ACEC Launches the 1st China–ASEAN AI Innovation Cooperation Conference in Malaysia

On 9 September 2025, the 1st China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Innovation Collaboration Conference was successfully held as a special session of the 4th World Irrigation Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Organized by ACEC and Universiti Sains Malaysia, with support from the China-ASEAN Alliance of Universities for Electronic Information Innovation of CAIH and Guilin University of Electronic Technology, the conference brought together government officials, scholars, and industry leaders from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

The event, built around the theme “Promoting AI Integration in Academia, Industry & Research; Deepening China-ASEAN Collaboration,” featured a rich agenda: a welcome dinner, opening addresses, keynote speeches, a challenge competition, release of a joint cooperation initiative, thematic forums, project matchmaking, and academic visits.

Notable highlights included:

• A welcome dinner fostering informal dialogue among delegations.

• Opening remarks by representatives from host universities and ACEC, outlining shared goals of applying AI in critical sectors such as agriculture and healthcare.

• 13 cross-sector keynote presentations, covering university-industry collaborations, regional leadership, AI in healthcare and energy, multilingual education AI, and cloud infrastructure support from leading tech firms.

• The 2025 AI Application Challenge, which awarded four outstanding teams; some winners immediately engaged in preliminary discussions with industry partners.

• Launch of the "China-ASEAN AI Innovation Cooperation Initiative", signed by senior representatives from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, to guide future cooperation in technology, talent training, and industrial applications.

• Forum panels and project matchmaking, giving participants a platform to explore joint opportunities in AI + agriculture, smart cities, and healthcare.

• On-site visits to leading Malaysian universities (UTM, UPM, USM), where delegates discussed concrete collaborative pathways in research, talent exchange, and AI deployment.

While the official event has concluded, the cooperation platform established by ACEC will remain active. Follow-up activities, including university project implementation and cross-border collaboration, are already underway.