National Directive: A Regional Industry Reshuffle Has Begun

Six Major Future Industries: Who Is Accelerating Breakthroughs?

On March 20, Suzhou, known as the “Strongest Prefecture-Level City,” announced at the Suzhou Business Conference the top ten emerging industries and ten future industries to focus on in the next phase, signaling a clear move to concentrate strengths and open new competitive tracks.

Recently, the national “14th Five-Year Plan” explicitly proposed targeting key areas leading future development, building a full-chain cultivation system for future industries, and promoting quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and 6G as new economic growth points.

Since the term “future industries” was first introduced in 2024, government work reports have continued to emphasize and deploy related strategies for three consecutive years. The latest expression, “building a full-chain cultivation system for future industries,” indicates that these disruptive industries have entered a new stage of development.

As Zheng Shanjie, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated, these industries are on the brink of technological breakthroughs; today’s future industries may become tomorrow’s new pillars of the economy.

Opportunities are unprecedented. For local regions, whether they can quickly identify their position and gain a competitive advantage in the new round of industrial competition determines their future fate. Who is accelerating breakthroughs in the six major future industry sectors?

01

“Blooming Everywhere” Type

Representative Industry: Embodied Intelligence

Among the six key future industries prioritized nationally, embodied intelligence is undoubtedly the hottest sector right now. According to incomplete statistics, at least 21 provinces across China explicitly mentioned “embodied intelligence” or “robots” in their 2026 government work reports, making it a fiercely contested industry field.

Meanwhile, all 31 provinces have deployed strategies related to artificial intelligence and intelligent economy, aiming to seize opportunities in the new competition.

This “blooming everywhere” pattern reflects the unique attributes of the embodied intelligence industry: long supply chains, diverse technological routes, and broad application scenarios. The multi-path exploration around embodied intelligence is accelerating.

Industry insiders predict 2025 as the “mass production year” for humanoid robots. The latest report from global tech research firm Omdia shows that Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers lead globally, with the top six shipment volumes in 2025 all held by Chinese companies, including Shanghai-based Zhiyuan and Fourier, which entered the top ten worldwide.

In the industry view, Shanghai is the “easiest and fastest city for mass production” of embodied intelligence domestically.

It is estimated that core components needed for humanoid robots, as well as unseen data and control algorithms, can be fully supplied within a 150 km radius centered on Shanghai. The leading hardware supply chain in the Yangtze River Delta, along with Shanghai’s long-standing AI industry foundation and talent pool, collectively accelerate the mass production of “Shanghai plates” embodied intelligence.

Building on this, Shanghai further proposed to implement the “AI+” initiative deeply, strengthening infrastructure for computing power, industry-specific datasets, and vertical models, promoting widespread application of new-generation intelligent terminals and agents. Nationwide, embodied intelligence is entering a critical phase from technological validation to commercialization—when the robot’s flexibility reaches practical levels, the key competition will be about who can “get the work done” more effectively.

At the Guangdong “First Spring Conference” this year, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee Huang Kunming emphasized the need to “put embodied intelligence into use,” sending a clear signal. Prior to that, the “Guangdong Province AI Empowering High-Quality Manufacturing Development Action Plan (2025–2027)” explicitly called for accelerating the creation of a globally influential demonstration zone for the integration of “AI + manufacturing.”

It’s evident that as a major manufacturing province, Guangdong focuses on application demonstration and promotion—its manufacturing sector accounts for about 1/8 of the national total, with all 31 manufacturing categories and ten trillion-yuan-level industry clusters like new electronic information, providing a rich “test ground.”

From the government work report, while many regions are still in the “layout” or “cultivation” stage regarding embodied intelligence, some provinces like Guangdong have targeted more specific tracks. For example, Guangdong aims to “accelerate high-level application of AI across all domains and industries,” cultivating large models for vertical fields and scene-specific small models, and building embodied intelligence training platforms.

Additionally, Shandong’s government work report proposed “building embodied intelligence robot training systems,” while Zhejiang actively established national AI pilot bases for embodied intelligence.

Beijing is shifting focus to scene openness. According to the recently issued “Embodied Intelligence Technology Innovation and Industry Cultivation Action Plan (2025–2027),” application scenarios such as research and education, automobile manufacturing, and commercial retail will be opened in phases. The plan prioritizes deploying thousands of embodied robots, cultivating trillion-yuan industry clusters, and exploring applications in elderly care and household services.

02

Feature Breakthrough Type

Representative Industries: Biomanufacturing, Hydrogen Energy

It must be pointed out that future industries have long incubation cycles, high risks, and strong uncertainties, requiring region-specific and rational planning.

From another perspective, future industries are not exclusive to major economic provinces; other regions can also leverage their industrial endowments to achieve distinctive breakthroughs.

For example, Heilongjiang, with abundant agricultural raw materials, has become an important player in China’s biomanufacturing sector. In 2024, the Suiha Daqi biomanufacturing cluster officially joined the “national team,” becoming the only national-level advanced manufacturing cluster in biomanufacturing.

Data shows that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, Heilongjiang’s key biomanufacturing enterprises grew from fewer than 80 to 194, with output exceeding 100 billion yuan and an average annual growth rate over 10%. The Heilongjiang provincial government’s work report this year plans to accelerate bioeconomy development, launching a new round of the “Biological Economy ‘Double Hundred’ Project,” with key industries continuing to grow revenue by over 10%.

