Han Bicheng, founder and CEO of BrainCo, delivers the keynote speech during the opening of the 9th Hangzhou International Day. [Photo/The 9th Hangzhou International Day]

The 9th Hangzhou International Day opened on Sept 5 in Zhejiang province, bringing together nearly 200 representatives from 24 countries and nine international organizations, international friendship cities, businesses, foreign residents, and young people to discuss cooperation and development.

Established in 2018, Hangzhou International Day is held annually on Sept 5 to commemorate the closing day and communique of the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit and promote the city's internationalization.

A major focus of this year's event was AI. Han Bicheng, founder and CEO of BrainCo, a Hangzhou-based brain-computer interface company, delivered the only keynote speech at the opening ceremony.

BrainCo gained international attention after Chinese para-swimmer Xu Jialing used its intelligent bionic hand, controlled by brain signals, to light the main cauldron at the opening ceremony of the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou.

In August, the company launched a brain-controlled robot training platform that allows users to learn to operate robots with their thoughts in under 10 minutes. It has since received inquiries and orders from laboratories in more than 40 countries.

BrainCo is part of Hangzhou's growing AI ecosystem. The city is seeking to become a national leader in AI innovation, with emerging companies and open-source models gaining international attention. In the first half of this year, Hangzhou's core AI industries generated 270.5 billion yuan ($40.29 billion) in revenue, up 25.8 percent year-on-year.