Chen Zhongyue, chairman of China Unicom, delivers a speech at the 8th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Tuesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China Unicom will step up push to deepen digital-intelligence integration and innovation to empower Digital China construction, said its chairman at the 8th Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, Fujian province, on Tuesday.

Chen Zhongyue, chairman of China Unicom, emphasized the company's role as a key contributor to the nation's digital transformation, outlining the company's three-pronged strategy to advance intelligent digital infrastructure, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative applications.

The senior executive highlighted efforts to strengthen foundational networks, including scaling 5G-Advanced (5G-A) commercialization across over 300 cities and piloting 10-gigabit optical networks to support ultra-high-speed communities, industrial parks, and factories. The company is also exploring integrated low-altitude intelligent networks for seamless airspace coverage.

In parallel, China Unicom is accelerating the upgrade of internet data centers (IDC) to AI-driven data centers (AIDC) and shifting from general computing to intelligent computing. Initiatives include establishing 10 hub-based intelligent computing centers, deploying over 300 edge computing nodes.

According to him, China Unicom is driving breakthroughs in core technologies, such as big data platforms with industry-leading data governance and security capabilities. The company has tackled challenges in privacy computing, quantum encryption, and trusted data circulation to develop high-quality datasets that support AI model training and intelligent agent applications.

Chen also showcased the company's AI innovations, including the Yuanjing AI large language model and over 40 industry-specific models widely recognized for enhancing economic operations, urban governance, and industrial manufacturing.

Leveraging its expertise, China Unicom has formed specialized service teams to support digital economy, e-government, cultural digitization, smart societies, and ecological sustainability. Notably, its GeWu industrial internet platform, integrated with the Yuanjing industrial AI model, has optimized scenarios like simulation design, predictive maintenance, and process control. To date, the company has implemented 7,500 5G-enabled factories and 30,000 industrial internet projects.

Looking ahead, Chen reaffirmed China Unicom's commitment to collaborating with partners across sectors to drive digital China's development through intelligent infrastructure, technological innovation, and transformative applications.

"By deepening digital-intelligence integration, we aim to unlock greater value for the nation's high-quality growth," he said.