2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference: Expanding Application Scenarios, Artificial Intelligence Empowering Industry Development

Source: People’s Daily

People’s Daily, Beijing, March 28 (Reporter Du Yanfei) “Artificial intelligence empowers manufacturing automation systems in an all-round way” “Promote the deep integration of technology R&D with industry scenarios” … On March 27, at the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference “Artificial Intelligence + Industry” forum, participating guests said they should build a platform to promote cooperation, expand application scenarios, accelerate the transformation and rollout of results, and drive the commercialization and large-scale application of artificial intelligence, to better empower industrial development.

“Digital twins, fully automated warehousing, digital man-machine interaction, a generative self-learning factory ‘brain’ … These are all important components of the new generation of manufacturing automation systems.” Academician Yu Haibin of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Artificial Intelligence of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the all-round empowerment of manufacturing automation systems by artificial intelligence has become a consensus in the industry. The emergence of new-generation intelligent automation systems will drive major changes in manufacturing models. We need to plan systemically and seize commanding heights. The architecture of autonomous intelligent automation systems will provide a technical foundation for addressing intelligent production challenges.

“China’s traditional manufacturing, and its digitization and greening, have made significant progress. The current main bottleneck lies in intelligence.” Chen Xiaoping, director of the Robotics Laboratory at the University of Science and Technology of China and chief scientist of artificial intelligence at the Guangdong Academy of Sciences, believes that for the intelligence of traditional manufacturing, agriculture, and eldercare service industries, the key technology needed is embodied intelligence. We should increase support, and advance the deep integration of technology R&D with industry scenarios.

Artificial intelligence empowers every sector of the economy, and the transportation sector is especially evident. Liu Xin, president of the Planning and Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, said that the construction of smart highways, waterways, and ports is accelerating, and that facilities and equipment are moving from “digitization” to “digital intelligence.” Demonstration and application of autonomous driving, intelligent ships, and unmanned aerial vehicles are speeding up, and technical equipment is evolving toward “unmanned” iteration. The application of comprehensive information platforms is upgrading management models toward “coordination,” and a new “integrated” ecosystem for travel and logistics is taking shape. We need to strengthen industry guidance and technological breakthroughs, coordinate the construction of industry digital infrastructure and public data authorization operations, and foster a joint ecosystem.

At the forum site, a national scenario-demand-and-supply matchmaking platform was launched online, aiming to build a bridge linking scenario providers such as governments, enterprises, and parks with technology providers such as technology companies and research institutions. By further lowering the cost of matching scenario supply and demand, improving the efficiency of scenario development, and accelerating the rollout of technological achievements and their applications, we will provide professional scenario matching services for “artificial intelligence + industry.”

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