The second edition of the Global Developers Conference (GDC) kicked off in Shanghai on Saturday, with open-source software development taking center stage.
DeepSeek's notable achievements have positioned open-source as a prominent topic at this year's event. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China now boasts the second-highest number of open-source contributors worldwide.
MIIT data from 2024 reveals that the number of software developers in China has surpassed 9.4 million. Additionally, a report by the Cloud Computing Standards and Open Source Promotion Committee under the China Communications Standards Association indicates that Chinese projects make up 17 percent of global open-source software, solidifying China's second-place ranking globally.
In his keynote speech, Harry Shum, former executive vice president of Microsoft's Artificial Intelligence and Research group and current chairman of the council at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, highlighted the significance of China's transition from a beneficiary to a major contributor in the global open-source community. Shum emphasized the impact of large Chinese models like DeepSeek and expressed confidence in Chinese teams leading future open-source innovations.
The GDC aims to connect participants by facilitating project funding, service access, market discovery, talent acquisition, technological exploration, and partnership opportunities. By fostering resource alignment and industry integration among developers, the conference reinforces China's influential role in the global technology landscape.
Reference(s):
Global Developers Conference opens in China: Open-source a hot topic
cgtn.com
