HONG KONG -- Hong Kong will establish a committee on AI+ and industry development strategy to formulate strategies for driving industrial transformation through AI, with initial focus on life and health technology and embodied intelligence, John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), said on Tuesday.

Addressing the first Hong Kong embodied AI industry summit, Lee highlighted the role of embodied AI in promoting industrial upgrading and fostering new quality productive forces, adding that Hong Kong welcomes enterprises to set up operations here to leverage the city's strengths and accelerate technological upgrading.

Lee said that the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute is set to commence operations in the second half of the year, with the aim of boosting AI research and development, facilitating the commercialization of research outcomes, and expanding real-world application scenarios.

The institute will launch an AI technology matching platform, providing industry demand with solutions to speed up commercialization and empower industrial development, Lee added.

Also speaking at the summit, Frederick Ma, chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, stressed that Hong Kong boasts unique strengths of internal integration and external connectivity as well as openness and inclusiveness, making it an optimal platform for mainland innovation and tech enterprises to expand into global markets.

The summit, co-hosted by the Hong Kong China Friendship Association and robotics firm AGIBOT, aims to forge a platform for exchanges and cooperation for Hong Kong's embodied AI sector, as well as build the city into a global hub for embodied AI.