Jul 23, 2026 – 8.14amIf last year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference was a glitzy showcase for China’s AI technology, this year’s event was an industrial-scale trade fair.More than 1100 companies packed 100,000 square metres of exhibition space – the biggest ever, covering territory equivalent to about 14 soccer fields – in Shanghai, with robots boxing, making coffee and sorting parcels.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Jessica SierNorth Asia correspondentJessica Sier is the North Asia correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. She is based in Tokyo, Japan. Jessica has previously written on technology, global capital markets and economics.Fetching latest articles