An "AI General Practitioner Epidemic Prevention Robot" is tested in Hefei, East China's Anhui province, on May 7, 2022. [Photo/VCG]

East China's Anhui Province placed eighth among the top 10 regions in China in terms of their artificial intelligence (AI) industry competitiveness, according to a report released during the Six World Intelligence Congress in Tianjin on June 25.

The report is the Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies' latest New Generation AI Technology Industry Region Competitiveness Evaluation Index. Beijing tops the ranking.

The report notes that the key factors to boost AI development include accelerating the opening-up of application scenarios, gathering innovative resources, rolling out regional supportive policies, active responses from local governments and fostering a highly open industrial innovation ecosystem.

Anhui is striving to foster a world-class industrial AI cluster with international competitiveness. Hefei, its capital, boasts strong artificial intelligence innovation power. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Anhui Provincial Government have been developing China Speech Valley, a high-tech industrial park in Hefei, into a major hub of the AI industry.