Illustration: Xia Qing/Global Times

Europe is setting its sights on gigawatt factories in a bid to bolster its artificial intelligence (AI) industry and meet the challenges of a rapidly changing sector, CNBC reported on Tuesday. Buzz around the concept of factories that "industrialize manufacturing AI" has gained ground in recent months, and it is believed that this could bring more opportunities for international cooperation around the AI industry, including between China and the EU.

How can manufacturing AI be industrialized? AI factories are described as dynamic ecosystems that bring together computing power, data and talent to create cutting-edge AI models and applications. In layman's terms, they can be understood as factories that produce AI products.

To boost economic development and enhance its competitiveness, the EU is ramping up research, innovation and investment in new technologies. Cutting-edge fields like AI are gaining momentum globally, with increasing interest in investment, application, and collaboration. It's clear that Europe aims to accelerate AI development, and AI factories are seen as a component of this effort. According to CNBC, the EU has put up 10 billion euros ($11.8 billion) in funding to set up 13 AI factories and 20 billion euros as a starting point for investment in the gigafactories.

The establishment of AI factories is expected to accelerate the development of the AI industry in Europe and create more opportunities for international collaboration. These opportunities will not only arise in AI models and applications but also extend to broader areas such as green energy and digital infrastructure.

For instance, quoting an expert, CNBC reported that "whether there's enough space in Europe's electricity grid in all of these countries to create those factories remains to be seen ... this will require major investment in power regeneration capacity."

The ongoing global race to advance AI and its related industries is highly competitive. Nations and regions are keen to gain an early lead in this field. Strengthening international collaboration to pool resources and expertise can accelerate progress and development in this area.

In the realm of AI-related industries, both China and Europe are making rapid strides, each with its own strengths. If the potential for collaboration is further explored, it could be beneficial for the development of AI industries on both sides.

China-EU cooperation in AI extends across a broad spectrum of sectors, including intelligent precision manufacturing, smart mobility, healthcare technologies and digital economy applications. 

For instance, European companies like Siemens and Bosch are working with Chinese partners on AI-driven industrial automation and smart factory solutions. Meanwhile, Chinese digital giants such as Alibaba Cloud are involved in providing digital services and AI products within the EU, according to media reports.

China and the EU share broad potential for cooperation and complementary advantages in the field of AI. The EU possesses strong capabilities in fundamental research and core algorithm development, yet these strengths have not fully translated into large-scale commercialization or industrial competitiveness. China's advantages in the AI sector span a massive scale in research output, leadership in patent filings, rapid commercialization, open-source ecosystems - such as DeepSeek - and expansive digital infrastructure for scaling AI systems.

China-EU AI cooperation hinges on bridging China's mass deployment and industrial capacity with the EU's strong research capability. If both sides can strengthen innovation synergies, it would unlock greater opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the AI sector. 

Meanwhile, collaborations between China and Europe in the AI industry face its share of challenges. Notably, the politicization of economic and trade issues by some politicians in the US and other Western countries, along with the erection of technological barriers, has made cross-regional cooperation in sensitive areas particularly difficult. 

However, for regions eager to speed up development in cutting-edge fields, collaborative growth is always preferable to isolation. It is hoped that China and Europe can seize the opportunities presented by the rapid development of their respective AI industries to enhance cooperation in this area.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn