Chongqing - Ruling Zhang Blein, Chairman and CEO of Sodefinance, urged the city to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by building interconnected AI infrastructure at the just-concluded 19th annual meeting of the Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Council (CMIA).

While large enterprises can afford AI investment, SMEs face greater challenges, including poor alignment between models and business needs, high costs for compound talent, employee resistance, and fragmented data systems, she said, stressing the need for shared and integrated AI infrastructure.

At this year's CMIA, Blein presented strategies and case studies from the French government and French enterprises, particularly in the manufacturing sector, offering insights for Chongqing to advance the adoption and application of artificial intelligence. Through developing an AI adoption plan with phased targets, she suggested that Chongqing gradually implement AI across large, medium, and small enterprises.

For example, she recommended the government establish mechanisms that combine promotion, talent training, and technology matching, while supporting SMEs with special subsidies or "AI diagnosis and transformation" services to help them adopt new technologies and navigate AI-driven opportunities and challenges.

She also proposed leveraging major projects to build regional AI infrastructure and advancing AI adoption in three key areas of manufacturing: optimizing intelligent manufacturing processes, research and development of new materials, and creating intelligent supply chains and market responses. 

For example, AI+manufacturing joint laboratories and materials AI research platforms can be established to create research hubs that integrate industry, academia, and research, forming a strong foundation for innovation.

Blein added, however, that as labor in Chongqing remains relatively inexpensive and many people need jobs, the goal at current stage is to use AI to handle heavy labor while leaving suitable tasks for humans; otherwise, it could lead to unemployment and job loss.

Sodefinance, a founding member of the CMIA, has long supported the council, a global platform for investment, technology, and trade. Since its 2006 inception, Blein has attended every annual meeting in Chongqing.

Sodefinance's investment projects in China are focused on industry, high technology, IT, media and entertainment, and finance, with key locations in Shanghai, Chongqing, and Jiangsu. It currently holds stakes in Chongqing Chuanyi Automation Co., Ltd. and JCDecaux Chongqing company.

The leading outdoor advertising company JCDecaux operates media resources along several Chongqing Metro lines as well as at Jiangbei International Airport terminals. Blein said that the cooperation between the companies has been very smooth, and both sides hope to pursue further investment collaboration in the future.

As a long-term partner of Sodefinance, Mersen Group has already operated a factory in Chongqing. The Mersen Chongqing facility focuses on producing high-end graphite materials, and the company plans to further increase investment and expand production in Chongqing in the future.