Shenzhen forum explores AI cultural policy

The Forum on Building up China’s Cultural Strength 2026 ended in Shenzhen after two days of sessions that put artificial intelligence at the center of discussion about China’s cultural industries, media and arts policy. State media and regional official outlets said the event ran on May 21 and May 22 in Guangdong’s technology hub, with subforums covering AI and media change, publishing, literary and artistic creation, and digital cultural production. The Shenzhen forum was held alongside the 22nd China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair, according to Yangcheng Evening News, and formed part of a broader official push around what organizers called building China’s cultural strength. Chinese state media said the 2026 forum followed editions launched in 2023 and held in Guangdong for four consecutive years. (news.cctv.com) ### Why was AI such a large part of the Shenzhen discussions? Artificial intelligence featured across multiple sessions, including forums on media transformation, publishing integration and innovation in cultural industries, according to Xinhua’s roundup published by CCTV and a Guangdong foreign affairs office report. Those reports said participants discussed both the productive uses of AI and the need to manage risks in cultural applications. (ysln.ycwb.com) Xu Yangsheng, president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said at a Greater Bay Area subforum on Friday that AI was “far more than a cutting-edge technology” and had “evolved into a new cultural form shaping the digital intelligent era,” China Daily reported. The same report said speakers framed the issue around how the Greater Bay Area could develop culture in a more digital environment. (news.cctv.com) ### Which officials and institutions were involved? Li Shulei, a member of the Communist Party Politburo and head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, attended the opening on May 21 and delivered a keynote speech, the Shenzhen government said. Huang Kunming, the Guangdong provincial party secretary, also attended and delivered remarks, according to the same report. (global.chinadaily.com.cn) CGTN said attendees at the opening called for carrying forward Chinese cultural traditions as part of national development goals. That broader official framing sat alongside the forum’s more technical panels on AI, publishing and digital production models. ### What did speakers say about AI’s risks and limits? (sz.gov.cn) Guangdong’s foreign affairs office said officials and scholars at the Shenzhen event stressed that AI use in the cultural domain should be accompanied by efforts to reduce risks. The report did not present the issue as a rejection of AI, but as a condition attached to wider adoption in cultural work. (news.cgtn.com) Gong Ke, former president of Nankai University and executive dean of the Chinese Institute for New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies, said AI was an enabling tool for cultural creation and “by no means a substitute” for humanistic creation, according to Xinhua’s forum summary. Zhao Zizhong, dean of the New Media Research Institute at the Communication University of China, said AI could process large amounts of information quickly, but media workers still carried responsibility for narrative judgment and public credibility. (en.gdfao.gov.cn) ### What concrete examples of AI use were discussed? Yuewen Group party secretary and vice president Xie Lanfang said at one forum that the company had built its strategy around “IP+AI” and launched AI tools for writers, comics and rights work, according to Xinhua. The report said nearly 1,000 AI comic-drama works were already online and more than 100 had exceeded 10 million views. (news.cctv.com) Xinhua also cited examples from cultural preservation. Dunhuang Academy and Tencent were said to have developed a “digital library” project using AI-assisted text recognition for ancient manuscripts, while Yuanxiang Technology described using high-precision 3D reconstruction and 12K sampling to digitize cultural heritage for immersive viewing. (news.cctv.com) ### What comes next after the forum? May 23 state-media coverage presented the Shenzhen gathering as a concluded event, with published roundups now serving as the main public record of the discussions. The next concrete reference point is the continued rollout of projects cited by speakers, including Yuewen’s AI-assisted content tools and Greater Bay Area initiatives discussed in Shenzhen. (news.cctv.com)