On January 7, 2026, a national policy named Opinions on Implementation of "AI plus Manufacturing" Initiative (hereinafter referred to as “the Opinions”) to the public by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 7 other national ministries of China. It aims at deploying intelligent transition tasks in key sectors, critical industrial links and important fields, providing a systematic work guideline to accelerate the high-quality development of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and its high-level empowerment of new industrialization, and to foster new productive forces for China. 

The Opinions consist of 9 chapters, laying out the general goal as “safe and reliable supply of key core technologies of AI, and the AI industrial scale and empowerment level remain at the forefront of the world”, and some quantitative goals are also set up for the same time period as below:

-   Promote the in-depth application of 3 to 5 general large-scale models in the manufacturing sectors, form characteristic and all-round industry large-scale models.

-   Launch 1,000 high-level industrial foundation model agents.

-   Create 100 high-quality data sets in the industrial field, and promote 500 typical application scenarios.

-   Cultivate 2 to 3 globally influential ecosystem-leading enterprises and a batch of specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

-   Build a number of empowering application service providers that "understand intelligence and are familiar with the industry", and select 1,000 benchmark enterprises.

-   Build a globally leading open-source and open ecosystem, comprehensively enhance security governance capabilities.

Specifically, the policy document put forward 21 measures for a better integration of AI and manufacturing sectors in 7 perspectives:

-   Optimize foundational construction, improve empowering capabilities of AI.

-   Extend and promote the application scenarios for AI empowerment.

-   Upgrade traditional products into AI and intelligent empowered products, including equipment and terminals.

-   Foster and support enterprises that can widely implement AI development and empowerment.

-   Improve relevant industrial ecology, covering standard systems, open source communities and talent training.

-   Enhance the security level and capabilities.

-   Strengthen and widen international cooperations in all relevant sectors, and establish related international cooperation platforms.

The Opinions attached two annexes to further support the implementation. Annex 1 Guidelines for the Transformation of Key Industries in Manufacturing Empowered by Artificial Intelligence lay out a panorama and transition roadmap for five sectors, including raw materials, equipment manufacturing, consumer goods, electronic information, software and information technology services, with customized design, pathway and key points that such sectors shall work on to achieve their intelligent transition and the 2027 task in the document. Annex 2 Guidelines on the AI Application of Manufacturing Enterprises present relevant companies with methodology and practical “toolkits” that will help them a better understanding on the policy measures listed in the Opinions. In addition,  chapter nine of the Opinions  articulates requirements for regulators as ensuring measures, in detail, it requires top-down full cooperation between authorities at different level to guide and encourage enterprises on AI empowerment and intelligent transition, while coordinating national resources such as funds and horizontal measurement/calculation and evaluation systems to facilitate the implementation.

For foreign stakeholders, the policy clearly states that relevant TCs shall play a key role in optimizing and updating corresponding standard systems to keep up and encourage AI empowerment in manufacturing sectors. Therefore, standard revision and new standards are very likely to be in place in the coming up periods before 2027, potentially causing impacts or changes for AI or AI-related products in terms of product compliance.

Additional information: full list of issuing ministries

-   Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)

-   Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)

-   National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)

-   Ministry of Education (MOE)

-   Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)

-   State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC)

-   State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR)

-   National Data Administration (NDA)