The Tariff War Spurs Breakthroughs in Chip and AI Innovation, Zhangjiang Science City Event Seeks Collaborative Development Paths Across Sectors

On April 22, the "Entering Zhangjiang Science City: AI and Chip Deep Insights" event was held under the guidance of the Pudong New Area Science and Technology and Economic Work Committee, the Pudong New Area Investment Promotion Service Center, the Zhangjiang Science City Construction Management Office (Zhangjiang Administration Bureau), and the Lujiazui Group. The event was hosted by the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business and Puying Asset, and co-hosted by the Shanghai Branch of SPD Bank and the Research Institute of TF Securities. The event attracted renowned experts, industry leaders, chairmen of publicly listed firms, and heads of leading enterprises from the technology and finance sectors. Through in-depth surveys of leading publicly listed firms in the AI and chip fields, the event aimed to gain insights into the integration trends of chip technology's foundational support and cutting-edge AI applications, building a high-end communication platform among "publicly listed firms—business schools—investment research institutions" to foster industrial collaboration and innovation. During the guest exchange session, Hu Wei, Deputy Director of the Zhangjiang Administration Bureau, highlighted the "Science and Technology Ecosystem Leadership Initiative" of Zhangjiang Science City, sharing the importance and achievements of strategic layouts in the AI and chip fields. He stated, "Zhangjiang Science City is a brand of Chinese innovation and a banner of Shanghai's innovation. We hope to work hand in hand with all sectors of society to jointly build a science and technology ecosystem, cultivate fertile ground for innovation, and focus on Zhangjiang's new journey." Zhou Chunsheng, Professor of Finance and Deputy Dean of the Executive Education Program at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, noted in his speech that innovation is not a Pareto improvement. Amid uncertainty, only continuous disruption and learning can ensure that companies remain on the right side of the normal distribution. AI and chips are exemplary of continuous disruption and have become key to global technological development. The future will see even closer integration of AI and chip industries, especially in emerging fields like intelligent computing and edge computing, where chip computing power and energy efficiency will be critical factors determining AI application performance. The ongoing tariff war has accelerated the localisation of chips and AI. Zhou Chunsheng believes that the tariff war has increased inflationary pressures in the US, impacted economic growth, and put pressure on China's export trade, with the tech industry facing challenges in acquiring key equipment and technologies. However, crises also present opportunities, as the tariff war has spurred the acceleration of localisation in industries such as EDA tools and lithography machines. Zhou Chunsheng suggested that companies closely track tariff negotiations, promote market diversification, optimize supply chain layouts, enhance competitiveness through brand and technology, and develop new strategies to respond to the tariff war, driving China's chip and AI industries to new heights. Tang Haiqing, Party Secretary, Director, Managing Director, and Chief Analyst of the Technology Industry at the Research Institute of TF Securities, proposed in his keynote speech "The Once-in-20-Years Tech Revolution—AI" that while the tariff war has impacted the chip and AI industries, it has also brought positive factors. Global computing power is rapidly growing, DeepSeek is driving the development of domestic computing power, and large models are continuously evolving. AI applications are being implemented across multiple fields, with rapid development in edge AI and AI Agents. Companies should grasp technological trends, leverage the characteristics of domestic computing power, seek breakthroughs in adversity, and promote the sustained development of the chip and AI industries to meet the challenges of the tariff war. Dai Weimin, Chairman of VeriSilicon, detailed the company's progress and advantages in the semiconductor IP licensing service sector during the event. As a globally renowned chip design service provider, VeriSilicon's IP licensing services are widely used in consumer electronics, automotive electronics, IoT, and other fields. According to IPnest's 2024 statistics, VeriSilicon ranks eighth globally in semiconductor IP sales revenue, with its IP types ranking among the top two in the global top ten companies. Dai Weimin stated that DeepSeek has promoted the application and explosion of edge AI technology, stimulating the launch of low-parameter models and supporting the deployment of small AI large models and small AI models on end-user devices. By 2030, generative AI is expected to triple semiconductor revenue in the server field compared to 2024. As customer products gradually enter mass production, VeriSilicon will further increase royalty income and expand the scale effect of its IP licensing business. Zhou Xi, Chairman and CEO of CloudWalk Technology, shared the company's cutting-edge achievements in the AI field. As a domestic AI solution provider, CloudWalk's core products, the human-machine collaboration operating system and AI solutions, are widely used in smart finance, urban governance, smart mobility, and other industries. Zhou Xi noted that CloudWalk's Congrong large model ranked seventh domestically in the SuperCLUE April 2024 rankings, and its self-developed "All in One" infrastructure provides strong support for the efficient operation of models. He also stated that future Agents will bring disruptive improvements to production and management efficiency, promote knowledge equality, and enhance professional capabilities across various enterprise fields. It is expected that "killer" applications of large models will emerge in the next 2-3 years. Tian Ye, Deputy General Manager of the Technology Finance Department at SPD Bank, detailed the latest trends in technology finance. He stated that the tariff war has impacted the chip and AI industries, with companies facing challenges such as export blockages and difficulties in acquiring technology. Under its "Digital Intelligence" strategy, SPD Bank leverages the "Puke 5+7+X" product system to provide financial support at various stages of the industry. By using AI to build a smart service system, the bank enhances service and credit efficiency. Through the Five Forces Model, it accurately assesses enterprises and provides "patient capital." SPD Bank aims to help the industry withstand the risks of the tariff war and achieve steady development. Ding Yaming, founder of Puying Asset, stated that technological innovation requires comprehensive changes in "industry, academia, research, and investment." He hopes to use capital as a link to synergize the industrial chain capabilities of publicly listed firms and remove blockages between investment and industry. In the future, Puying Asset will collaborate with the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business to focus on the new quality productive forces track and build the "Publicly Listed Firm Leader Project" resource platform.