China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is drafting policies for what it calls next-generation smart manufacturing, its chief engineer Wang Weiming told a press conference in Beijing on 20 October.
The policies aim to bring AI into the entire manufacturing chain, Xinhua reported. Factories will be treated in tiers: basic and advanced plants will expand digital systems and AI use, while top-tier plants explore new factory architectures. The ministry also plans support for smarter machine tools, robots, inspection and control equipment, industry-specific models and industrial AI agents, plus international cooperation on standards, including through BRICS.
By the ministry’s own count, China has built more than 13,000 advanced-level smart factories, with over 1,000 AI application scenarios across 20 industries including steel, cars and pharmaceuticals.
No draft text or timetable has been published yet. The announcement builds on the “AI + manufacturing” action plan issued by eight government departments in January, which set 2027 targets of 100 high-quality industrial datasets and 500 typical AI use cases.
Read the report: China mulls policies to accelerate smart manufacturing (gov.cn)