Singapore served as the country of honour at the 2025 World Smart Industry Expo, held September 5 to 8 in Chongqing. The Singapore Pavilion presented digital trade, smart city and Artificial Intelligence solutions from homegrown firms and celebrated 35 years of diplomatic ties. Organizers said the pavilion offered live demos for general visitors and a marketplace for professional visitors seeking partnerships and new markets. The expo coincided with the 10th anniversary of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, known as the CCI.
National initiatives highlighted at the pavilion include SEA-LION, a model trained on Southeast Asian languages, and MERaLiON, which supports English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. Companies showcased business use cases for Artificial Intelligence: transport company Lumens reported a 75 percent reduction in inspection time using generative Artificial Intelligence but the article did not state the exact annual cost savings. Law firm Allen & Gledhill reported halving drafting time through Artificial Intelligence. Neurotechnology firm Neeuro is collaborating with the Chongqing Institute of Brain and Intelligence on brainwave analysis devices, and Sanbo Intelligent Technology described an AI-driven customs platform linking Singapore and China customs systems.
Speakers framed the expo as a partnership platform. Johnson Poh of the Infocomm Media Development Authority described Singapore´s pragmatic, pro-innovation approach to Artificial Intelligence and its role as a hub for trusted, impactful applications. Howie Lau of NCS Group said the event fostered ecosystems and partnerships; NCS has operated in China since 1998 and is focusing on building client AI capabilities. On opening day more than 200 billion yuan in investment contracts were reported, including 120 billion yuan in on-site agreements, with the foreign currency conversion not stated. Since 2015 the CCI has linked Singapore with western China across finance, logistics, aviation and ICT, and participation at WSIE 2025 reinforced Singapore´s role as a digital and economic gateway between western China and Southeast Asia.
