Nigeria Times

By Liu Junguo, People’s Daily

On a winter day, the sharp crack of a baseball bat cut through the quiet of the countryside. Footsteps followed, along with bursts of cheers. The sounds didn’t not come from an urban stadium, but from a baseball field nestled among rice paddies and village homes.
This is Xujiadai village, in Lindai township of Pinghu, Jiaxing, east China’s Zhejiang province. Here, the age-old rhythms of rural life are striking a new chord with the youthful pulse of sport, creating a fresh and vibrant atmosphere.
“In the past, almost every household raised pigs. The smell was strong, and the environment was poor,” recalled villager Zhang Jinfa. “Now the air is cleaner, the water is clearer, and people come here to play baseball. More tourists are visiting, and life is getting better.” His words captured Xujiadai’s transformation from a hog-farming community to a baseball village.
In 2003, Zhejiang province launched a large-scale rural revitalization initiative that began with improving living conditions in the countryside. By upgrading village infrastructure, cleaning up waterways, and restoring the rural environment, the program sought to improve not only ecological conditions but also rural production, daily life, and overall quality of life for farmers.
In Xujiadai village, livestock farms were closed and local rivers were rehabilitated, giving the village a fresh new look. Yet once the environment improved, a new question emerged: how to cultivate new industries and keep young people from leaving.
“The village was clean, but its overall development hadn’t kept pace,” said Liu Jianqun, Party head of Xujiadai village. “Traditional farming offered limited income growth, and rural tourism lacked distinctive features. We were unsure where to go next.”
A turning point emerged from a keen insight. Back then, Pinghu had attracted a number of Taiwan-funded and foreign-invested enterprises. Liu, himself a former professional manager, noticed that executives from these companies would often make trips to Shanghai just to play baseball. At the same time, an idle plot of land near the village entrance — low-lying and difficult to develop — sat unused. Then a bold idea struck him: Why not transform this land into a baseball field? It could serve the businessmen nearby while paving a new path for the village — one that blended sports with cultural tourism.
Turning this vision into reality proved challenging, requiring funding, expertise, and village consensus. Lindai township established a special coordination group to oversee land planning, policy support, and financing. Xujiadai organized volunteer teams to conduct household visits and village meetings, building community support.
In 2018, despite financial and technical hurdles and with no national precedent to follow, Xujiadai village completed China’s first standard-compliant youth baseball field in a rural setting. In 2019, a baseball tournament for youth in the Yangtze River Delta was successfully held there, marking an impressive debut.
The National Youth Baseball Championship U10 Group, the annual meeting of the Chinese Baseball Association, and other events soon followed. Xujiadai village became a national baseball training base for young players under the age of 10 and earned the title “China’s No. 1 Baseball Village.”
New challenges soon emerged. With baseball’s weak local foundation and scarce professional expertise, sustainable operation and promotion became pressing issues.
Lindai township explored an innovative model that combined professional management with villager participation. A professional sports company was brought in to handle event organization and training operations, while volunteer teams were formed to teach villagers basic baseball knowledge and involve them in field maintenance and logistical support.
“With the government providing the platform, professionals managing operations, market forces driving growth, and innovation fostering integration, this baseball business from the fields is flying farther and farther,” said Mo Yun, an official in Lindai township.
To date, the baseball field has hosted multiple high-level events including National Youth Baseball Championship finals, welcoming over one million athletes and visitors. Last July, the Xujiadai International Baseball Field opened, significantly upgrading event capacity.
Baseball has catalyzed development of ecological agriculture, homestays, catering, and educational tourism, forming a distinctive industrial cluster. Collective village income has surpassed 8 million yuan ($1.15 million).
“I used to make a living from a few plots of vegetables,” said Cao Huaying, a 62-year-old villager. “Now that the international baseball field is here, I work there as a cleaner year-round, and my income has increased a lot.”
Today, driven by baseball, the village has developed more than 20 specialty restaurants and homestays, created over 200 jobs for locals, and significantly increased per capita income. As Mo put it, with a baseball bat in hand, Xujiadai village has swung a magnificent arc across its fields — an arc powered by sports, integrated with industry, and dedicated to shared prosperity.

