S China's Guangxi launches 'AI Super League': Why is it leading the charge?

The artificial intelligence (AI) wave is sweeping across south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The regional government recently launched the "AI for All: China-ASEAN" competition, dubbed "AI Super League," in its capital city Nanning, quickly capturing widespread attention and sparking public enthusiasm across sectors.

The "AI for All: China-ASEAN" competition is launched in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, July 19, 2025. (Photo provided by the organizer)

Some believe the event will become a landmark in the cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries in AI development.

As this top-tier, international "AI Super League" makes Guangxi the first emerging force among China's western border provincial-level regions to embrace AI technology across the board, some questions linger in many people's minds: Why Guangxi? What unique strengths have enabled it to secure a leading position and maintain momentum on the fast track of AI development?

In fact, Guangxi has everything it takes to obtain great achievements in AI development.

First of all, the timing of its AI development drive is perfect.

Guangxi's move to step up efforts to boost the development of AI technology came amid a national push to uphold self-reliance and self-strengthening, prioritize application-oriented development, and promote the healthy and orderly advancement of the country's AI sector toward a beneficial, safe and equitable direction.

At the start of this year, Guangxi's top leadership declared AI a development priority, pledging that the region must not be left behind in the AI era.

Seizing the momentum of national strategic deployment and rapid development of AI technology in China, Guangxi swiftly followed up with policies such as the action plan for the integrated development of AI and the manufacturing sector (2025–2027).

Secondly, Guangxi is endowed with important geographical advantages for benefiting from historical opportunities—leveraging AI to empower various industries.

As a coastal, riverine, and border region linking China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, southwestern and central southern regions, as well as the ASEAN, Guangxi enjoys close proximity to all three major markets and is uniquely positioned as both a strategic hinterland of the Greater Bay Area and a gateway for China's opening up and its cooperation with the ASEAN countries.

Currently, a cross-border industrial ecosystem is rapidly taking shape, with research and development based in major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, integration centered in Guangxi, and application extending across ASEAN countries.

Thanks to its geographical edge, Guangxi enjoys a competitive advantage in multiple endeavors, whether it is building a key hub serving Chinese AI companies seeking expansion into the ASEAN market, creating a major frontier for the convergence of AI resources and essential productive factors for China and the ASEAN, or establishing a high ground for international AI cooperation between China and the ASEAN.

Thirdly, Guangxi's push for AI development enjoys strong public support.

The region's AI strategy effectively responds to the needs of industries, demonstrating unity of purpose and alignment of efforts.

The "AI Super League" itself serves as a platform for cross-industry collaboration and public engagement.

The regional government has galvanized support from leading AI firms, research institutions, and international partners.

The newly inaugurated China-ASEAN AI Innovation Cooperation Center in Nanning has already received its first batch of ASEAN enterprises.

Initiatives such as the "Guizhi-1" platform for data security management and AI agent application, as well as large-scale programs for the commercialization of sci-tech achievements from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have shown Guangxi's determination to foster a thriving AI ecosystem.

With favorable policies, strategic geography, and the power of unity, the region is poised to carve out a distinct path on China's AI map and write a new chapter in China-ASEAN digital cooperation.