SHANGHAI, July 5 (Reuters) - Chinese tech companies,

from industry giants to ambitious startups, converged at the

World AI Conference in Shanghai this week to showcase their

latest innovations and express strong support for the country's

artificial intelligence sector even as it faces U.S. sanctions.

More than 150 AI-related products and solutions are being

exhibited at the conference, with a small number of foreign

firms such as Tesla and Qualcomm ( QCOM ) joining the

predominantly Chinese line-up, according to the event organizer.

The conference has also served as a launchpad for some

companies to introduce their latest AI products.

One notable example is SenseTime ( SNTMF ), which previously

focused on facial recognition technology but recently shifted

its attention to generative AI following the release of ChatGPT

by OpenAI in late 2022.

On Friday, the company unveiled its SenseNova 5.5, its most

advanced large language model (LLM), which is being touted as a

rival to OpenAI's GPT-4o in areas such as mathematical

reasoning.

Despite challenges posed by U.S. sanctions that limit access

to advanced chips, many executives at the conference expressed

confidence that Chinese companies will continue to thrive in the

AI sector.

Zhang Ping'an, the executive in charge of Huawei's cloud

computing unit, told a forum that the idea that a shortage of

the most advanced artificial intelligence chips will hinder

China's aim to be a leader in AI needs to be "abandoned".

"Nobody will deny that we are facing limited computing power

in China," Zhang said. "If we believe that not having the most

advanced AI chips means we will be unable to lead in AI, then we

need to abandon this viewpoint."

To address the lack of access to cutting-edge chips, Zhang

called for more innovation in areas such as cloud computing.

This was echoed by Liu Qingfeng, chairman of AI company

Iflytek, which, like Huawei, has been placed on a sanctions list

that bars it from purchasing advanced chips from U.S. companies.

On the WeChat account of state-owned China News Service, Liu

said in an interview many of the LLMs developed by Chinese

companies, including Iflytek's, have been able to rival OpenAI's

GPT-4.

"We must have our own LLMs that are independently developed

and controlled by China, capable of benchmarking against the

highest global standards and continuously narrowing the gap," he

said.

Some executives, including the CEO of Chinese search

engine giant Baidu ( BIDU ), Robin Li, have urged the AI

industry to shift its focus away from the development of LLMs,

which require massive amounts of computing power and AI chips,

and instead prioritize the adoption of AI.

"Without applications, having only foundational models,

whether open-source or closed-source, is worthless," Li said at

the conference.

(Reporting by Casey Hall in Shanghai and Beijing newsroom;

Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Anil D'Silva)