*Huang Wei-hao: Reducing AI Focus Doesn't Mean Downplaying It; Moonshot AI's IPO Expected to Proceed as Scheduled*
Both Chinese and U.S. leaders mentioned AI development during their speeches. Xi Jinping stated that while there is competition in artificial intelligence, there can also be cooperation. Trump expressed that China and the U.S. should maintain dialogue and strengthen cooperation on AI. Huang Wei-hao, First Vice President of Yinyuan Shichuang Family Office (Hong Kong), told ET Net News Service that the overall outlook for China's AI development remains positive, especially in upstream AI infrastructure such as optical communications, PCBs, and chips, which still have room for expansion. In contrast, midstream and downstream sectors such as large models continue to face intense competition. The development of large models in the U.S. is undoubtedly ahead of Chinese firms, making it difficult for Chinese AI large models to break through. Regarding the absence of any Chinese corporate executives in this trip, Huang believes China deliberately shifted focus to overall trade rather than AI alone, hence Hong Kong stocks have somewhat reflected the disappointment in expectations over the past two days. However, he emphasized this does not mean China intends to slow down its AI development pace; the aforementioned progress will continue.
Recently, there were widespread rumors that certain large model companies were under regulatory investigation. Huang Wei-hao admitted that since AI large models are still undergoing continuous innovation, regulation will also evolve with time, which constitutes a policy risk for the industry. Therefore, compared to midstream and downstream AI sectors, he favors upstream hardware supply sectors, as they currently face relatively lower policy risks. He pointed out that these regulatory rumors were mainly triggered by issues arising from Anthropic's report, prompting follow-up actions, but this does not affect the mainland authorities' overall view on AI development. Thus, Huang Wei-hao believes Moonshot AI will proceed with its IPO as scheduled, although there might be slight adjustments in the offering price or valuation. (hc)