At its Oct 16 executive meeting, the State Council heard a progress report on the 'AI+' action and stressed that artificial intelligence is 'a key variable affecting future development,' calling for letting real-world application pull technological innovation and turning AI into real productive forces. It is the latest systemic deployment since the State Council issued the 'AI+' action opinions in August 2025 — a clear signal that China's AI is shifting from a 'model race' to a 'scenario race.'
The pivot is visible in the data. MIIT Vice Minister Yu Xiaohui said China's AI core industry has surpassed 1.2 trillion yuan, with over 6,600 AI enterprises and intelligent-computing scale reaching 2,592 EFLOPS. At Shanghai's Baoniao apparel, AI cut made-to-measure suit lead time from 20 days to 5 with 99% yield; at Dongfeng's奕派, an agent-based 'Equipment Master' cut average emergency-response time from 10 to 4 minutes.
On Oct 15 MIIT formally released 'High-Value Scenarios for AI Empowering New-Type Industrialization,' covering 20 sub-sectors — petrochemicals, steel, automotive, consumer electronics — with more than 1,000 scenarios drawn from front-line production. MIIT has organized nearly 30 'deep-dive' activities enabling over 5,000 enterprise matchmaking sessions, created 18 national AI innovation-application pilot zones, and set up a 60-billion-yuan national AI industry investment fund.
The meeting urged prioritizing advanced manufacturing, accelerating the rollout of high-value scenarios and typical applications, and advancing AI in elderly care and public services — moving the technology from exhibition stands into workshops, hospitals and communities.
