China Advances AI Plus To Modernize Industry

China is elevating its "AI Plus" initiative under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), integrating AI across manufacturing, services and governance to boost productivity. Concrete examples include 33% output gains at a pharmaceutical plant, 40-plus AI applications in steel, and Xiangjiang Laboratory's automated stem-cell preparation, prompting calls for investment in chips, computing infrastructure and data governance.