TIANJIN, May 16 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Third World Intelligence Congress, which opened in northern China's Tianjin municipality Thursday.

In the letter, Xi expressed his sincere welcome to renowned international entrepreneurs, industry leaders and Turing Award winners who attended the congress.

Noting that artificial intelligence (AI) is casting significant and far-reaching impacts on economic development, social progress and global governance, Xi said China attaches high importance to innovative development and takes new-generation AI as the driving force for scientific and technological development, industrial optimization and upgrading, as well as increasing productivity, striving to achieve high-quality development.

Xi expressed hope that participants of the congress could further exchanges, enhance consensus and step up cooperation to promote the healthy development of the new-generation AI.

Having read out Xi's letter at the opening ceremony, Li Hongzhong, secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said Tianjin would embrace a new era of intelligence, create a new intelligence-based economy, step up cooperation with other countries in the field of AI and speed up building "intelligent Tianjin."

The congress will last until Sunday.