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Karen Tian

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday urged deeper integration between AI companies and advanced manufacturing, as China steps up efforts to develop new growth drivers amid slowing domestic demand and mounting external pressures.
During a tour of both Xiaomi’s electric vehicle factory and the Humanoid Robot Innovation Centre, home to more than a dozen embodied AI start-ups, industry partners and research institutions in Beijing yesterday, Li said faster development and wider application of intelligent robots and AI-powered manufacturing technologies was needed for the national economy.
He described them as key to fostering “new growth momentum and competitive advantages”, according to a Xinhua readout released late on Monday.
Li said China should accelerate the use of AI across manufacturing processes, including research and development, production, quality inspection and after-sales services, while supporting the development of industry-specific large language models and AI agents.
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly integrating with advanced manufacturing and is profoundly changing production models and industrial forms,” Li said, according to Xinhua.
Li also urged government departments and state-owned enterprises to increase the number of real-world scenarios for testing and deploying the new technologies, as Beijing seeks to accelerate widespread commercial adoption of AI-powered robotics. He also called for greater use of policy support measures, including equipment-upgrade programmes and incentives for first-of-their-kind technologies.
The comments come as Beijing increasingly views AI and advanced manufacturing as critical to offset broader economic headwinds, including a prolonged property downturn, weak confidence in the private sector and rising trade tensions with both the United States and Europe.
China’s core AI industry was valued at over 1.2 trillion yuan (US$174 billion) in 2025, while more than 30 per cent of large manufacturers had adopted AI technologies by the end of last year, Industry and Information Technology Minister Li Lecheng said during China’s annual parliamentary meetings in March.
Beijing has in recent years prioritised what President Xi Jinping has termed “new quality productive forces” – economic drivers from recent advancements in technology – and has expanded its AI Plus initiative, introduced in 2024, to promote wider adoption of AI across industries.
Li Qiang said intelligent robots combine breakthroughs in large AI models, advanced manufacturing and new materials, and called for stronger support for fundamental research, key technologies and industrial innovation platforms.
China’s 15th five-year plan places AI, robotics and advanced manufacturing at the centre of the country’s strategy to upgrade its industries, with embodied AI and humanoid robots emerging as key focus areas. Local governments, including Shanghai’s, have also rolled out targets to accelerate the adoption of humanoid robots in factories by the end of 2030.
A Goldman Sachs Research forecast last year predicted that generative AI could raise China’s potential growth from 2026 and boost GDP growth by 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points by 2030.


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Economy

China Economy

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Tech Trends

Premier Li Qiang says boosting AI-powered manufacturing can help drive new growth for the economy


Premier Li Qiang says boosting AI-powered manufacturing can help drive new growth for the economy.


China says integration of AI, advanced manufacturing can help offset economic headwinds

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Premier Li Qiang says boosting AI-powered manufacturing can help drive new growth for the economy

Premier Li Qiang says boosting AI-powered manufacturing can help drive new growth for the economy