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A CEO of one of China's artificial intelligence (AI) startups said at an AI event that the company doesn't engage in price wars without a strategy,MK socks and prioritizes enhancing its own products. The remark was made in response to a recent wave of price cuts in the domestic AI market.

The explosion of AI large language models (LLMs) in China has spurred activity in the sector by tech giants, who have released successive iterations of LLMs. Amid the competition, there has also been a wave of price cuts, but CEOs from several Chinese AI startups said on Friday that they are in favor of benign competition. "More affordable LLMs will promote innovation in various application scenarios and will increase demand," one of them told the Global Times on Friday.

The remarks were made during an AI event currently taking place in Beijing's Haidian district. On Friday morning, the exhibition center of the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone was bustling with attendees. People filled the venue, with some even standing in the aisles, captivated by the lectures and keynote speeches. The lively event runs from June 14 to 15.

Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Baichuan Intelligent Technology, said that price wars are driven by competition, and will have two effects: first, more people will use large models; second, it will change the minds of many enterprises that previously wanted to develop large models themselves, resulting in a waste of talent and funds. "Competition can bring many opportunities and development for companies that truly have innovative advantages," Wang added.

"We don't blindly get involved in price wars, but instead focus on improving the performance of our own model," Yang Zhiling, CEO and co-founder of Moonshot AI, told the audience.

Finding creative ways to cut prices can help make the benefits of AI more accessible to users in China. "We diligently iterated the core technology of our models and improved its efficiency," Zhipu AI Chief Executive Zhang Peng said at the event. "This is not just a simple price war. Through technological innovation, we lowered the cost and improved customer value."

These remarks reflect Chinese tech unicorns' confidence to compete with the major LLM service providers in the global market. Competition is key for the development of AI, Liu Gang, chief economist at the Chinese Institute of New Generation AI Development Strategies, told the Global Times on Friday.

"Price wars may boost market share temporarily, but long-term success hinges on continuous technological advancement and unique differentiation strategies," Liu said.

Currently, there are over 300 LLMs available in the Chinese market, leading to intense competition and a crowded marketplace. This has resulted in a competitive landscape often referred to as China's AI "war of a hundred models," according to a report by Think Tank Iyiou, in April.

In an interview during the AI for Good Global Summit on May 30, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted that there will be hundreds or even thousands of LLMs in the future, with a few becoming dominant. He also said that China will develop its own distinct model separate from those used in other parts of the world, National Business Daily reported.

Organized by the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI), the event takes place annually and it is considered the premier conference in the field of AI in China. Since its inception in October 2019, the conference has been held successfully for five consecutive years.

This year's conference invited 200 top Chinese and foreign experts to attend and conduct in-depth talks on AI, according to the organizers. It serves as a valuable platform for sharing research findings, gaining insights into cutting-edge technologies, exchanging practical knowledge, and fostering collaborations within the AI community.

At the conference, the BAAI unveiled the latest achievements in relevant fields such as large-scale model technology, multi-modal technology, embodied intelligence, and bio-computing.

During a keynote speech, Wang Zhongyuan, director of the BAAI, also articulated the BAAI's commitment to original technological innovation and collaboration with academic and industrial ecosystems to empower the development of AI.

"BAAI Conference 2024 serves as a window into the AI landscape in China. The conference was rich in information, prompting me to take extensive notes, which I hope to share with my students," Lin Guanghua, a participant from Zhengzhou University, Central China's Henan Province told the Global Times on Friday.

On Friday, industry leaders shared their insights on technological pathways, China's AI ecosystems, and business model innovations.

Lee Kai-fu, an AI expert who is also the CEO of 01.AI, a global company building generative LLMs and applications, emphasized the potential of large generative model technology in the consumer market, especially in the domestic market.

There is a golden opportunity for developing large model technology in the Chinese consumer market, Lee said, adding that AI companies should build their own brands, and create a sustainable advantage in order to succeed in the rapidly evolving market.

"The truth is that many large models in China are comparable to, or even exceed the capabilities of large models in the US," Lee said.