How Alibaba Cloud’s ET City Brain Is Powering China’s AI‑Driven Smart Cities
The Ministry of Science and Technology unveiled China’s new AI development plan, highlighting Alibaba Cloud’s ET City Brain as a national open innovation platform that is already optimizing traffic, emergency response, and resource allocation in cities like Hangzhou and Suzhou, while the government sets ambitious industry targets for the next decade.
On November 15, the Ministry of Science and Technology held a conference in Beijing to launch the new generation AI development plan and major science projects. The first batch of four national AI open‑innovation platforms was announced, with Alibaba Cloud’s ET City Brain selected.
Minister Wan Gang emphasized that the plan will strengthen enterprise leadership and market orientation, giving companies a central role in choosing technology routes and setting industry standards, while promoting large‑scale AI applications and deep integration of AI with the real economy to drive an intelligent economy and society.
Alibaba Cloud’s ET City Brain is currently the world’s largest AI public system, capable of real‑time global city analysis, automatic resource allocation, and correcting operational bugs, positioning it as foundational infrastructure for future cities.
The system has already been deployed in Hangzhou, Suzhou and other locations. In Hangzhou, it controls 128 traffic‑signal intersections, reducing travel time in pilot areas by 15.3% and saving 4.6 minutes on elevated roads. In the main urban area, the brain generates over 500 daily alerts with a 92% accuracy rate, and in Xiaoshan, ambulance arrival times were halved.
Beyond urban management, the ET Brain platform is being built for industrial, medical, and environmental sectors, creating an open ecosystem that merges AI with major industries.
The meeting also announced the new AI Strategic Advisory Committee, chaired by Academician Pan Yunhe, with Alibaba Cloud’s Chief Scientist of Machine Intelligence Min Wanli among the 27 experts.
On July 20, the State Council issued the "New Generation AI Development Plan," setting a clear timeline and roadmap: by 2020, China’s AI technology and applications will match world‑leading levels; basic AI standards, service systems, and industry ecosystems will be established; the core AI industry is projected to exceed 150 billion CNY, driving related industries beyond 1 trillion CNY.
Signed-in readers can open the original source through BestHub's protected redirect.
This article has been distilled and summarized from source material, then republished for learning and reference. If you believe it infringes your rights, please contactand we will review it promptly.
Alibaba Cloud Developer
Alibaba's official tech channel, featuring all of its technology innovations.
How this landed with the community
Was this worth your time?
0 Comments
Thoughtful readers leave field notes, pushback, and hard-won operational detail here.