Innovation took center stage at the Honoring Tech Innovators session of the Main Forum and Distinguished Contributors Gala at the 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Asia-Pacific Summit in Hong Kong.

Industry leaders from communications, cybersecurity, robotics and smart hardware sectors gathered to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping industries — accelerating industrial transformation and opening up new frontiers for the digital economy.

Fang Rong, chair of the Board of ZTE Corporation, opened the session by saying that AI agents are rapidly evolving from tools into collaborative partners — signaling the arrival of a new wave of technological change.

Sharing ZTE’s strategy and practice, Fang said her company is strengthening its computing foundations, adding that the economics of computing power depends largely on token throughput and token cost.

To build highly efficient AI factories, ZTE has launched its “super node” solution, which is designed to optimize multi-machine collaboration and full-chain computing clusters through innovative architecture. The company also supports open and decoupled systems that allow coordinated tuning across GPUs from multiple suppliers, according to Fang.

Fang said ZTE also prioritizes practical scenarios and fast validation of value creation.

At the company’s Binjiang factory in Nanjing, capital of East China’s Jiangsu province, Fang said AI-enabled production scheduling has sharply shortened planning cycles while improving delivery performance and productivity per employee. In complex procedures such as welding and testing, experienced technicians remain responsible for core craftsmanship, while AI handles data monitoring and model optimization.

On the consumer side, Fang said ZTE launched a technical preview of an AI smartphone with a partner last year, with a next-generation product expected this year.

She stressed that security is the foundation of trust in AI, while ethics are a prerequisite for technology to serve the public good. ZTE has established full life-cycle data protection systems and a technology ethics committee to integrate ethical reviews into product development, she noted.

Frank Fan, president of DAS-Security, spoke about how AI is transforming cybersecurity, following Fang’s presentation.

Fan said AI is empowering industries while also dramatically increasing the efficiency of cyberattacks and lowering attack costs — posing fresh challenges to conventional defense systems.

Over the past three years, the company has advanced a systematic “AI + Security” framework covering network security, data security, security services, operations and AI security itself.

He cited data classification and grading as one example, where tasks once time-consuming and error-prone could now be completed dozens of times faster with improved quality through AI-enabled automation.

Fan also highlighted the role of AI-native security operation platforms in protecting major events and critical infrastructure. In one large-scale security operation, intelligent agents handled massive numbers of security incidents, traced and blocked malicious IP addresses, greatly improving response efficiency.

Looking ahead, Fan said future risks would increasingly emerge at the AI agent level. As intelligent systems are gaining broader authority, traditional minimum-privilege models may no longer be sufficient, he added.

New mechanisms such as “using AI to supervise and govern AI” are needed to establish order and boundaries in an increasingly intelligent world, he said.

Shen Jian, founder and CEO of Digit (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd., shared his insights on embodied intelligence and humanoid robots.

He said that the global humanoid robotics industry has made rapid progress in recent years. Supported by complete supply chains, broad industrial categories and abundant application scenarios, China has taken the lead in large-scale manufacturing of robot hardware, he said.

According to Shen, the industry moved through an initial development phase in 2024 and commercial acceleration in 2025, with 2026 expected to become the “year of scenarios”, when robots enter real working and service environments at scale.

Digit (Shenzhen) Technology Co., Ltd. has focused on deploying humanoid robots in banks, government service centers, telecom outlets, and exhibition halls, allowing them to learn through interaction and real-world application.

Shen said his company aims to build robots that not only understand verbal expressions, but also possess memory systems and emotional recognition capabilities.

He called for greater global cooperation in open hardware, open-source software and data standards — while ensuring privacy protection —  so that embodied intelligence could shape a shared future for humanity.

Jason Hu, executive director of GalaAI Lab, shared the company’s innovation story centered on AI hardware in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Hu said his team had spent more than two decades in Silicon Valley before returning to Shenzhen two years ago to develop AI glasses capable of understanding user emotions.

An industry process expected to take more than a year in Silicon Valley was completed in just one month with the support of Shenzhen’s highly efficient supply chain ecosystem, he said.

That experience convinced the company to base itself in the Greater Bay Area, which features Shenzhen’s manufacturing strengths and Hong Kong’s global connectivity.

The company has since developed a range of products including AI glasses, AI watches, AI earphones and AI-enabled pet collars.

Hu said Silicon Valley remains a global center for AI software and capital, but AI hardware innovation depends heavily on Shenzhen’s industrial ecosystem.

He added that AI is helping traditional hardware makers shift from experience-driven product design to data-driven development — while enabling businesses to transform from selling products to providing services.

From computing infrastructure and cybersecurity to robotics and consumer devices, speakers at the event demonstrated how innovators are bringing AI from concept to reality and converting technological potential into economic momentum.

The summit also extended an invitation to innovators worldwide. Since its launch, the WIC Awards for Pioneering Science and Technology have recognized cutting-edge achievements across the internet sector — drawing applicants from 45 countries and regions and nearly 4,000 submissions in total.

As a new round of scientific and industrial transformation gathers pace, innovation is continuing to shape the future. Honoring tech innovators is not only a celebration of today’s pioneers, but also a call for more trailblazers to help write the next chapter of digital civilization.