By Lin Lili, Hong Qiuting, Qi Zhiming, People’s Daily

From plush vinyl dolls in diverse shapes and museum-inspired cultural creations to unique souvenirs from scenic areas — an array of accessories now dangle from the backpacks of young people across China.
Portable and lightweight, bag charms are gaining increasing popularity among Chinese consumers. The ever-evolving designs of these small ornaments have fueled a consumption boom, supported by robust industrial clusters, and are now advancing through coordinated efforts in global expansion—together shaping the emerging “bag-charm economy.”
At a Beijing designer toy store, shoppers enthusiastically pose with Wakuku characters, sharing photos on social media. “Key features such as small size, affordability and emotional resonance align perfectly with young people’s lifestyles,” said Hong Yong, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.
He observes that emotion-driven consumption has shifted priorities: young buyers now prioritize products delivering joy, belonging, and self-expression over pure utility.
As Chinese New Year approached, Nanjing resident Wu Wenjing purchased outfits not just for family, but for her Labubu charm. “I match charms to my mood and outfits,” she explains. “Sometimes they feel like emotional codes — shared recognition sparks instant connections.”
Liang Mei, president of the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association, observed that bag charms offer young people moments of everyday delight through a relatively relaxed consumption model. By fostering emotional connections, they help form interest-based communities with a shared sense of identity. At the same time, collaboration with well-known intellectual properties (IPs) and user participation in co-creation continue to inject vitality into the market.
Manufacturing Innovation Dongguan, China’s “designer toy capital,” anchors the global industry with over 4,000 manufacturers and 1,500 supporting enterprises. Its complete industrial chain covers design, production, IP licensing, and sales.
At the headquarters of a toy manufacturer in Chashan township, Dongguan, a team of 10 designers was discussing design drafts for a “Baku” series of bag charms.
“This China-chic bag charm blends traditional Chinese colors and auspicious symbols with modern design. Inspired by the mythical ‘Baku — a creature said to devour nightmares and bring sweet dreams — it carries the wish that all good dreams may come true in the coming year,” explained Wu Qiaomei, brand marketing director involved in the project.
She noted that from concept finalization to detail refinement, the initial design draft takes about 15 days to complete, with the sample workshop then needing another three to five days to produce the first plush prototype.
“With in-house manufacturing capabilities, we maintain flexibility in production coordination and scheduling,” Wu added. “From design confirmation to mass shipment, the entire process can be completed within about 30 days,”
With diverse styles and ever-changing market trends, bag charms call for agile production response. The consumer-end enthusiasm is fundamentally supported by a supply-side shift — from mass manufacturing to flexible customization. The robust production capacity within the toy industry provides the essential foundation for the rapid adaptation and output of these accessories.
In the past, producing a plastic toy required mold development costing tens of thousands of yuan, necessitating mass production runs of tens to hundreds of thousands of units to lower per-unit cost.
Today, smart manufacturing and digital workshops have made small-batch production truly feasible — minimum orders as low as 50 units or batch productions of merely 100 pieces are now readily achievable, with even single custom toys possible through 3D printing.
Labubu has sparked a worldwide trend in collectible art toys. Following the success of the animated film Nobody, bag charms featuring its characters sold out repeatedly after going viral overnight. Meanwhile, charms shaped like traditional Chinese herbs — such as goji berries, red dates, and red sage — have captivated overseas consumers with their creative designs and distinctive Eastern aesthetic.
Time magazine in the United States noted that China’s new generation of trendy toys is reshaping the international image of “Made in China” by telling stories rooted in local IPs and showcasing distinctive aesthetics.
In the first half of 2025, Chinese toy company Pop Mart recorded triple-digit growth in markets across Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas, with growth in the Americas exceeding tenfold. The company’s global store count has now surpassed 570.
Products from HERE have reached nearly 20 countries and regions — including North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East — via distribution channels. Li Peng, Chairman of HERE, noted, “Breaking down cultural barriers through localized creation and building emotional bonds with global consumers are key to helping Chinese brands move beyond manufacturing and build greater brand value.”
Looking ahead, as more Chinese flagship products and brands go global, these small charms, infused with Chinese creativity and emotion, are poised to tell ever more compelling Chinese stories on the world stage.

