AI Application Rate Reaches 34.2% in China's Manufacturing Sector
The adoption rate of key artificial intelligence (AI) scenarios in China's manufacturing industry reached 34.2% in the first half of 2026, according to a new report.
The adoption rate of key artificial intelligence (AI) scenarios within China's manufacturing sector reached 34.2% in the first half of 2026, according to a report released by the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center on September 20. The findings were announced at the 2026 World Manufacturing Conference held in Hefei, Anhui province.
The report, titled "Manufacturing Digital and Intelligent Transformation Capability Level (2026)," also indicated that the national level of integration between industrialization and information technology (known as "two-ๅ่ๅ") reached 67.1. This signifies a progression into a new phase characterized by the coordinated advancement of digitalization, network connectivity, and intelligence.
Digitalization efforts have seen a significant strengthening. The proportion of companies achieving digital implementation in R&D and design, production, and operational management stood at 86.3%, 69.5%, and 81.4% respectively. Network integration is also deepening, with nearly half of all companies engaging in collaborative networks, fostering new business models like digital twins and intelligent manufacturing.
AI adoption has accelerated, with the key scenario application rate increasing by 5.5 percentage points year-on-year. Furthermore, 10.6% of large-scale manufacturing enterprises are leveraging large AI models to empower business innovation.