At the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, China Southern Power Grid unveiled a suite of digital innovations aimed at deepening energy cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The showcase included the DaWatt - Lao Language Large Language Model (LLM) for the Energy and Power Sector V2.0 and the Flexible Grayscale Intelligent Monitoring & Analysis Platform for power system cybersecurity. These technologies highlight the growing potential for collaboration in digitalization, intelligent systems, and green energy across the region.
The Lao-language LLM has already been deployed at Electricité du Laos Transmission Company Limited (EDL-T), where it rapidly analyzes thousands of inspection images. After its algorithms were optimized for Laos' mountainous and rainforest terrain, the model completed intelligent inspection analysis for four transmission lines, processing 26,000 drone inspection images and identifying more than 3,600 equipment defects. This deployment demonstrates how AI can overcome geographical and linguistic barriers to enhance grid reliability and maintenance efficiency.
Liu Ying, general manager of the Digitalization Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd., said the company has been building multilingual professional corpora for the power sector, covering ASEAN countries including Laos, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Drawing on the DaWatt foundation model, the company is developing energy and power models tailored to ASEAN languages and real-world power industry applications. This effort is crucial for standardizing technical communication and enabling seamless cross-border operations.
Talent development is another pillar of the cooperation. The China-ASEAN Institute of Energy, jointly established by Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and Guangxi University, is exploring an industry-university training model with a strong emphasis on practical experience. So far, two cohorts totaling 53 students from ASEAN countries have enrolled. This initiative addresses the skills gap in the region's energy sector and fosters long-term people-to-people ties.
Cooperation is also evolving from one-way training toward joint innovation. Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. and the Royal Academy of Cambodia have jointly established a laboratory for artificial intelligence and safety equipment, while the company has also launched peer-to-peer exchanges with Electricité du Laos on improving power supply reliability. These partnerships signal a shift from knowledge transfer to co-creation, which is essential for sustainable development.
To address language barriers in cross-border technical exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has developed an AI-powered translation platform backed by a specialized database containing terminology for more than 1,800 types of power equipment. The platform supports accurate translation between Chinese and English, Chinese and Lao, and Chinese and Vietnamese. At a recent training program for Chinese and overseas engineers, the system supported one-click generation of bilingual course materials and real-time speech translation, helping participants navigate highly specialized power-sector terminology. This tool is vital for reducing miscommunication and accelerating project timelines.
To support regular international exchanges, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. has also established an international talent pool covering management, technical, and skilled personnel. It has developed 24 hours of courses on international affairs as well as 20 short-form video courses. "This year, we will also explore joint postgraduate programs with universities in ASEAN countries," said Sun Xiaohua, deputy director of the Human Resources Department at Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd.
Looking ahead, Guangxi Power Grid Co., Ltd. plans to further advance a development model featuring "R&D in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, integration in Guangxi, and application in ASEAN." The company will continue expanding its multilingual power-sector corpora and explore a "Token Goes Global" model for power-sector AI, with computing resources and models based in Guangxi while knowledge services are delivered overseas. The effort is aimed at creating new forms of China-ASEAN energy cooperation and supporting the green development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0.
These developments are significant because they position digital infrastructure and AI as core enablers of regional energy integration. By overcoming language and technical barriers, China and ASEAN can accelerate the transition to green energy, improve grid resilience, and foster innovation-driven economic growth. The initiatives also align with broader goals of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, which emphasizes sustainable and high-tech cooperation.
