China’s manufacturing powerhouse sets sights on AI-driven growth

Guangdong Province, home to over 129 million people, is positioning itself as China's foremost manufacturing hub by setting bold targets for advanced manufacturing by 2028. According to officials, the region aims to produce more than 80,000 humanoid robots annually and establish over 1,000 cutting-edge smart factories, as well as 1,000 green factories, within the next two years.

Energy efficiency, resource utilization, and environmental performance will be evaluated for these green factories, according to conference participants. Guangdong's officials also set a goal for AI adoption among manufacturers with annual revenue of 20 million yuan or higher to surpass 50 per cent within the same timeframe.

KUKA China, an industrial robot manufacturer, reported that its Shunde base has raised its core component localization rate above 90 per cent, allowing models produced in China to be made in Germany as well. The province's major manufacturers generated 19.34 trillion yuan in revenue last year, making Guangdong the highest among China's provinces.

At an "AI plus" manufacturing event, the province revealed that over 2,000 embodied-intelligence robots were already deployed for various industrial tasks. Guangdong's Department of Industry and Information Technology aims to integrate AI applications to build "world-class and globally competitive" factory hubs.

The province's economic growth rate trails the national average, with sluggish fixed-asset investment and consumption. However, investment outside the property sector is promising, driven by advanced manufacturing and hi-tech sectors. Guangdong's rise to prominence began in the late 1970s, coinciding with China's "reform and opening-up" policy under Deng Xiaoping.