Similarly, other provinces like Chongqing, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia are actively developing biomanufacturing. Chongqing’s government report proposed “establishing Chongqing Biomanufacturing Research Institute and supporting the development of the Chongqing International Bio-City innovation ecosystem”; Yunnan aims to “cultivate biomanufacturing industrial parks”; Hainan highlighted “marine biomanufacturing.”

Another promising future industry based on regional resources is hydrogen energy.

As early as the “14th Five-Year Plan,” hydrogen energy was included in forward-looking planning for future industries. Statistics show that at least 23 provinces explicitly mentioned this industry in their 2026 government work reports, with over 20 provinces having medium- and long-term plans for hydrogen energy over the next 5 to 10 years.

Unlike fossil fuels, hydrogen cannot be directly extracted but must be produced from water or fossil fuels, making resource endowment crucial for industry layout.

Among many provinces, Jilin has the most detailed mention in this year’s government work report.

It states that by 2025, key projects like Zhongneng Jilin’s “Green Power Hydrogen-Ammonia” will be completed and put into operation, with the country’s leading total capacity; Changchun, Songyuan, and Baicheng are selected as the first batch of national hydrogen energy pilot zones; and the first hydrogen-powered cultural tourism train in the country has been successfully operated.

Recently, Jilin Party Secretary Huang Qiang experienced a hydrogen energy train during a survey, expressing the desire to “let hydrogen-powered city trains run across Jilin.”

As one of China’s nine major wind and solar power bases with over 10 GW capacity, Jilin’s abundant green energy resources, combined with its old industrial base supporting the entire industry chain—such as FAW, CRRC Changchun, and other companies deep in hydrogen equipment manufacturing, along with dense chemical industry clusters providing natural green hydrogen markets—give Jilin confidence to aim for the “Northern Hydrogen Valley.”

Notably, on March 16, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and three other departments jointly issued the “Notice on Conducting Pilot Projects for Comprehensive Hydrogen Energy Applications,” opening broader space for industry development. Experts see this as a major highlight, as it paves the way for “new tracks”—from previous applications mainly in fuel cell vehicles to expanding into steel, chemicals, shipping, and other industrial sectors, marking a shift from “single transportation demonstration” to “full-scenario, large-scale commercialized development.”

Some provinces have already made deployment. For example, Inner Mongolia’s government report specifically mentions “strengthening the coupling of green hydrogen with metallurgy, chemicals, and synthetic biology industries”; Gansu focuses on hydrogen equipment projects and proposes creating flagship application scenarios.

03

Leading and Pioneering Type

Representative Industries: Quantum Technology, Nuclear Fusion, 6G, Brain-Computer Interfaces

Compared to other future industries, quantum technology, nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G are still limited to a few “leading players” due to extremely high technical barriers and talent requirements.

In quantum technology, Anhui is a clear leader. The “2024 Global Future Industry Development Index Report” shows that Hefei’s quantum industry ranks second globally, only behind San Francisco. Among the top 20 quantum companies worldwide, four are from China, with three based in Anhui. By the end of 2025, Anhui’s quantum industry chain has surpassed 100 enterprises, ranking first nationwide.

Currently, the global quantum industry is entering a “sprint” phase. Anhui’s latest deployment plans include building quantum computing R&D platforms and implementing the “Thousand-Scenario” quantum information initiative to accelerate application transformation.

In nuclear fusion, only Anhui, Hubei, and Sichuan explicitly list it as a key development direction in their 2026 government work reports.

This aligns with their core innovation resources: Anhui relies on the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Sichuan benefits from a strong nuclear industry base and the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics; Hubei leverages the J-TEXT device at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and top academic disciplines.

Shanghai, known as the “Cradle of China’s Nuclear Power Industry,” continues to invest through capital. The Shanghai Future Industry Fund has invested in companies like Xinghuan Energy, Dongsheng Fusion, Yixi Technology, and China Fusion Energy, forming a relatively complete and diverse nuclear fusion industry chain.

The 6G industry also shows significant regional clustering. According to the 2026 government work report, only Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu explicitly mention 6G, all achieving notable results: Beijing’s small-scale experimental network was built first; Shanghai has formulated a 6G future industry cultivation plan; Jiangsu successfully established the world’s first 6G outdoor trial network.

Looking ahead to the “14th Five-Year Plan,” provinces like Guangdong, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, and Heilongjiang have also signaled their layout intentions, with regional competition in the 6G track continuing to expand.

In the brain-computer interface sector, industry chain deployment is mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, with leading companies like Brainsight, Brain虎科技, 神念科技, and QiangNao Tech rooted there; other regions such as Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Hubei, and Sichuan have also gathered a number of related enterprises supported by strong scientific research.

More provinces are eager to participate: Chongqing, Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, Hainan, among others, have announced plans for brain-computer interfaces in 2026, aiming to secure new tracks. The industry race that could reshape regional patterns has only just begun.

(Disclaimer: The content and data in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Please verify before use. Risks are assumed by the user.)

Reporter | Cheng Xiaoling, Liu Xuqiang

Editors | Duan Lian, Liu Yanmei, Yi Qijiang

Proofreader | Zhang Yiming

| Daily Economic News nbdnews Original Article |

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