2025 Xinhua Forum on Technology Innovation and Industrial Integration Held in Shanghai

“Technology Reshaping, Moving Towards the New” – The 2025 Xinhua Net Forum on Technology Innovation and Industry Integration was held in Shanghai on April 20, 2025. The event brought together industry experts, scholars, and executives from various fields. The forum focused on several core topics, including how to return “technological competition” to its “essential value,” how to correct technical pathways and upgrade paradigms, and how to anchor innovation coordinates on long-termism, while exploring new paths for the deep integration of technological revolutions and industrial transformations.

Yang Qingbing, a member of the Xinhua News Agency's Party Committee and Vice President, stated in his opening remarks that the automotive industry is a pillar of the national economy, characterized by a long supply chain, high interconnectivity, and significant driving force. Currently, the development of the automotive industry is increasingly vital for ensuring the stability and long-term growth of China’s economy. With breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology, new trends and highlights in the automotive sector continue to emerge, accelerating the expansion of new applications. What once seemed like distant “black technologies” have now become valuable tools for empowering industrial development, with advanced technologies such as AI opening up new possibilities for the future of automobiles.

Xinhua Net, as a key central news website and one of China's most influential online media outlets, consistently pays close attention to technological innovation and industrial transformation, especially concerning the automotive industry's new developments. The agency will continue to conduct in-depth research and timely reporting on technological advancements, future trends, and market dynamics within the automotive sector.

During the forum, Liu Yan, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, delivered a keynote speech titled <b>“Transformation and Stability of Luxury Brands in the Age of Technological Reshaping.”</b> She emphasized that the automotive industry is accelerating its transformation in the tide of change, which involves not only updates to technical routes but also the reshaping of industrial ecology, value chains, business models, and global competitive order. The industry is entering a new stage of large-scale application of intelligent driving technology, presenting dual opportunities of a wave of intelligence and accelerated commercialization. However, challenges remain in balancing technological innovation and safety, revealing potential risks like ambiguous functional definitions and insufficient safety redundancies. The association advocates for better regulation of the safety management and marketing of combined driving assistance products, promoting a healthy development ecology that emphasizes both technological progress and responsibility.

Li Xianjun, Director of the Automotive Development Research Center at Tsinghua University, presented a speech titled <b>“Disruptive Innovation Trends in the Automotive Industry and Future Competitive Landscape.”</b> He noted that the automotive industry is undergoing disruptive innovation centered around electrification and intelligence, with AI technology accelerating this transformation. Traditional fuel vehicle manufacturers need to expedite their transition by separating new energy and traditional operations, restructuring organizational DNA, and focusing on four foundational aspects: efficiency, cost, quality, and user experience. He believes that in the competition for automotive intelligence, China possesses a complete intelligent electric vehicle supply chain and rapidly developing AI technology, while the U.S. has advanced AI technologies and electric vehicle manufacturers, and Germany has a strong foundation in Industry 4.0, particularly in digital capabilities. These three countries may dominate the future global competition in the intelligent electric vehicle sector.

Anders Kai, General Manager of FAW Audi Sales Co., emphasized in his keynote speech that the purpose of technology in any era should be to make customers' lives more convenient, safer, and more enjoyable. Based on deep insights from a vast customer base, he stated, <b>“The Chinese-style intelligent luxury travel that customers need is not simply a choice between 'fuel or electric.'</b> We need to provide customers with a comprehensive experience that perfectly combines soft and hardware technologies.” To achieve this, Audi's PPE luxury electric platform and PPC luxury fuel platform share the latest E³ 1.2 electronic and electrical architecture. This architecture precisely controls the vehicle’s drive systems, suspension, driver assistance systems, infotainment functions, lighting controls, climate settings, and seating adjustments through five high-performance computers, addressing the intelligence shortfalls of fuel vehicles and allowing them to possess a smart brain. Audi is steadfastly pursuing a dual-track strategy of “fuel + electric” leadership. The PPE luxury electric platform, developed in collaboration with Porsche, combines strong mechanical qualities with forward-looking intelligent technologies, providing luxury electric vehicle owners with an unprecedented intelligent driving experience.

Ling Jiangtao, Vice President of Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU MKT and Sales Service Department, noted that Audi is Huawei's first partner among international luxury brands, where technological integration has transformed century-old mechanical expertise into digital advancements. Standing at the crossroads of automotive intelligence transformation, Huawei and Audi are committed to long-termism and continuous innovation, building exceptional quality through deep technological accumulation that aligns their value concepts. Their collaboration is not a superficial technical introduction but a strategic choice based on profound market insights in the intelligent era. In the future, they will continue to deepen their cooperation, using <b>“Technology Reshaping”</b> as the engine and <b>“Moving Towards the New”</b> as the guide, working together with global customers and partners to advance the era of intelligent mobility.

During the forum's discussion segment, Qin Kongjian, Chief Expert in Intelligent Connected Vehicles at the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, emphasized that while accelerating innovation, the automotive industry must remain true to its original intentions, pursuing core user value to form new productive forces that enhance the safety, convenience, and comfort of consumers' driving experiences. Additionally, in the process of upgrading software and hardware and promoting new technology applications, the market should not be treated as a testing ground; relevant functions must undergo thorough verification and validation. The China Automotive Technology and Research Center is building new capabilities to comprehensively validate intelligent algorithms through simulation testing.

Xu Min, Dean of the Automotive Engineering Institute at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, stated that innovation involves continuously discovering and improving issues through long-term practice, accumulating knowledge over time, and leveraging advanced technologies like AI large models to propel Chinese automotive companies onto a spiral upward development path. Ling Jiangtao from Huawei highlighted that the company invests 15-20% of its annual revenue into research and development to continually enhance product strength, as product power is crucial for brand advancement. Furthermore, Huawei adheres to long-termism in its pursuit of core technologies and self-controllability, believing that in the fiercely competitive Chinese automotive market, only those who commit to long-termism can achieve sustainable development.

Li Fenggang, Executive Deputy General Manager of FAW Audi Sales Co., stressed that with a century of automotive manufacturing experience, safety is always the top priority for Audi. Innovations related to safety are approached with great caution, and Audi understands that all technological advancements must prioritize user safety. The company will never mislead consumers with exaggerated promotions. He also emphasized that collaborating with leading technology companies allows for rapid technical complementarity and cross-industry innovation, ultimately delivering smarter, more comfortable, and safer travel experiences to users.

Technological innovation and industrial integration are not only new engines for economic growth but also a shared choice for seizing development opportunities. In the future, Xinhua Net will continue to build cross-sector communication platforms to promote the efficient interaction of policies, technology, and market factors, injecting sustainable power into the high-quality development of China's automotive industry.