By Lin Lili, Hong Qiuting, Qi Zhiming, People’s Daily  

From plush vinyl dolls in diverse shapes and museum-inspired cultural creations to unique souvenirs from scenic areas — an array of accessories now dangle from the backpacks of young people across China.

Portable and lightweight bag charms are gaining increasing popularity among Chinese consumers. The ever-evolving designs of these small ornaments have fueled a consumption boom, supported by robust industrial clusters, and are now advancing through coordinated efforts in global expansion—together shaping the emerging “bag-charm economy.”

At a Beijing designer toy store, shoppers enthusiastically pose with Wakuku characters, sharing photos on social media. “Key features such as small size, affordability and emotional resonance align perfectly with young people’s lifestyles,” said Hong Yong, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce. 

He observes that emotion-driven consumption has shifted priorities: young buyers now prioritize products delivering joy, belonging, and self-expression over pure utility.

As Chinese New Year approached, Nanjing resident Wu Wenjing purchased outfits not just for family, but for her Labubu charm. “I match charms to my mood and outfits,” she explains. “Sometimes they feel like emotional codes — shared recognition sparks instant connections.”

Liang Mei, president of the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association, observed that bag charms offer young people moments of everyday delight through a relatively relaxed consumption model. By fostering emotional connections, they help form interest-based communities with a shared sense of identity. At the same time, collaboration with well-known intellectual properties (IPs) and user participation in co-creation continue to inject vitality into the market.

Manufacturing Innovation Dongguan, China’s “designer toy capital,” anchors the global industry with over 4,000 manufacturers and 1,500 supporting enterprises. Its complete industrial chain covers design, production, IP licensing, and sales.

At the headquarters of a toy manufacturer in Chashan township, Dongguan, a team of 10 designers was discussing design drafts for a “Baku” series of bag charms.

“This China-chic bag charm blends traditional Chinese colors and auspicious symbols with modern design. Inspired by the mythical ‘Baku — a creature said to devour nightmares and bring sweet dreams — it carries the wish that all good dreams may come true in the coming year,” explained Wu Qiaomei, brand marketing director involved in the project. 

She noted that from concept finalization to detail refinement, the initial design draft takes about 15 days to complete, with the sample workshop then needing another three to five days to produce the first plush prototype.

“With in-house manufacturing capabilities, we maintain flexibility in production coordination and scheduling,” Wu added. “From design confirmation to mass shipment, the entire process can be completed within about 30 days,”

With diverse styles and ever-changing market trends, bag charms call for agile production response. The consumer-end enthusiasm is fundamentally supported by a supply-side shift — from mass manufacturing to flexible customization. The robust production capacity within the toy industry provides the essential foundation for the rapid adaptation and output of these accessories.

In the past, producing a plastic toy required mold development costing tens of thousands of yuan, necessitating mass production runs of tens to hundreds of thousands of units to lower per-unit cost. 

Today, smart manufacturing and digital workshops have made small-batch production truly feasible — minimum orders as low as 50 units or batch productions of merely 100 pieces are now readily achievable, with even single custom toys possible through 3D printing.

Labubu has sparked a worldwide trend in collectible art toys. Following the success of the animated film Nobody, bag charms featuring its characters sold out repeatedly after going viral overnight. Meanwhile, charms shaped like traditional Chinese herbs — such as goji berries, red dates, and red sage — have captivated overseas consumers with their creative designs and distinctive Eastern aesthetic.

Time magazine in the United States noted that China’s new generation of trendy toys is reshaping the international image of “Made in China” by telling stories rooted in local IPs and showcasing distinctive aesthetics.

In the first half of 2025, Chinese toy company Pop Mart recorded triple-digit growth in markets across Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas, with growth in the Americas exceeding tenfold. The company’s global store count has now surpassed 570.

Products from HERE have reached nearly 20 countries and regions — including North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East — via distribution channels. Li Peng, Chairman of HERE, noted, “Breaking down cultural barriers through localized creation and building emotional bonds with global consumers are key to helping Chinese brands move beyond manufacturing and build greater brand value.”

