HANGZHOU, (Xinhua); Getting medical advice in China has never been easier than it is now. Via a simple tap on a smartphone and a brief conversation, an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant can instantly deliver a preliminary diagnosis based on clinical expertise of China’s top medical professionals.
This AI support stems from an app named AQ, which was displayed at the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in east China’s Zhejiang Province. Han Xinyi, CEO of Ant Group, shared the group’s original intention in developing this app when speaking at a sub-forum focusing on digital health in Wuzhen on Saturday.
“We know minor issues can be handled at local clinics, but the urge to consult a specialist at a big hospital remains,” he said — adding that this app is designed to make quality medical services accessible for the broadest possible population.
Han’s words underscore the harsh reality of unevenly distributed medical resources in China. In response to this long-standing challenge, the government has launched a raft of initiatives to boost the capacity of primary-level health institutions. This effort is now poised to be supercharged by the country’s rapid advances in AI and new policies to integrate this technology into healthcare.
Riding the wave, Ant Group launched the AI-powered AQ app in June 2025. Notably, this app is trained by using the collective clinical expertise of China’s top doctors. It not only provides services like AI-assisted consultation and test report analysis, but can also serve as an assistant for doctors, according to Han.
While AQ focuses on online consultations, another “star” at the summit – an AI-powered massage robot – is redefining in-person therapy with cutting-edge precision and convenience.
Developed by EaseFuture, the AI-Powered Massage Robot can accurately identify 74 acupoints on the back within just three seconds, replicating the techniques of experienced human therapists, according to Zhiyong Yu, founder and CEO of EaseFuture.
These robots are already in operation at senior care centers and wellness hotels across 76 percent of China’s provincial-level regions, having delivered over 350,000 massage sessions to date, Yu told Xinhua.
Chinese scientists and entrepreneurs are also setting their sights on a seemingly less exciting area — sleep.
At the sub-forum, Lu Lin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the national medical center for mental diseases, described a future where AI-powered beds and pillows could monitor one’s rest, play calming music and even morph into a robot that performs chest compressions and summons a doctor in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
He noted that several companies are already directing research efforts toward AI-assisted sleep.
Lu expressed hope that in the future, every village and community will have access to “AI doctors” capable of addressing common public health issues. However, he stressed that AI cannot replace physicians in the short term and can only serve as an assistant to human doctors.
When asked about the challenges of promoting smart healthcare solutions, Yu acknowledged that high manufacturing costs remain a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“It will take some time before these robots become common household devices,” he said. “But I’m optimistic that as products and supply chains mature, AI-powered massage robots will find their way into more everyday scenarios — truly making the benefits of technology accessible to everyone.”
