(Yicai Global) Aug. 29 -- Beijing is the central node of China's artificial intelligence market which will maintain a rapid growth rate over the next half a decade, according to a study done by data consultancy IDC and software firm Inspur.

Beijing surpassed Hangzhou this year in the annual ranking, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing a report the two companies published yesterday. Shenzhen is third and Shanghai fourth on the list.

The domestic AI market's compound annual rate of growth will be 44.9 percent over the next five years to surpass USD17 billion, the report predicted. 

Vice Premier Liu He said last month that the value of China's AI-related industries may have exceeded CNY500 billion (USD69.8 billion) already last year, becoming an important driver of economic growth. 

China's smart hardware sector will reach USD8.3 billion in value by 2023 and account for more than one-half of the total AI market by 2021, the report added. Intelligent servers should make up over 85 percent of the smart hardware sector.

Editor: Emmi Laine