Chinese Enterprises Drive BRICS Smart Manufacturing Push

XIAMEN, China — Chinese enterprises are leading a new wave of BRICS cooperation centered on intelligence and innovation, as the bloc marks its 20th anniversary with a major forum in the coastal city of Xiamen. The 2026 BRICS New Industrial Revolution Partnership Forum, held May 27-28 under the theme “Co-building the Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, Accelerating the New Industrial Revolution,” brought together representatives from 27 countries and multiple international organizations to forge deeper industrial ties.

A Milestone Forum for a Growing Bloc

The forum, jointly hosted by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Fujian Provincial Government, drew government officials, diplomats, corporate leaders, and representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the New Development Bank (NDB), and the League of Arab States. According to Xinhua News, the event marks a significant milestone as 2026 commemorates the 20th anniversary of the BRICS cooperation mechanism, which has expanded from its original four members to include South Africa and, most recently, Indonesia as a full member in January 2025.

Chinese MIIT Minister Li Lecheng told attendees that China has accelerated the promotion of new industrialization and deeply implemented smart manufacturing projects, becoming “the world’s largest smart manufacturing application market.” He called for four priority areas of cooperation: jointly grasping technological change opportunities, cultivating open and interconnected markets, consolidating the industrial development foundation, and building an inclusive cooperation system, as reported by the Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

Real-World Impact: Chinese Companies in Action

The forum showcased concrete examples of Chinese enterprises driving the “two-way journey” (双向奔赴) approach to BRICS cooperation, emphasizing mutual benefit over one-way technology transfer.

Fujian Yangzhu New Materials Technology Co., a startup less than two years old, is leveraging Fujian’s abundant bamboo resources to produce bamboo fiber particle materials as a plastic alternative. Company head Yang Ziyang told Xinhua that orders from other BRICS countries have already exceeded 100 million yuan, noting that more BRICS nations are introducing plastic bans, creating broad application prospects for green, low-carbon environmental technologies.

Shulian (Xiamen) Intelligent Technology Co. showcased its “Xingyuan Brain-Computer Interface” at the accompanying BRICS New Industrial Revolution Exhibition. Chairman Wang Weipeng explained that the company has established a joint laboratory with RUDN University in Russia and developed joint R&D and talent training mechanisms with Belarusian State University and other institutions, producing products for education assessment, cognitive training, and health monitoring.

Xiamen Xiangyu Group, a Fortune Global 500 company, has invested in a 2.5 million ton-per-year stainless steel integrated smelting project in Indonesia. Chairman Deng Qidong described the project as a national strategic priority for Indonesia, driving import and export trade exceeding US$20.8 billion and directly creating approximately 12,000 local jobs. “This forges a win-win ‘two-way journey’ international industrial chain between China and Indonesia,” Deng said.

The BRICS Innovation Base: From Vision to Reality

Central to these developments is the BRICS Innovation Base, established in Xiamen in November 2020 following President Xi Jinping’s announcement at the 12th BRICS Summit. The base has grown dramatically, with cumulative achievements including 138 cooperation projects signed, total investment exceeding 62 billion yuan (approximately US$8.6 billion), and more than 40 high-level international exchange activities, according to People’s Daily via Tencent News. It has become the second-largest BRICS cooperation entity after the New Development Bank.

Fujian Governor Zhao Long noted that the province’s trade with BRICS countries reached 365.5 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the province’s total foreign trade. Xiamen’s exports to BRICS nations in the first four months of 2026 reached 21.28 billion yuan, up 4.7% year-on-year — a record high for the period.

New Initiatives and Expanding Networks

The forum produced several concrete outcomes. The International Smart Manufacturing Alliance released a Smart Manufacturing International Cooperation Initiative, along with overseas smart factory cases and a catalog of smart manufacturing system solutions. A New Industrial Revolution Partnership City Network was launched with 11 founding cities, including Durban (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria), Belgrade (Serbia), Almaty and Astana (Kazakhstan), and five Chinese cities. The China Center for BRICS Industrial Competencies published the “2026 BRICS Industrial Cooperation Case Collection.”

Strategic Implications

The forum demonstrates China’s continued leadership in shaping BRICS economic cooperation, particularly in technology and manufacturing. The “two-way journey” framing positions China as a collaborative partner rather than a dominant player, emphasizing mutual benefit. The focus on smart manufacturing aligns with global trends toward Industry 4.0 and China’s own industrial modernization goals.

With India set to host the BRICS 2026 Summit later this year, the outcomes from Xiamen will feed into broader discussions on how the expanded bloc can deepen economic integration. Eveline Marcelina, CEO of Indonesian Nusantara Global Innovation Co., captured the sentiment of many participants when she expressed hope to “deeply cooperate with Chinese robot manufacturing and AI enterprises to build an integrated, collaborative smart hospital system.”

Looking Ahead

As BRICS marks two decades of cooperation, the Xiamen forum signals a shift from traditional trade relationships toward technology-driven partnerships centered on intelligence and innovation. The challenge ahead will be translating the ambitious initiatives announced in Xiamen into tangible outcomes that benefit all member states — a task that will test the resilience of the “two-way journey” model as the bloc navigates an increasingly complex global economic landscape.