Internet professionals and industry leaders gathered at Hong Kong’s Cyberport on Friday for the Asia-Pacific leg of a global internet competition, aiming to foster collaboration on a new digital ecosystem and advance technological and industrial innovation.
As one of the flagship events of the World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, the "Straight to Wuzhen" Global Internet Competition explores new technologies, models, and formats in internet development. It serves as a key platform for cooperation among internet projects, technologies, talent, and capital.
This year’s Asia-Pacific round was held in Hong Kong, where 12 teams from various regions — including Hong Kong itself — were selected from nearly 100 submissions to showcase their innovative achievements during Friday’s roadshow.
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Cui Jianhui, a representative from the Zhejiang Commercial Representative Office in Hong Kong (GBA) noted that Zhejiang and Hong Kong have always maintained close economic and trade cooperation ties.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a vital bridge for Zhejiang enterprises, and approximately 130 Zhejiang-based companies are listed in Hong Kong, he added, stressing that the internet competition has been inextricably linked with Hong Kong since its inception, with the city having hosted the Asia-Pacific semi-final for the inaugural "Straight to Wuzhen" Global Internet Competition in 2019. Since then, the inaugural World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit kicked off in the SAR in April.
Tony Wong Chi-kwong, commissioner for the Digital Policy Office in Hong Kong, said that the competition is an international cooperation platform for linking technology, talent, and capital, and serves as a means to accelerate the modernization of the industrial system.
As an international innovation and technology hub, Hong Kong has always actively participated in global internet development. Wong noted that the previous World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit attracted nearly 1,000 industry leaders and experts from over 50 countries and regions. With the summit returning to Hong Kong in 2026, he said he hopes that the SAR will further deepen its cooperation with the event.
During the project roadshow, each of the 12 participating teams was given seven minutes to present their cutting-edge technologies and achievements, and their prospects. Their presentations focused on various artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as animation production and healthcare. This was followed by a three-minute question and answer session with the judges, after which the five finalists were announced. The projects of the finalist teams were focused on AI-generated content, an AI environmental air nuisance investigation robot dog, and the metaverse, while two were related to healthcare.
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The “Straight to Wuzhen” internet competition has attracted the participation of 5,500 top projects over the past six years, since its inception. Among the 250 awarded projects, over half secured financing after the event, totaling nearly 90 billion yuan ($12.62 billion).
The competition features six tracks: AI, intelligent connected mobility, intelligent digital healthcare, intelligent manufacturing, smart terminals, and open-source projects. The domestic semifinals are conducted in six mainland cities, each focusing on one track. For three of the overseas semifinals, participants are in all six tracks, and those who succeed will go to Wuzhen for the finals.
A judges’ appointment ceremony and certificate presentation session were also held before the roadshow.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