Looking ahead, as more Chinese flagship products and brands go global, these small charms, infused with Chinese creativity and emotion, are poised to tell ever more compelling Chinese stories on the world stage.

By Wu Jun, People’s Daily

The Yangtze River, China’s longest river, flows through Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province in central China. Spanning its northern bank in the middle reaches, the Shuangliu Yangtze River Bridge connects Wuhan with neighboring Ezhou, strengthening regional integration.

As Peng Xiaobin, the bridge’s designer and deputy chief engineer of the Hubei Communications Planning and Design Institute, stood on the newly completed structure, he pointed skyward:”Look, that’s a grey heron, and over there is an egret.” His enthusiasm reflected the project’s dual success: engineering excellence and ecological conservation.

As Wuhan’s 12th bridge across the Yangtze, the Shuangliu Bridge stretches 35.043 kilometers. Its route traverses the Zhangdu Lake Wetland Nature Reserve — a critical habitat for the endangered Yangtze finless porpoise.

In December 2025, experts at a conference organized by the China Highway and Transportation Society hailed the bridge as a benchmark for Chinese engineering and a model of ecological preservation.

A key question emerged during planning: How could bridge construction protect the Yangtze’s fragile ecosystem?

The answer gleams under the winter sun — a 400-meter-long, fully enclosed protective structure along the bridge’s northern approach. “This sound barrier was specifically designed for the wetland birds,” Peng explained. Standing 6.38 meters high and spanning 34 meters, this “shield for birds” represents a first in Yangtze River bridge engineering.

The Zhangdu Lake Wetland lies along the East Asia-Australasia flywa, a vital migratory corridor. To minimize disruption, Peng’s team prioritized ecological considerations from the outset.  Collaborating with ornithologists and analyzing a decade of bird activity data, they conducted extensive field observations. “After numerous revisions, we added an extra curve to the northern approach,” Peng noted, acknowledging the significant cost increase this entailed.

To address noise generated after the bridge opens to traffic, Peng and his team decided to build a fully enclosed sound barrier on the bridge deck closest to the migratory route. The barrier was completed before the migration season. Today, noise levels outside the barrier are kept at 50 to 55 decibels during the day and 40 to 45 decibels at night, effectively fitting the wetland’s birds with “noise-canceling headphones.”

From the main span of the bridge, the broad Yangtze shimmering in the sunlight. “You can even see finless porpoises playing here,” said Chen Cheng, chief engineer of the Shuangliu Yangtze River Bridge project at CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd.

About two kilometers downstream from the main bridge lies a river bend where finless porpoises are frequently seen. To avoid disrupting their habitat, the bridge was designed to cross the river in a single span.

“The main bridge is a single-span steel box girder suspension bridge,” Chen explained. “Not a single pile was driven into the river. Both the north and south approach bridges were built entirely on land, completely avoiding in-water construction.”

During construction, work schedules were adjusted to avoid peak activity periods of finless porpoises and other aquatic species. Temporary structures such as trestles were erected during the dry season, followed quickly by the completion of tower foundations and caps. All steel box girders were prefabricated in sections at a factory, transported by specialized vessels, and then hoisted into place using cable cranes. 

“In this way, workers only needed to weld the joints at height, and the entire girder installation process did not disturb the river,” Chen said.

Over the more than three years of construction, the bridge and the finless porpoises have “grown together.” Surveys by the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that the finless porpoise population in the bridge section of the Yangtze River has increased from five or six individuals when construction began in 2022 to a stable group of about 20 today.

On the main bridge deck, long drainage pipes can be seen on both sides, each connected to an intelligent flow monitoring system. The system automatically identifies discharged liquids. Rainwater mixed with oil residues is directed into oil-separation and sedimentation tanks before release, while leaked or polluted wastewater is diverted into emergency containment pools and handled by qualified hazardous waste treatment companies.

The Shuangliu Yangtze River Bridge has now passed completion inspection. Once opened to traffic, travel time between Xinzhou in Wuhan and Ezhou will be reduced from 90 minutes to just five.

