China's vice minister of industry and information technology, Zhang Yunming, said at a January 22 press conference that the number of AI firms exceeded 6000 in 2025, with the core industry expected to surpass 1.2 trillion yuan. The sector highlighted how advanced manufacturing and AI-driven industries provided strong momentum for growth, boosting manufacturing value added by 5.9%.
At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, Zhang Yunming stated that the value added by major industrial enterprises grew 5.9 percent year-on-year in 2025, while the share of manufacturing in GDP remained stable, expected to be the world's largest for the 16th consecutive year. Telecommunications business volume increased 9.1 percent, with industrial and information sectors accounting for more than 40 percent of economic growth.
Zhang highlighted AI as a powerful engine for industrial growth. The number of AI enterprises in China surpassed 6000 in 2025, with the core sector expected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan ($172.32 billion). Computing capacity reached 1,590 EFLOPS, with rollouts of AI chips, rapid expansion of high-quality industry datasets, and homegrown foundation models leading in the global open-source ecosystem.
JD.com CEO Sandy Xu Ran said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that products with real AI capabilities—such as robots and smart glasses—saw sales triple and rise tenfold year-on-year in 2025, constrained by supply. Vice Minister Zhang announced stepped-up state-backed investment to fast-track key technologies for humanoid robots, including large AI models, integrated joints, and computing chips.
China has kicked off the second phase of 6G technology trials. Xie Cun, head of the information and communication development department, said moderately advancing ahead of demand is a key practice in building information infrastructure. Huang Yuhong, general manager of China Mobile Research Institute, expects commercial 6G services around 2030.
Expert Zhu Keli noted that AI-enabled industries, emerging sectors, and advanced manufacturing have become main economic engines, with equipment and high-tech manufacturing growing 9.2 percent and 9.4 percent, exceeding overall industrial growth by 3.3 and 3.5 percentage points. The industrial economy remains on a steady upward path in 2026.
