context: Against the backdrop of the Central Economic Work Conference and directives from the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Council to 'mobilise all societal resources' for AI+ breakthroughs. With the top ten provinces contributing over 60 per cent of national GDP, the central mandate requires these economic powerhouses to 'shoulder the burden' of growth, while 15th 5-year plan discussions have elevated the low-altitude economy and embodied intelligence as key strategic additions.
21st Century Business Herald reports on the 2026 industrial roadmaps of the PRC's major economic provinces, highlighting a divergence in AI+ adoption strategies and the standardisation of new growth clusters like robotics and the low-altitude economy
- strategic divergence in AI+ adoption
- leveraging 1,600+ core firms and Huawei/Tencent ecosystems to embed AI across all sectors
- executing the 'Five Hundred Projects' (a provincial initiative to implement AI across 500 key industrial scenarios) to empower new industrialisation
- Guangdong: pursues 'full domain, full time, full industry' application
- Zhejiang: targets end-side hardware (AI PCs, AI phones, wearables)
- deepening of 'AI+ Manufacturing' integration
- cultivating 'AI Pioneer Cities' and high-level intelligent factories
- expanding 'Excellence Level' smart factories beyond the current 300+ provincial sites
- Shandong: launching specific 'AI+Manufacturing' actions
- Henan: optimising the 'intelligent modification, digital transformation' ecosystem
- standardisation of 'New Growth Poles' (robotics and low-altitude)
- developing five clusters worth C¥100 bn each (specifically: AI/robotics, bio-med, eco-friendly, low-altitude and optoelectronics)
- 5 tn level pillar industries
- ten advantage industries (500-bn-level)
- 20 niche/feature industries (100-bn-level)
- focus areas: humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces and 6G
- Fujian: implementing the '555X' industrial cluster strategy
- Hubei: reinforcing the '51020' modern manufacturing cluster hierarchy
Su Jian 苏剑 Peking University School of Economics professor argues that while 'AI+' mirrors the transformative scale of the 'Internet+' revolution, Guangdong's ambition for 'full coverage' will require massive pre-investment in infrastructure and product development to effectively reach every industry sector.
Zhang Jun 章俊 Galaxy Securities chief economist highlights that the low-altitude economy represents a strategic addition to the 15th 5-year plan, reflecting policy foresight in integrating airspace resources with consumer scenarios. He notes that it
- aligns with the fusion of smart manufacturing and unmanned systems
- is poised to become the next major growth pole for collaborative innovation, following the success of new energy vehicles