Industry leaders from Haier, TCL, Aveva and peers describe AI as a transformative force across manufacturing, R&D, production lines, and consumer electronics, signaling broad corporate investment in China’s AI push.

AI applications are expected to automate routine tasks, boost productivity, enable intelligent manufacturing, and unlock new markets through multimodal AI and autonomous agents.

Analysts and executives say AI could shift growth drivers, create new industries and jobs, and position China as a leader in AI-driven economic transformation.

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) is framed as a stance of solidarity with the Global South and signals a shift from the 'factory of the world' to an 'innovation architect'.

The plan prioritizes reducing dependence on foreign high-end technologies, promoting dual circulation, and pursuing a consumption- and innovation-led development path to bolster resilience amid global uncertainties.

Analysts view IMF projections as highlighting China’s resilience through robust domestic demand and social safety nets, with a shift toward a consumption-led model and continued social investment.

Mwangi Wachira notes China’s innovation capacity shows breakthroughs stem from local ingenuity, and centralized governance can be complementary to market mechanisms.

China’s global value from the plan is strongest in nearby Global South regions where it already supplies many consumer goods, while broader benefits extend to other Global South nations via accelerated industrialization and digital transformation.

The plan emphasizes new quality productive forces—AI, biotechnology, clean energy, and advanced semiconductors—to raise productivity, inclusivity, green development, and industrial upgrading.

Baidu’s Ernie 5.0 advances multimodal capabilities and improvements in understanding, memory, and instruction following, signaling rapid evolution of China’s large language models.

Shifts toward advanced manufacturing and robotics will require workforce retraining, with full benefits likely materializing over more than five years.

The ‘AI Plus’ initiative, backed by the State and CPC Central Committee, aims to integrate AI across science, industry, governance, and public life, targeting broad penetration by 2027 and 2030.