BEIJING: China is emerging as a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI) as it makes strides in filing AI patents and experimenting with the latest AI technologies to power industrial applications, industry experts said. Their comments came after a Stanford University report shows that China filed more than half of all global AI patent applications last year, and Chinese researchers produced about one-third of AI journal papers and AI citations in 2021. Wu Hequan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said China has been working to build a solid foundation to support its AI economy and is making big contributions to AI globally. The Stanford University report said that Chinese researchers have been the most prolific for several years, publishing 27.5% of all AI journal articles worldwide. In comparison, US researchers accounted for 12%.