China's manufacturing digital drive reaches mass adoption stage: report

BEIJING -- China's digital push in the manufacturing sector has entered a stage of broad-based adoption, with the vast majority of large industrial enterprises implementing digital upgrades, a report said.

The report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology said the breadth of digital transformation across the manufacturing sector has expanded markedly, signaling a shift to scaled deployment.

As of December 2025, 89.6 percent of major industrial firms had undertaken digital retrofitting. Digital upgrades have particularly advanced faster in the automotive, shipbuilding, and electronic information manufacturing sectors, with their digital upgrades rate reaching 94.4 percent, 94.2 percent, and 93.9 percent, respectively.

Digital transformation has emerged as a key driver of efficiency, resilience and green production, according to Jiao Beibei, an engineer with the academy.

China should further accelerate the adoption of digital technologies by aligning transformation efforts with companies' operational needs and broader industrial upgrading goals, the report said, calling for stronger support in standards-setting, infrastructure, and other fundamental areas.