China Reports AI Adoption in Over 30% of Large Industrial Firms

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported that artificial intelligence adoption among industrial enterprises above designated size exceeded 30% in the first half of the year. Backed by a 2.8-fold year-on-year increase in national intelligent computing scale and the rollout of its first domestic 100,000-card AI supercluster, industrial applications are expanding from visual defect inspection and preclinical drug discovery to wildlife monitoring and factory automation.

The metrics indicate rapid integration of foundation models into China's physical manufacturing base, demonstrating how policy support for indigenous computing clusters and open-source models is translating into operational efficiency gains across traditional industrial sectors.

Industrial adoption of artificial intelligence in China has passed a key threshold, with more than 30% of manufacturing enterprises above designated size utilizing AI technologies during the first half of the year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Speaking on the sector's expansion, MIIT Chief Engineer Wang Weiming noted that open-source foundation models developed in China have surpassed 10 billion cumulative global downloads. Wang highlighted concrete industrial deployments, pointing out that AI-powered visual quality inspection systems have achieved micron-level defect detection, improving inspection efficiency by more than fivefold compared to manual workflows. In the biopharmaceutical sector, industrial models have reduced preclinical research timelines for anti-tumor targeted therapies and small-molecule drugs by 40%. The expansion into physical operations comes alongside infrastructure growth. According to Jiang Yi, director of the Policy Research Office and spokesperson for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's intelligent computing power reached 2.8 times the level recorded in the same period last year as of late June. Jiang also noted the deployment of the country's first fully domestic 100,000-card AI supercluster, reflecting sustained state coordination to build localized computing foundations across the supply chain. Manufacturing modernization was further underscored by the World Economic Forum's late-June additions to its Global Lighthouse Network, where half of the 16 newly designated facilities were based in China, preserving the country's position with the largest total number of lighthouse factories worldwide. Beyond heavy industry, applications have reached environmental preservation and field robotics. At the Giant Panda National Park station in Yingjing County, Sichuan Province, conservation personnel reported that automated recognition systems accurately track wild giant pandas and other protected fauna, improving patrol efficiency. The broader industrial push was featured prominently at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, where hardware vendors and software developers showcased humanoids, AI-enabled consumer devices, and intelligent agents. Wang Zhiqin, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, emphasized that AI is progressively reshaping economic structures by shifting from purely digital functions to direct physical execution across factory floors and commercial settings.