Erik Mkrtchyan: An Armenian youth’s view on Chinese technological innovation

The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 will be held from March 24 to 27 in Boao, south China’s Hainan Province, under the theme “Shaping a Shared Future: New Dynamics, New Opportunities and New Cooperation.” Nearly 50 side events will be held during the conference.

In this video, Erik Mkrtchyan, a first-year mechanical engineering student at Tsinghua University from Armenia, shares his personal experiences. Erik came to study in China because of the country’s rich cultural heritage and dynamic environment for technological innovation. He focuses on the topics of artificial intelligence and humanoid robots at the annual conference and gives insight as a student: During his studies, he used AI tools like Doubao for artistic exploration and came to realize that AI is transforming from an efficiency tool into a creative partner. He is also amazed at how deeply intelligent technology has been integrated into daily life in China. Erik hopes to bring back to Armenia the technical skills he has learned, along with the philosophy of integrating education, engineering and real-world applications, to contribute to his home country’s technological innovation. He says that he is not only witnessing how the future is being created, but also learning how to take part in the process.