China's AI adoption in manufacturing surpasses 34% in first half of 2026

At the 2026 World Manufacturing Conference in Hefei, Anhui, the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center released data showing that AI adoption in key manufacturing scenarios reached 34.2% in the first half of 2026. This marks a 5.5 percentage point increase from the previous year. The report also highlighted that the country's integration of information technology and industrialization reached a level of 67.1, signaling a new phase of coordinated digital, networked, and intelligent development. IT Home noted that the report emphasized the strengthening of digital foundations, with 86.3% of companies achieving digitalization in R&D, 69.5% in production, and 81.4% in management. Additionally, nearly half of all enterprises engaged in networked collaboration, with new models like digital twins and smart production emerging rapidly. The report also indicated that 10.6% of large-scale manufacturing firms used AI large models to drive business innovation.