China Pushes Deep AI Integration Into Manufacturing

China is accelerating the deep integration of artificial intelligence with its manufacturing base, framing “AI + Manufacturing” as a strategic priority to upgrade industrial capacity and secure new competitive advantages. The push was underscored at the National Advanced Manufacturing Conference in Beijing on September 16–17, 2026, where Premier Li Qiang called for making advanced manufacturing “an important strategic task” and set next-generation intelligent manufacturing as the main direction of attack.

In a commentary published by Xinhua News, sourced from the Economic Information Daily and authored by researchers Cheng Junjie and Zha Tingjun of the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, analysts argue that fusing AI with manufacturing is both a practical necessity for supply-chain resilience and a strategic choice for shaping new development advantages.

A Foundation Built on Scale

The commentary points to China’s substantial existing base. China has led the world in AI patent applications for several consecutive years and now accounts for 60% of global AI patents, the authors state, with high-quality datasets exceeding 120,000. Citing the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, they note that by the end of 2025, 89.6% of above-scale industrial enterprises had undertaken digital transformation, and digital equipment penetration reached 57.7%.

AI adoption is concentrating in specific regions and industries. Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai together hold more than 60% of China’s AI patents, while equipment manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, and computers and communications equipment are among the fastest adopters. Large firms dominate: Tencent and Huawei lead national AI patent applications in manufacturing.

The broader economic data reinforces the momentum. As reported by 21st Century Business Herald, China’s high-tech manufacturing value-added grew 16.7% year-on-year in August 2026. Integrated circuit manufacturing surged 101.5%, and AI-adjacent output jumped sharply — sensors up 42.6% and industrial robots up 34.6%.

Policy Backing Takes Shape

The strategic push is anchored in formal policy. In December 2025, eight departments — including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Cyberspace Administration, the NDRC, and the National Data Administration — jointly issued the “AI + Manufacturing” Special Action Implementation Opinions, according to the MIIT. The plan sets a target that by 2027 China’s key AI core technologies achieve safe and reliable supply, deploying seven major tasks and 21 specific measures and designating five key industries for AI-enabled transformation: raw materials, equipment manufacturing, consumer goods, electronic information, and software and IT services.

Premier Li Qiang emphasized carrying out the “AI + Manufacturing” action in depth, increasing support for enterprise digital-intelligent transformation, and consolidating the foundation of intelligent software and hardware. Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, delivering the concluding speech, called for vigorously developing next-generation intelligent manufacturing and for continuing to rectify disorderly, irrational competition.

Persistent Gaps

The commentary does not shy away from obstacles. Original patents in chips, industrial operating systems, and industrial software remain weak, with high dependence on foreign bottom-layer core technologies. Domestic production rates for high-end industrial sensors and precision servo motors are low, and training data for industry-specific AI models is scarce and costly to label.

Technology transfer remains a bottleneck. Manufacturers tend to prefer self-development, and their share of AI patents is still low, leaving much technical reserve unconverted. The authors describe a “last mile” problem in moving frontier patents from universities and institutes to the factory floor. They also flag weak spillover from large enterprises to smaller suppliers, fragmented data sources, and a shortage of interdisciplinary talent.

Signs of Real-World Impact

Despite the challenges, executives report tangible gains. Li Zhen, chairman of battery maker Gotion High-tech, told the Shanghai Securities News that AI simulation replaced extensive trial-and-error, compressing years of material screening into months, while AI visual quality-control models pushed product yield above 99%.

Speaking at the 2026 World Manufacturing Conference in Hefei, MIIT Vice Minister Xin Guobin said the ministry would deepen the “AI + Manufacturing” push, cultivate smart factories in tiers, and develop open-source base models and vertical models. Zhou Ji, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, predicted that next-generation intelligent manufacturing — which he called the core technology of the fourth industrial revolution — will be basically universal across China’s industrial enterprises by 2035.

A report released at the conference found that by the end of June 2026, AI application penetration in key manufacturing scenarios reached 34.2%, up 5.5 percentage points year-on-year, with 10.6% of above-scale manufacturers having adopted large-model applications.

What to Watch

The commentary recommends targeted measures: compiling a list of “chokepoint” technologies — industrial AI chips, industrial operating systems, industrial large models, and high-end sensors — and organizing coordinated research, rather than spreading funding too thinly. It also urges pilot testing and verification platforms, risk compensation funds to ease enterprises’ fear of experimentation, and efforts to build industry AI shared-service platforms for smaller firms.

How quickly China closes the gap between its dominant patent position and the hard realities of core components and talent will determine whether the “AI + Manufacturing” drive delivers on its promise. With the 15th Five-Year Plan period underway, next-generation intelligent manufacturing has moved from pilot projects to a central strategic line — and its progress will be a key test of China’s ambition to move from the world’s largest manufacturer to its most advanced.