China plans to build a 13.8 billion yuan (USD$2.1 billion) research facility dedicated to artificial intelligence in the Mentougou district of western Beijing.
The state-owned Xinhua News Agency reports that the AI park will cover 54.87 hectares of area, with construction slated for completion within a five year period.
The park will house around 400 businesses, and facilities will include 5G mobile internet as well as super computer and cloud services.
The Zhongguancun Development Group will be responsible for development of the facility, and cooperate with domestic and foreign universities, research institutes and large-scale enterprises to develop multiple on-site research hubs, including a national-level artificial intelligence lab.
The park expected to generate annual output of around 50 billion yuan, with key R&D focal points including big data, biometrics, cloud computing,and AI deep learning.
Beijing is focusing heavily on emerging industries such as AI in a bid to uncover fresh growth drivers and transform China into a global tech leader.
The central government unveiled plans in July 2017 for China to become a world AI leader by 2030, with a domestic industry worth 1 trillion yuan.
Regulators have since made efforts to further spur development of the industry, with the release of an AI standardised assessment system in November.
