A woman scans the QR code on a snack to check out the product's price, origin and other detailed information, in a smart retailing experiment zone at an industry expo in Chongqing, in August. (Photo: Xinhua/Tang Yi)
Tech advances to improve lives, offer faster commutes, clean air, reduce crime
Smart cities promise to bring better lives, faster commutes, cleaner air and lower crime, all through the intelligent use of connected technology, said experts, and after huge investment in the sector, China is leading the way.
"China's smart cities market is projected to increase about 30 percent year-on-year in 2018, and all the provincial and sub-provincial cities have launched development and construction for smart cities, with more to follow suit," said Pierpaolo Franco, managing director of London-based Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Greater China.
In 2011, smart city initiatives were included in China's 12th Five-Year (2011-15) Plan. Just a year later, the first pilot projects were launched.
Since then, more than 500 Chinese cities have pursued smart city development, investing a total of 1 trillion yuan ($145 billion), according to a report by Shenzhen-based ASKCI Consulting Co Ltd.
The market will hit 7.9 trillion yuan this year, is expected to grow by 33 percent annually, and by 2022 will top 25 trillion yuan, according to ocn.com.cn, a Shenzhen-based consulting platform.
In smart cities, big data is collected with sensors and analyzed for ways to manage resources more efficiently. This has been estimated as a $3 trillion global business market over the next 20 years, according to a report by RICS earlier this year.
While the principle of using technology to create more efficient systems stays the same, cities adapt the focus: some focus on technology development, others energy conservation, or green city concepts.
"Although most cities have started a smart city project, there is no globally unified thinking on the concept and operation of smart cities," said Franco.
Last year, China's Ministry of Science and Technology identified four tech companies, Baidu Inc, Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd, Tencent Holdings Ltd, and iFlyTek, to become a "national team" and boost the development of AI technology in the country.
