Automation in the Chinese manufacturing sector has seen an increasing role for artificial intelligence.
As Chinese skater Sun Long stood on the podium at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the red of his awards uniform signaled more than national pride. It pointed to China’s growing role in China’s manufacturing sector.
At a textile factory in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, digital printers hum as newly designed sportswear rolls off the production line. Image processing systems calibrate colors with remarkable accuracy, automatically detecting and correcting deviations in real time.
“Previously, we relied on master craftsmen with decades of experience to evaluate color formulas with the naked eye. Now AI reads colors with X-ray-like accuracy,” said Xiao Xingshui, general manager of Qianyong Textile Co., located in Shaoxing. The city has long been known as a textile hub.
Since the introduction of printing technology, the approval rate for solid color fabrics has risen from around 50% to over 90%. The helped the company overcome a long-standing production bottleneck.
The move reflects a broader trend in Zhejiang, one of China’s manufacturing powerhouses, where AI is steadily advancing from concept to the factory floor.
At Zhongce Rubber Group in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, engineers are using AI to redesign the way tires are developed and manufactured. Instead of the conventional view of roaring machines and oil-stained workshops, the company’s digital platform now allows engineers to generate dozens of three-dimensional tire models in minutes.
“In the past, just entering data during the design phase required support from a team of 20+ people”said engineer Wang Xueyan. “Now, with AI, I can complete the work myself.”
Zhongce has already deployed 18 AI agents across its operations, spanning research and development, production and testing. Company executives say the goal of integrating AI into manufacturing is not to replace workers, but to equip them with smarter tools.
“It’s about finding the balance between efficiency and humanity in industrial modernization”said Zheng Li, executive deputy manager of a Zhongce manufacturing factory.
With the assistance of AI, the company increased labor productivity fivefold, reducing daily pollution and energy consumption at source by around 80%.
In China, the application of AI is also reshaping automobile manufacturing.
At Zeekr’s 5G smart factory located in the coastal city of Ningbo, 4 robots operate in sync at the tire installation station of the final assembly workshop. The time required to mount 1 single tire has been reduced to 45 seconds.
Zeekr production lines handle multiple vehicle models simultaneously, each with customized configurations. “Every car you see is different”said Dai Longcai, director of digitalization of manufacturing and quality at the company.
Tire specifications vary widely and were once one of the most error-prone steps in assembly. “Now, through 5G-enabled AI visual inspection, we can verify tire information in 1 second, achieving a 100% error interception rate”Dai said.
Across Zhejiang Province, AI is increasingly incorporated into traditional industries as the province accelerates its move towards digital and intelligent upgrading.
By the end of 2025, Zhejiang had achieved full digital transformation coverage among industrial enterprises above the designated size, according to local authorities. The province has established 608 digital workshops, 381 smart factories and 93 “factories of the future” integrating AI, 5G and industrial internet technologies.
“Intelligent transformation constitutes a defining characteristic of the new modern industrialization of the future”said Lan Jianping, deputy head of Zhejiang Institute of Development and Planning. He says AI is not just a technological upgrade, but a systematic transformation of production methods.
By 2027, Zhejiang plans to launch 300 AI-powered premium smart products. The plan includes wearables and robotics, secure 50 breakthroughs in key AI terminal technologies, and increase the penetration rate of AI terminals among leading industrial companies to more than 70%.
“By incorporating AI into every link of the industrial chain, from design and manufacturing to quality control and services, Zhejiang is fostering new quality productive forces and laying a solid foundation for high-quality, sustainable growth.”Lan said.
With information from .
