A city known for its ancient tea culture and relaxed pace is now hosting a futuristic dialogue on digital intelligence. When the highest-level Asia-Pacific digital and AI meeting landed in Sichuan's capital, Chengdu, it sparked a fusion of tradition and innovation, of laid-back charm and driven ambition.
In July, over 500 delegates from 21 APEC economies gathered at the Century City International Convention Center. Outside the main hall, a crowd surrounded a seemingly ordinary pair of glasses. A light touch on the temple activated an AR device developed by a local Chengdu company, providing real-time subtitle translation in 261 languages and instantly breaking down language barriers for delegates from across the region. Nearby, a round delivery robot nimbly navigated through the crowd, its ability to independently use elevators and gates drawing exclamations of surprise. Russian delegate Maria Kolesnikova engaged in a lively Q&A session with the "Chengdu-made" humanoid robot, Yuanzheng A3, repeatedly praising its "fascinating" interaction. This scene became a vivid highlight of the Digital Week exhibition area.
This was a common sight at the 2026 APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting and Digital Week, and a powerful statement from the "City of Comfort" to the world about its innovative vitality.
A 'Chengdu Declaration' Draws a Blueprint for Asia-Pacific Digital Cooperation
On July 23rd, the meeting's most significant outcome was formally approved: the 2026 APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Statement (Chengdu Declaration). If Asia-Pacific digital cooperation is a complex game of chess, this declaration serves as a clear strategic roadmap. Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Lecheng, summarized the achievements into five key highlights, boiling down to three core tasks: maximizing the use of technology, effectively managing risks, and ensuring more people can benefit from the digital revolution.
Twenty-four years ago, China hosted the APEC Telecommunications Ministerial Meeting in Shanghai. Back then, Asia-Pacific digital cooperation focused on "laying fiber optic cables and building networks," addressing the fundamental question of "access." Today, in Chengdu, the conversation has shifted to "digital empowerment," exploring the question of "quality"—how AI can boost factory efficiency, how the elderly can easily use smartphones, and how children in remote areas can access quality educational resources.
This declaration is more than just a consensus on paper; it's a "practical gift" prepared for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November. It sends a clear signal to the world: Asia-Pacific economies must work together to expand the digital pie and ensure its benefits are distributed more equitably.
Why Sichuan and Chengdu?
One might ask: Why did such a high-level digital and AI meeting choose Sichuan's capital, Chengdu? The answer lies in the black-tech innovations on display at the convention center and the city's solid industrial foundation.
Chengdu possesses a "Digital Dujiangyan" – its computing power base. Just as the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system has nourished the Chengdu Plain for two millennia, the city today has built a "Digital Dujiangyan" – its computing infrastructure. As a key node of the national "East Data, West Computing" project, Chengdu has established 14 large and ultra-large computing facilities, with a total computing power of approximately 3E (30,000 P). What does that mean? It's equivalent to performing 300 million billion calculations per second. With 26 large-scale AI models passing national registration and the city being one of the first national data annotation bases, it provides the "water, electricity, and gas" of the digital age, allowing innovative companies to thrive and "cook" their ideas.
Chengdu also boasts a vibrant industrial ecosystem – a "Digital Rainforest." The city's AI industry isn't just a few "big trees"; it's a thriving "digital rainforest." Over 1,200 AI-related enterprises have taken root here, with the core industry scale surpassing RMB 150 billion in 2025, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40%. This performance has propelled the city into the top tier of China's AI landscape, earning it the title of a national "Leading AI City." This rainforest includes both established "old trees" like Intel, whose Chengdu factory is one of the company's largest global chip packaging and testing bases (after 23 years), and vibrant "new seedlings" like Yingmu Technology and Yuefan Innovation. The former sells its AR smart glasses in multiple countries, while the latter's delivery robots have entered high-end settings like Singapore's Changi Airport.
The entire province of Sichuan has an even deeper foundation: over 1,900 AI companies, with total revenue exceeding RMB 190 billion in 2025, and surpassing RMB 100 billion in the first half of this year alone. The "Robot Wolf" that appeared at the 2015 National Day military parade and the world's number one selling welding robot are both proudly "Made in Sichuan."
