People interact with a robot dog at the 2025 Global Developer Conference held in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 21, 2025. (Xinhua/Chen Haoming)

Open-source large model technologies and products have taken center stage at the ongoing 2025 Global Developer Conference  (GDC) , which is being held in Shanghai from Friday to Sunday.

The event has brought together top domestic and international artificial intelligence (AI) companies to showcase their latest technologies and solutions, attracting developers, scientists, and investors from around the world.

At the conference, a humanoid robot developed by Chinese firm Unitree Robotics -- famous for its dancing robots featured on China's nationally televised Spring Festival gala -- walked the company's robot dog, drawing a cheering crowd of onlookers.

"With the support of a broad base of developers, artificial intelligence is developing rapidly, particularly as recent breakthroughs in open-source large model technologies and products create new opportunities and space for the development of China's artificial intelligence industry," said Xiong Jijun, vice minister of industry and information technology in a speech at the conference, on Saturday.

Xiong noted that China's AI industry is thriving, particularly with the widespread acceptance of open-source principles. Currently, the country ranks second in the world in terms of the number of open-source contributors.

Yang Haijun, chief engineer of the Shanghai municipal cyberspace administration, told the conference that China is among the first countries to introduce regulations for the management of generative AI services.

Data from iResearch, an industry research and consulting institute, indicates that China's AI industry is projected to reach 811 billion yuan (about 111.8 billion U.S. dollars) by 2028, with emerging sectors such as AI and robotics poised to unlock significant market potential and development opportunities.