On July 26, 2026, Shenzhen — At the three-day Global AI Ecosystem Conference, the "AI Industry Ecosystem White Paper" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"), jointly initiated by more than 20 leading enterprises including Huawei, Baidu and Tencent, was officially released. This is the first systematic programmatic document in China to elaborate the path of AI industry ecosystem construction, marking China's AI development entering a new stage of ecological collaboration from the phase of technological breakthrough.
Core Content of the White Paper: From Single-Point Innovation to Systematic Ecosystem
The White Paper points out that the biggest bottleneck facing the AI industry is not the maturity of a single technology, but the fragmentation of the upstream and downstream industrial chain and the lack of unified standards. To this end, the White Paper defines three core goals:
- Establish Unified Technical Standards: Covering key links such as data interfaces, model formats, and computing power scheduling to reduce collaboration costs between enterprises.
- Build Open and Shared Platform: Encourage leading enterprises to open up underlying frameworks and tool chains, and support SMEs to conduct secondary development based on common platforms.
- Improve Industry Collaboration Mechanism: Promote deep integration of industry, academia, research and application, and establish a fast track from basic research to commercial implementation.
Industry Interpretation: Ecosystem Competition Determines the Next Phase of AI
Industry experts point out that competition in the AI industry has evolved from a contest of single products or technologies to a competition between ecosystems. Domestic AI frameworks represented by Huawei Ascend and Baidu PaddlePaddle, despite their gradually increasing domestic market share, still face problems such as weak developer ecosystems and fragmented application scenarios compared with global mainstream ecosystems. The release of the White Paper is precisely a systematic solution to these pain points.
"Over the past two years, large models have flourished, but very few have truly achieved a commercial closed loop," said the algorithm head of a leading enterprise involved in drafting the White Paper. "The root cause is the lack of standardized infrastructure, leading to serious 'reinventing the wheel.' The White Paper emphasizes open collaboration, aiming to form a three-tier structure of 'infrastructure layer - platform layer - application layer' in the industry, where each level can fulfill its role."
Corporate Response: Huawei and Baidu Lead Technology Openness
Along with the release of the White Paper, Huawei announced that it will gradually open-source the core components of the Ascend AI computing platform and set up a CNY 1 billion ecological support fund to support the development of Ascend-based industry solutions. Baidu simultaneously launched the PaddlePaddle ecosystem upgrade plan, providing free computing resources and model libraries for developers. "We believe that only the prosperity of the ecosystem can bring continuous technological innovation," said the President of Huawei's Intelligent Computing Business Unit at the White Paper press conference.
Policy Background: Continuous National Support
It is worth noting that the release of the White Paper is highly consistent with recent national policy directions. In June 2026, the State Council issued the "New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan (2026-2030)", which explicitly calls for "fostering and strengthening the AI industry ecosystem and promoting the coordinated development of basic hardware and software." The White Paper is a concrete implementation of this plan. In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is leading the development of an AI industry ecosystem evaluation index system, and the first batch of pilot cities is expected to be announced within the year.
Market Reaction: Concept Stocks Rise Sharply
Following the release of the White Paper, the capital market responded quickly. At the opening on July 27, AI ecosystem concept stocks collectively strengthened, with companies in the Huawei Ascend industrial chain averaging gains of over 4%, and Baidu's stock price once rose nearly 6% during trading. Analysts believe that the positive signals from the White Paper will raise market valuation expectations for the entire AI industry chain, especially benefiting underlying hardware, software frameworks and other sectors first.
Future Outlook: Ecosystem Building Requires Long-Term Investment
Although the White Paper has clarified the direction, industry observers caution that ecosystem construction is not an overnight task. From historical experience, whether it is operating systems or databases, ecosystem maturation often takes 5 to 10 years. The current AI industry is in a transition period from 1.0 to 2.0; whoever can first build a complete ecological closed loop will gain the initiative in the next round of competition.
"The significance of the White Paper lies in building consensus, but real implementation requires the long-term commitment of every participant," said the Secretary-General of the China AI Industry Development Alliance at a roundtable forum. "We call on more enterprises to join the open collaboration team and jointly promote the prosperity of China's AI industry ecosystem."