“By prioritizing conservation over unchecked development, we have found a balance between ecological protection and economic development,” said Wang Xihua, an executive with Shuangliu Yangtze River Bridge Co., Ltd. under Hubei Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd. “Our goal is to achieve a genuine win-win between economic and ecological benefits.”

By Hu Runxin

Few might have anticipated that a South Korean food-themed variety show would evolve into a compelling showcase of China’s capabilities.
Recently, an South Korean variety show titled Chef of Antarctica sparked lively online discussion. In the program, to express gratitude for China’s long-term cooperation and exchanges with ROK’s King Sejong Station in Antarctica, four South Korean celebrities — serving as “honorary crew members” of the station — visit China’s Great Wall Station there to prepare a thank-you meal.
What they encounter at the Chinese station defied expectations: thriving greenhouse vegetables, fully stocked pantries with diverse seasonings, and rare fresh foods like drunken shrimp and bullfrog — all contrasting sharply with typical Antarctic scarcity.
Nature, however, is full of surprises. After filming, a sudden blizzard stranded the entire 29-person production team. Facing an emergency, they requested temporary shelter at Great Wall Station.
The station chief’s instant reply — “No problem, don’t worry” — instantly eased their concerns right away. They were welcomed into clean, comfortable “snow-view” dormitories and offered hot drinks and snacks. This hospitality deeply moved the South Korean team, reflecting China’s tradition of extending aid in times of need—a practice rooted in inclusiveness and goodwill.
In such extreme conditions, this assistance not only demonstrated kindness but also showcased national capability.
Before setting out, the South Korean team had been told that at that time of year, stations operated by various countries would “likely have only frozen supplies, with almost no fresh produce.” Yet upon arriving at the Great Wall Station, the variety of food stocks amazed them — they exclaimed it was “like stepping into a Chinese supermarket.” Thanks to a robust logistics and supply system, fresh food can now be delivered over long distances and under challenging conditions.
Though designed for just 15 overwintering personnel, the station accommodated nearly twice its typical capacity. This flexibility comes from the station’s “full-capacity design,” incorporating substantial safety margins for emergencies—a reflection of strategic foresight and engineering expertise.
These achievements were never attained overnight. The composure and abundance seen at the Great Wall Station today are the result of decades of hard work and perseverance by generations of Chinese explorers.
There was a time when, without a research station of its own, China’s delegation could not vote at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. Being unable to have a say on Antarctic affairs left the delegates deeply frustrated—and all the more determined to pioneer the nation’s first Antarctic presence, achieving the crucial breakthrough “from zero to one.”
During the 1980s, lacking a permanent Antarctic presence meant China had no voting rights at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. This exclusion fueled determination to establish the nation’s first research station—a critical breakthrough from observer to stakeholder in Antarctic affairs.
China’s earliest Antarctic missions sailed forth on the Xiangyanghong 10 and J121 vessels; today, the icebreakers Xue Long and Xue Long 2 press onward through the frozen seas. Where once stood only basic container shelters, fully equipped modern research stations now operate. Over the past 40 years, China has launched five stations and two research vessels for Antarctic research, entering an era of three-dimensional development across sea, land and air.
Driven by self-reliance, Chinese explorers have moved steadily inland from Antarctica’s periphery, continually expanding both their operational footprint and fields of scientific inquiry. This vast icy wilderness stands as a testament to their unwavering tenacity, pioneering courage, and resilience in overcoming every challenge.
Friendliness, openness, and inclusiveness, along with the resolve to face difficulties and pursue excellence — these qualities are, at any time, among the most precious assets of a country and a nation. The blizzard will eventually pass, and these moving stories will continue to unfold in new chapters.

