China is accelerating the rollout of an upgraded “5G plus industrial internet” and has plans to further integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into manufacturing, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The initiative builds on the rapid progress made during the 14th Five Year Plan period (2021-2025), where industrial internet applications expanded to all 41 major industry sectors and the goal of 5G-enabled smart factories was fully achieved. This is in line with the country’s drive to build a modernized industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone.
MIIT said it will launch a new pilot city round for integrated 5G and industrial internet applications and advance early-stage research combining 6G and industrial use cases.
China has already established an independent and secure industrial Internet identification system, built more than 300 platforms with national influence, and connected more than 100 million industrial devices.
According to MIIT data, more than 20,000 “5G plus industrial internet” projects are currently under construction across the country, marking a transition from pilot-stage exploration to large-scale deployment. A “lights out” smart factory in Quanzhou, Fujian province, run by a leading ceramic bathroom product manufacturer, has replaced manual inspection with a 5G-enabled machine vision system.
Working in the dark with minimal human intervention on-site, the factory’s 5G smart system works in conjunction with glass robots to complete uniform sprays in just 30 seconds. Quality checks will also be automated using 5G connectivity and AI-powered data collection.
“Thanks to the 5G network, all real-time inspection data on site is directly transmitted to our system, and digital quality checks now cover more than 90 percent of the process,” said Yan Zhiyan, an engineer at the factory.
Zhejiang Feida Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., an environmental equipment manufacturer located in Zhusha, Zhejiang Province, has integrated smart sensing, data-driven decision-making, and IoT-enabled collaboration with 5G network, enabling employees to complete the entire process from raw materials to packaging through digital commands.
“Deep integration of 5G-enabled industrial internet and technologies such as intelligent sensing, data-driven decision-making, and IoT (Internet of Things)-based collaborative control has made our products smarter. This reduces energy and material consumption in environmental processing and significantly increases processing power and efficiency,” said Yu Liyuan, assistant general manager of the company.
In Lushui City, Yunnan Province, a “5G plus AI” production line has revolutionized the processing of specialty coffee beans. Digital systems cover sorting, roasting, packaging and storage, addressing the long-standing problem of low efficiency and inconsistent quality.
“At the processing stage, we use a ‘5G plus AI’ system that relies on machine vision and AI algorithms to identify the color, size and defects of coffee beans in real time. The sorting accuracy has reached 99.8 percent, and the advanced processing rate has jumped from 35 percent to 80 percent,” said Ou Wenlin, director of brand development and promotion at the Lushui Market Supervisory Authority.
According to MIIT data, the top 100 smart factories in China that leveraged 5G increased production capacity by 25%, improved product quality by 21%, and reduced operating costs by 19% on average.
China accelerates industrial digital transformation with expansion of 5G and AI applications
Japanese netizens flooded Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s social media accounts with criticism, calling for him to retract false statements about China’s Taiwan region and for him to resign.
Many people also expressed widespread dissatisfaction with and distrust of Takaichi, citing concerns about his handling of foreign affairs, the economy, and social and lifestyle policies.
Especially regarding foreign affairs, some netizens demanded that China apologize, retract its statements, and resign. Others argued that she should immediately retract her comments and fulfill her duties as prime minister by trying to reduce unnecessary international tensions.
In the field of economy and welfare, some people online claimed that the current “difficult economic situation” was a direct result of the prime minister’s policies. Some criticize Mr. Takaichi for approving a 50,000 yen (approximately $318) monthly increase in members’ remuneration while talking about improving people’s lives, and some believe this is unreasonable.
Furthermore, some netizens expressed their dissatisfaction with Takaichi even more openly, saying, “He should resign immediately.”
Takaichi’s social media page was flooded with criticism for his comments about Taiwan and other topics.
