Beijing - The scale of China's core artificial intelligence (AI) industry is expected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan (about 170 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, according to a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

A visitor learns about a humanoid robot at the 2025 Wuhan International Industrial Design Expo in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Dec. 12, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua)

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) noted at an industry forum held recently in Beijing that AI technology has reached a pivotal turning point, accelerating its shift from technical innovation to generating real-world productive forces.

The institute highlighted significant upgrades in large AI models this year, with their language and multi-modal understanding capabilities improving by 30 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

The sector of embodied intelligence -- which integrates AI with robotics -- has also seen rapid expansion, securing over 40 billion yuan in financing and involving more than 350 companies across the industrial chain.

Beyond AI, the CAICT outlined a roadmap for next-generation connectivity at the event, predicting that China will launch commercial 6G applications around 2030, with large-scale deployment expected by 2035.