By Luo Shanshan, People’s Daily

China’s 2025 foreign trade data has drawn significant analysis from economists worldwide, with international observers highlighting “robust exports,” “diversified markets,” and “sustained competitiveness”. The Wall Street Journal noted that China had defied expectations for tariff-driven slowdown, continuing to show resilience as the world’s second-largest economy.
Despite complex global headwinds, China’s foreign trade in goods reached 45.47 trillion yuan ($6.54 trillion) in 2025, cementing its position as the world’s largest trader in goods. Trade growth has now been sustained for nine consecutive years, marking the longest uninterrupted expansion since China joined the World Trade Organization.
Behind these impressive figures lie concrete stories of deepening economic ties between China and the world.
A Norwegian social media influencer recently experienced this firsthand through two encounters with a Chinese compact excavator. A few months earlier, while scrolling through a Chinese e-commerce platform, he stumbled upon the product and, judging by its low price, assumed it was little more than a toy. Curious, he placed an order. When the package arrived, the surprise was immediate: the machine was fully functional, solidly built, and far more capable than he had expected. His unboxing video quickly attracted widespread attention, drawing more than 4 million views.
Curious about the value-for-money of Chinese excavators and responding to questions from viewers, the influencer made his first trip to China. His destination was a factory of Shandong HuaYee Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd. in Jining, east China’s Shandong province. Orderly, automated production lines and a large, well-integrated supply chain capable of responding swiftly to manufacturing needs once again left him astonished. A follow-up video documenting his factory visit attracted over 500,000 overseas viewers.
The transoceanic journey of a single excavator offers a glimpse into the resilience of China’s foreign trade.
Resilience lies in market diversification and win-win cooperation.
In 2025, China’s trade network covered more than 240 countries, and its trade with over 190 countries and regions reported positive growth. Trade continues to bring economies closer and create new opportunities for growth. An economist at Goldman Sachs noted that China’s export resilience has been underpinned by the rapid growth of shipments to emerging markets.
China’s trade with Central Asia offers a vivid example. In 2025, China-Central Asia trade exceeded $100 billion for the first time, maintaining positive growth for five consecutive years. China has also become the largest trading partner of Central Asian countries for the first time.
By promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, advancing the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and signing more regional and bilateral trade and investment agreements, China continues to push forward high-standard opening up through pragmatic measures.
Its foreign trade has long moved beyond reliance on a single market, forming a more balanced structure in which traditional markets provide stability while emerging markets drive expansion. As China’s global economic partnerships expand, so does its capacity to withstand external risks.
Resilience lies in structural upgrading and innovation-driven growth.
Despite frequent tariff barriers and trade frictions, China’s foreign trade has continued to advance, supported by an efficient, stable, and flexible supply chain system. The engineering machinery industry cluster in Jining, whose high-quality products are sold worldwide, exemplifies China’s move toward higher-end, smarter manufacturing.
Industrial robots provide another example. In 2025, China became a net exporter of industrial robots. Data show that China’s exports of manufactured goods have grown for nine consecutive years. Equipment manufacturing exports reached 16.03 trillion yuan in 2025, up 9.2 percent year on year, accounting for 59.4 percent of total exports–a clear sign of continued structural upgrading.
This evolution stems from both industrial innovation and changing trade models. The integration of cross-border e-commerce with industrial clusters is reshaping traditional bulk trade. These highly connected platforms facilitate efficient global matching of supply and demand, opening new channels for Chinese products to reach overseas markets.
Every achievement in China’s foreign trade underscores the resilience of its economy. Despite ongoing global uncertainties, China benefits its institutional strengths, vast market potential, comprehensive industrial system, and a steadfast commitment to expanding opening-up.
As experts quoted by the BBC observed, the deepening integration of Chinese goods and services into global business networks suggests this success is likely to extend into 2026. Looking ahead, China’s foreign trade will continue to grow with resilience, writing new stories of win-win cooperation and injecting greater certainty into global economic and trade growth.

