Chongqing - Chongqing recently released a draft plan to reinforce its role as a leading manufacturing center in China. The city aims to achieve an average annual growth of 6% in industrial output by 2030 while accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and digital technologies.
At the Changan Digital Intelligence Factory, robotic arms with AI vision technology are performing operations on automotive components. (Photo/Changan)
The draft plan, released by the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology for public consultation on June 5, outlines the city's strategy for the 2026-2030 period. The initiative is designed to advance Chongqing's "33618" modern manufacturing cluster system, a framework that organizes key industries into three leading sectors, three pillar sectors, six distinctive competitive sectors, and 18 emerging industries.
According to the plan, Chongqing aims to raise manufacturing's share of gross domestic product to 25% by 2030. The contribution of strategic emerging industries to industrial output is expected to increase to 39%, while research and development spending by industrial enterprises above a designated size is targeted to reach 2% of operating revenue.
Officials said the goal is to build Chongqing into a nationally important advanced manufacturing center with international competitiveness and a nationally influential hub for industrial innovation.
The strategy places significant emphasis on artificial intelligence and the city's broader "Digital Chongqing" initiative, which seeks to integrate digital technologies into governance, industry, and public services.
At the center of the plan is the upgrading of the "33618" industrial cluster system. Authorities aim to strengthen three leading industries: intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, next-generation electronic information manufacturing, and advanced materials.
Chongqing has set an ambitious target of producing 3.5 million intelligent connected new-energy vehicles annually by 2030. The city plans to expand its automotive ecosystem beyond vehicle manufacturing into semiconductors, automotive electronics, autonomous driving infrastructure, and smart mobility services.
The next-generation electronics sector is also expected to play a major role in future growth. The plan calls for accelerating the transition toward artificial intelligence-enabled devices and increasing the share of AI-powered terminals to more than 50% of total production.
Beyond its leading industries, Chongqing intends to expand pillar sectors including intelligent equipment manufacturing, food and agricultural processing, and software and information services. Officials expect software and information service revenues to approach 800 billion yuan (about 118 billion U.S. dollars) while creating 300,000 additional jobs.
The blueprint also identifies several strategic growth areas, including artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, energy storage, biomedicine, advanced motorcycles, low-altitude economy applications, robotics and future-oriented technologies such as embodied AI, aerospace information systems, brain-computer interfaces, quantum technology and hydrogen energy.
To support industrial transformation, the plan introduces eight policy initiatives focused on innovation, investment attraction, financing, talent development, digitalization, business growth, regional coordination and improvements to the business environment.
Among the targets are the construction of more than 100 new smart factories and 50 future factories, the implementation of over 5,000 industrial upgrading projects, and the establishment of 120 municipal-level pilot testing platforms for technology commercialization.
The plan also highlights talent development as a key pillar of future growth. Authorities aim to attract and retain more than 1.6 million university graduates and young professionals while expanding vocational training programs for advanced manufacturing industries.