the BRI, enabling the host countries to integrate more deeply into regional and global value chains, Song noted.
"These efforts, which improve both physical and digital infrastructure and promote Chinese technical standards, have expanded market access and facilitated trade," Song told the Global Times. "This shows how China's digital cooperation under the BRI is not only fostering new growth drivers but also supporting industrial upgrading and digital transformation in partner countries."
Source: Global Times:
Company: Global Times
Contact Person: Anna Li
Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn
Website: https://globaltimes.cn
City: Beijing
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