Cars no longer have to be built on a traditional assembly line. In China, production is increasingly organized around what are known as “manufacturing islands.”
An intelligent island manufacturing system in the body shop of joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling in Liuzhou, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, presents a striking scene: individual “smart process islands” operate independently yet remain interconnected. Together, three major island clusters enable the efficient mixed production of 24 different vehicle models.
“Model changeovers now take just two hours versus two days previously,” said Yuan Yuzhu, senior manager of the final assembly workshop of the joint venture, pointing to a digital display screen.
“This has increased overall equipment effectiveness by 20 percent and reduced new model introduction costs by 35 percent. Behind these figures lies a fundamental shift in manufacturing logic,” Yuan added.
At the plant’s intelligent general assembly island, technologies such as modular switching allow different vehicle models to share the same assembly platform.
“Traditional lines are rigid like one-way roads,” explained process engineer Cai Lin. “Our island system provides Lego-like flexibility while cutting equipment investment by 40 percent.”
To build a smart factory that can think and evolve, SAIC-GM-Wuling has adopted a self-developed AI-driven operational model, enabling highly coordinated use of resources across the entire industrial chain, from production scheduling and warehousing to material distribution. The factory’s overall level of intelligence has reached 75 percent.
Since the completion of the island-based smart factory at the end of 2023, manufacturing efficiency has increased by 30 percent; model changeover time in the body shop has been cut by 67 percent; investment in new product manufacturing has been reduced by 30 percent.
In 2025, the company’s output value once again surpassed 100 billion yuan ($14.38 billion), up 24 percent year on year, while annual sales of new energy vehicles exceeded one million units for the first time, marking a year-on-year increase of 31.9 percent.
Built on process decoupling and production-line restructuring, SAIC-GM-Wuling’s automotive island-based smart factory is one of China’s 15 flagship smart factories recently announced.
China is currently accelerating the digital and intelligent transformation of its manufacturing sector. Since 2024, six government departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have jointly launched a smart factory gradient cultivation action for two consecutive years, developing them across four levels.
To date, China has built more than 35,000 basic-level smart factories, over 8,200 advanced-level facilities, more than 500 excellence-level factories, and 15 flagship smart factories.
Selected as the top among top, the first batch of China’s flagship smart factories covers key sectors including equipment manufacturing, raw materials, and electronic information, located in 10 provincial-level regions, such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hubei.
Wang Minghui, director of the industrial research office at the Development Research Center of the State Council, noted that flagship smart factories integrate advanced manufacturing technologies, next-generation information technologies, and lean management concepts. Tasked with exploring future manufacturing models, they represent the pinnacle of China’s intelligent manufacturing pyramid.
The core value of smart factories lies in reshaping production logic and unlocking industrial momentum. Flagship smart factories are continuously exploring new manufacturing models in practice, from automotive plants achieving flexible mixed-model production, to petrochemical facilities operating autonomously through digital twins, and to optical fiber plants overcoming the limits of ultra-large preform manufacturing. With high efficiency, precision, flexibility, and quality, they are setting transformation benchmarks for their respective industries.
As technological innovation accelerates, intelligent manufacturing is evolving faster than ever.
For example, Gree Electric Appliances, a leading Chinese home appliances maker, has achieved full digital coverage in its flagship smart factory, doubling production efficiency. The flagship factory of Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC), a Chinese supplier of optical preform, fiber and cables, has fully integrated AI throughout its production process, enabling micron-level precision control at temperatures above 2,000 degrees Celsius. Its fiber drawing line achieves a world-leading speed of 3,500 meters per minute–entirely without human intervention.
Statistics show that across the 15 flagship smart factories, average production efficiency has increased by 29 percent, while product defect rate has dropped by 47 percent. Meanwhile, AI has been applied in more than 70 percent of business scenarios in these factories, resulting in over 6,000 vertical-domain models and driving the large-scale application of more than 1,700 key intelligent manufacturing equipment systems and industrial software solutions.
Intelligent manufacturing is moving beyond reactive automation, entering a stage of proactive, self-optmizing system.
“We will open and share our technical standards with supply chain partners,” said Wei Xiaowen, SAIC-GM-Wuling’s manager of integrated planning. “After adopting the intelligent island manufacturing model, Liuzhou Saike Technology Development Co., Ltd. has seen its manufacturing efficiency increase by 30 percent.”
Notably, smart factories are creating ripple effects that increasingly drive industrial collaboration. The 15 flagship smart factories are no longer just producers of high-end products; they are evolving into comprehensive providers of products, services and solutions, driving broader industrial transformation. To date, they have facilitated coordinated upgrades among more than 1,300 upstream and downstream enterprises, enhancing value across entire industrial chains.
Looking ahead, China’s smart factories are poised to deliver greater benefits to the world. Innovation will drive progress, tiered capacity-building will strengthen their foundations, and ecosystem-wide collaboration will help break down barriers.