Huawei Technologies has entered into a partnership with Sichuan Zigong Conveying Machine Group Co (ZGCMC) to expand the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in heavy industries such as mining, bulk material transport and equipment manufacturing.
The three-year pact between the two firms will involve the “deep integration” of large language models – the technology underpinning generative AI services like ChatGPT – in those industries, according to a filing on Wednesday by Shenzhen-listed ZGCMC, one of China’s leading enterprises in the design, manufacture and installation of bulk material conveying machinery.
ZGCMC said it will “prioritise the use of Huawei’s product solutions and professional services within the scope of the pair’s cooperation”. Huawei will provide support in terms of programme design, global ecosystem cooperation and talent training, according to the filing, which did not provide the amount of investment involved in the partnership.
Privately-held Huawei did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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How Huawei’s use of 5G and AI is transforming China’s coal mining industry
How Huawei’s use of 5G and AI is transforming China’s coal mining industry
As the world’s biggest coal-producing country with 4,000 mines, China aims to make its large-scale and most hazardous mines “smart” by 2025. All coal mines in the country are expected to be modernised by 2035, according to guidelines on the mining industry’s digital upgrade issued by eight state agencies in 2020.
Huawei Technologies has bolstered its efforts in 5G mobile technology and artificial intelligence to help modernise various traditional industries in mainland China. Photo: Shutterstock
Huawei also pushed automation in Tianjin, northern China’s biggest seaport. With the firm’s 5G infrastructure in place, a staff of 200 operators and engineers can manage 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units of annual cargo throughput at Tianjin Port’s Terminal C, about 25 per cent of the employees needed in a typical year during the terminals’ pre-digital age, the Post reported in February last year.
Huawei’s digital-transformation efforts in coal mining, ports and even hospitals shows its focus on broadening its operations in the world’s second-largest economy, as its international business has been curtailed by the wider trade and tech dispute between Washington and Beijing. The United States government added Huawei to its trade blacklist in May 2019.