As locals often say "Bashi" (meaning comfortable and great), AI in Chengdu isn't just a lofty concept; it's practically integrated into daily life—helping with parking, delivering food, and conducting health checkups. The most hardcore technology is hidden within the city's everyday vitality.
From Inland Hinterland to Open Frontier: A Story Beyond Chengdu
The APEC meeting in Chengdu is not just a venue choice; it's a strategic move in China's national opening-up policy. Looking back at the cities that hosted APEC "China Years," the path has extended from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Dalian, Suzhou, and Macau to Chengdu. This trajectory is a vivid microcosm of China's opening-up, moving from the coast to the interior and from the east to the west.
For China, choosing Chengdu for the APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting carries deep strategic significance. Previously, major APEC events were concentrated in eastern coastal cities. Today, Chengdu takes the baton, showing the world not just the innovative vitality of a single city, but the comprehensive picture of China's coordinated east-central-west development and its high-level inland opening-up.
For Sichuan, this is a "testing ground" for innovative development. As a major economic province in the west, Sichuan has designated AI as its "Number One Innovation Project," with the goal of becoming the "Fourth Pole" of national AI innovation and development by 2027. The added value of the core digital economy industry reached RMB 155.82 billion in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for 9.7% of GDP. The added value of integrated circuit manufacturing grew by 78.3%, and the output of industrial automatic control instruments increased by 47.4%. These figures underscore Sichuan's accelerated transformation from a "manufacturing powerhouse" to a "smart manufacturing powerhouse."
For Chengdu itself, APEC brings not just exposure, but a tangible leap in its openness level. During Digital Week, the Thai Prime Minister visited Chengdu, and the Investment Office of the Thai Consulate General in Chengdu was officially inaugurated. In April of this year, Indonesia officially announced its approval to establish a Consulate General in Chengdu. Chengdu's international "circle of friends" is growing. The city now has 257 international sister cities and friendly cooperative relationships. The number of countries with consular offices in Chengdu has reached 24, the highest among central and western Chinese cities. With 85 international direct scheduled routes, it has built a travel circle of "10 hours to intercontinental destinations, 5 hours to Asia." In 2025, the total passenger throughput of its two airports exceeded 90 million, ranking it among the "Top 20 Global Aviation Metropolises."
From an inland hinterland to a frontier of openness, Chengdu is using digital technology as a bridge to tell the story of the "Land of Abundance" to the Asia-Pacific and the world.
Digital and AI Waves: Chengdu's Answer
The main ministerial meeting has concluded, but the enthusiasm for APEC digital and AI cooperation in Chengdu remains high. On the morning of July 25th, an APEC High-Level Roundtable on Data for Growth followed, where representatives from various economies delved into discussions on data value and cross-border digital governance rules. In the afternoon, a special seminar on Data and AI Empowering Industry took place, bringing together government and business to discuss practical implementation paths. Until July 29th, foreign delegations will continue to visit science and technology parks and application scenarios, working to translate the consensus of the Chengdu Declaration from paper into tangible, shareable cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region.
The chapter of high-level negotiations has drawn to a close, but a deep, market-oriented collaboration rooted in industry is now unfolding in the Land of Abundance. Over two thousand years ago, the Dujiangyan irrigation system watered the western Sichuan plain, creating the "Heavenly Granary." Today, computing networks and artificial intelligence are building a new era of "Digital Water Conservancy," opening up new channels for high-level opening-up in the western inland. When the Asia-Pacific vision of APEC meets Sichuan's innovative confidence, we witness a western central city's upward struggle for prominence, a province's firm steps toward scientific and technological breakthroughs, and the grand national strategy of coordinating eastern and western development and expanding institutional openness.
In the surging tide of digital and AI, Chengdu has delivered a powerful answer: connecting with the Asia-Pacific through openness, driving development with innovation, ensuring digital technology benefits more people, and spreading the dividends of technology to a wider range. This is the answer from Chengdu, the Land of Abundance, at the APEC forum.
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