Editor's note: Fostering new quality productive forces is one of China's top priorities in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). Statistics showed that new progress was made in this endeavor in the first quarter of this year. Xinhua hereby presents a series of four stories that examine how China's provincial economic powerhouses are taking the lead in developing new quality productive forces. The following is the second piece illustrating how Guangdong's integrated industrial chain and supportive policies are nurturing "super individuals" -- a new breed of lean, AI-driven entrepreneurs.
GUANGZHOU, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Xie Weiduo, 24, might never have imagined that a small university project -- finding a voice for a virtual streamer -- would a few years later cause a stir in the global AI voice technology industry.
With just three seconds, his self-developed text-to-speech large model can simulate an original voice to produce emotionally nuanced and expressive dubbing, with a level of similarity nearly indistinguishable from the original.
The 24-year-old founder of tech firm Guangzhou Vocarea Co., Ltd. has leveraged its self-developed Vocu V3 large model to top the global text-to-speech leaderboard on Hugging Face, one of the world's largest AI open-source communities, outperforming well-known international unicorns such as ElevenLabs and Inworld. The company has reached an angel-round valuation of 200 million yuan (about 29 million U.S. dollars).
Xie's rise began at the Pazhou Algorithm Competition, a platform that brings together top algorithm experts from around the world. It was here that his technology first showed its promise, earning him and his team wider recognition.
They later moved into an incubator in the Pazhou Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy Pilot Zone in Haizhu District, south China's Guangzhou, where they continued to refine and develop their innovation.
There, they received comprehensive support -- from office space and computing resources to industry connections -- gradually turning a "geek" idea into a viable industrial reality.
Pazhou has become a key part of Guangzhou's industrial transformation blueprint. The platform and its ecosystem are helping numerous "super individuals" like Xie to transform boundless imagination into world-changing productivity.
Xie's company is a typical One-Person Company (OPC), with a core team of three or four members, an extremely short decision-making chain, and remarkable efficiency. This nimble, highly agile organizational form exemplifies the bold exploration of industrial transformation and upgrading in Guangdong Province, a major economic powerhouse in China.
The year 2026 marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), and the next five years will be a critical stage for China to advance toward its goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035.
The plan calls for a full implementation of the "AI+" action, a sweeping initiative to bolster the application of AI with technological innovation, industrial development, cultural construction, people's livelihood and social governance to empower all industries.
On March 16, Guangdong issued an action plan to boost the innovation and development of AI OPCs, the first provincial-level policy in China specifically supporting AI OPC innovation. The plan aims to cultivate 1,000 benchmark AI OPC enterprises by 2028, positioning Guangdong as a national leader in AI OPC development.
Guangdong is not alone. Other regions across China are actively making plans. Since January 2026, more than 10 areas in the Yangtze River Delta alone have introduced policies to support OPCs.
The Pearl River Delta's robust industrial foundations also provide strong backing for the development of the AI industry.
"The mature and rapidly responsive manufacturing chain is the reason we chose to settle in Guangzhou from Singapore. We can find efficient, super OPC AI ecosystem partners here," said Chen Siwei, founder of Autolife Robotics, echoing the thoughts of many entrepreneurs.
"On average, it takes two to three weeks to source a component in Singapore, but only one day in Guangdong," Chen added. In the Pearl River Delta, the speed at which an idea moves from blueprint to prototype, and to mass production is highly competitive globally.
Guangdong encompasses all 31 major manufacturing categories, hosts a vast number of market entities, and boasts a complete industrial chain spanning R&D, production, distribution and services.
To embrace this new transformation, the government is also actively adjusting its role.
Chen Weifeng, executive deputy head of Haizhu District, carries a unique title on his business card: "Partner of enterprises in Haizhu."
"Cadres must not only be open-minded," he said, "but also stay close to enterprises and meet their needs."
His words reflect the local government's determination to shift from being "managers" to "service providers." From offering computing subsidies and talent apartments to streamlining administrative approvals and building matchmaking platforms, Haizhu -- and Guangdong more broadly -- is removing obstacles for AI startups through attentive, hands-on services.
The Haizhu District has even established an AI development bureau, the first of its kind at the county and district-level government in the country, to accelerate the growth of this industry, providing key policies and platform support for AI enterprises.
The region's detailed industrial chain and vast market create rich application scenarios and foster vibrant business opportunities. In this ecosystem, AI technologies find the broadest possible testing ground for real-world deployment.
Data confirms the effectiveness of this proactive transformation. Zeng Jinze, a senior official with Guangdong's industry and information technology department, stated in January that the core AI industry scale in Guangdong is expected to exceed 300 billion yuan in 2025, achieving rapid growth of over 40 percent and accounting for a quarter of the national total.
Emerging industries have also attracted more talent. Guangdong's permanent population reached 128 million in 2025, a net increase of 790,000 for the year, making it China's most populous province for 19 consecutive years.
Inside the Pazhou Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy Pilot Zone, a vision of life in 2050 is already taking shape. Mature brain-computer interface technology, flying vehicles used as commuting tools, and humanoid robots serving as close companions are on display. The technologies that will bring these visions to life are thriving right here.
From Xie and his Vocu V3 large model to the thousands of emerging OPC enterprises, China is providing fertile ground for "super individuals" through institutional innovation, a deep industrial ecosystem, and attentive services. This transformation -- rooted in technology and enabled by the ecosystem -- is writing an imaginative answer for the future industries of both China and the world. ■
