AI Transforms China’s Manufacturing Into Global Magnet
Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei district, long known as “China’s No. 1 Electronics Street,” has become a magnet for overseas buyers hunting for the latest AI-powered gadgets. The district now receives an average of 750,000 visitors daily, including more than 8,000 foreign visitors, with foreign trade accounting for over 70 percent of merchant sales, according to Xinhua News.
AI glasses — integrating first-person photography, voice interaction, real-time translation, smart object recognition and navigation reminders — are currently the hottest-selling products in the district. AI product sales across all categories grew more than 55 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2026, with AI products now accounting for 61 percent of electronics sold in the commercial area, up from 41 percent in 2025.
From Electronics Street to AI Showcase
The transformation of Huaqiangbei mirrors a broader shift underway across China’s manufacturing sector. What was once a hub for counterfeit electronics and components has evolved into a legitimate center for AI-powered consumer products, supported by what local officials describe as a “one-kilometer” supply chain. The core commercial district hosts over 115,000 business entities with access to 1.1 million types of electronic components — products can be sampled within one week, and more than 100 types of components can be assembled in a single day.
“AI applications have enhanced the technological content of smart glasses,” said Li Weiming, an entrepreneur who has operated in Huaqiangbei for nearly 20 years. “Only with good products can you be competitive.”
A Showcase for the Asia-Pacific
The district’s evolution was on full display during the Asia-Pacific Media High-Level Forum held in Shenzhen on September 5, a key pre-event for the APEC Leaders’ Meeting scheduled for November 18-19 in the city during APEC’s “China Year” 2026. The forum attracted over 400 representatives from more than 40 countries and regions, including 250-plus mainstream media executives and senior journalists from across the Asia-Pacific region.
A Science & Technology Innovation Achievements Exhibition held alongside the forum featured 30-plus tech companies from the Greater Bay Area across four sections: Smart Media Technology, Embodied Intelligence, Smart City and Smart Living. Attendees experienced AI-powered translation earbuds, spatial cameras that can “copy” a scene into three-dimensional digital space, and embodied intelligence robots sorting packages in real-world logistics scenarios.
The forum’s impact extended beyond the exhibition hall. Rebecca Fanning, founder of Silicon Valley Dragon in the United States, noted that China is “accelerating the large-scale application of AI technology in electric vehicles, autonomous driving, drones and other fields.” With factories upgrading from automation to intelligence, she observed, “Made in China” is accelerating toward “Intelligently Made in China.” The forum also released the “Shenzhen Consensus” and established the Asia-Pacific Media Partnership Program Preparatory Committee, as reported by Xinhua.
Export Surge Reflects AI-Driven Competitiveness
The appeal of Chinese intelligent manufacturing extends well beyond trade shows. Customs data reveals a surge in AI-related exports during the first half of 2026. Optical communication equipment laser transceiver modules and integrated circuits for AI computing grew 22.3 percent and 88.7 percent respectively, while laser ranging radar for autonomous driving grew 58.3 percent and 3D printer exports surged 109.3 percent, according to China’s government website.
Smart biomimetic robot exports exceeded 10,000 units in the first half of the year, with smart handling robots and welding robots for global manufacturing markets both growing over 60 percent. Shenzhen’s high-tech product imports and exports reached 1.7 trillion yuan in the first half of 2026, ranking first nationally and contributing over 60 percent to the city’s overall foreign trade growth.
Consumer-grade 3D printers have entered a phase of large-scale production, with China becoming the global core production and export base. Bambu Lab, a Shenzhen company that grew in Qianhai, transformed the consumer 3D printing market with industrial-grade performance standards. Its revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan (approximately $1.4 billion) in 2025, making it the world’s first 3D printing company to surpass that threshold.
“With AI empowerment, domestically-produced consumer 3D printing equipment is easier to use and more precise, making it highly popular among consumers,” said Bai Xue, Secretary-General of the Shenzhen 3D Printing Association.
Building the Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem
Behind these numbers lies a deliberate industrial strategy. Shenzhen has positioned itself as the “world’s No. 1 city for intelligent terminals,” incorporating “edge-end intelligent agents” into its core urban development strategy. The “Embodied Intelligence Port” in Qianhai has gathered 139 embodied intelligence companies, covering the full industrial ecosystem from computing power and perception models to core components and complete machines.
The Shenzhen Leading Edge Intelligence Open Research Institute, established in early 2026, focuses on 12 core technology directions including smart AI and chip technology, next-generation intelligent terminals, and future human-computer interaction technologies. “We insist on being industry-oriented with open ecosystem cooperation,” said Liu Yang, the institute’s director, “empowering the national edge intelligence industry system, making ‘Made in China’ smarter and more user-friendly.”
China’s manufacturing value-added now accounts for nearly 30 percent of the global total, ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years. The country plans to promote 500 “AI + Manufacturing” typical application scenarios by 2027, building on more than 30,000 basic-level smart factories already in operation. A recent Xinhua report noted that Chinese factories are increasingly deploying AI across research, production and management — from “future factories” where a compressor rolls off the line every 3.5 seconds to “black light factories” running with minimal human intervention.
A New Chapter in Global Manufacturing Competition
The timing is significant. Major economies are all racing to integrate AI into manufacturing — the United States through “reindustrialization,” the European Union through AI application strategies, and Japan and South Korea through smart factory initiatives. The EU’s July exemption of smart glasses, smart watches and other wearables from mandatory removable battery requirements has further reduced production costs and boosted Chinese exports to European markets.
As the APEC Leaders’ Meeting approaches in November, Shenzhen’s transformation from a manufacturing hub to an intelligent manufacturing showcase offers international observers a tangible example of how AI can reshape industrial competitiveness. Zhang Lin, Director of the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Bureau, predicts that 2026 will be the “Year of the Intelligent Agent,” with Shenzhen striving to lead the intelligent agent industry’s development.
For global buyers, investors and policymakers watching China’s manufacturing evolution, the message from Shenzhen’s electronics streets and factory floors is increasingly clear: the future of “Made in China” is being built on intelligence, not just scale.