China’s rapid progress in technology: from follower to global leader

In the last decade, China has transformed from the world’s factory into the world’s laboratory. What was once known for cheap manufacturing is now leading in Artificial Intelligence, 5G/6G, semiconductors, electric vehicles, space, and robotics. This shift is not by accident — it is the result of massive state investment, a huge domestic market, and a strategy called “Made in China 2025” and now “Digital China 2030”.

1. Artificial Intelligence - The New Engine China’s AI industry in 2026 is worth over $150 billion. The country now has more AI patents than any other country. The most visible change is in daily AI usage. According to the National Data Administration, China’s national daily token calls — the basic unit AI uses to process language — exceeded 140 trillion in March 2026, up from just 100 billion in early 2024. That’s a 1000x increase. Average daily usage is now several hundred trillion tokens. Companies like Baidu (Ernie), Alibaba (Qwen), ByteDance (Doubao), and DeepSeek are competing directly with Open AI and Google. In 2025, AI smartphones and AI PCs shipments crossed 100 million units in China alone, and in 2026 AI devices outsold non-AI devices for the first time. China is also leading in Physical AI — robots that work in real life. Over half of the 16 new “Lighthouse Factories” recognized by the World Economic Forum in June 2026 for advanced manufacturing are in China. From warehouse robots in Chengdu to humanoid robots in Beijing labs, AI is no longer on screens, it’s on factory floors.

2. Semiconductors - The Battle for Chips This is the most critical battlefield. Facing US export controls on advanced chips, China decided to build its own supply chain. The results are fast: China’s semiconductor device market was valued at $217.55 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $332.17 billion by 2031, growing at 7.31% annually. Foundry capacity expanded by 15% in 2024 and another 14% in 2025. SMIC, Hua Hong and Nexchip are leading this push. Equipment localization rate jumped from 25% in 2024 to 35% in 2025, and on new fabs, 55% of equipment is now domestic. IC design revenue reached RMB 835.7 billion in 2025, accounting for over a quarter of the global $430 billion design market. China still struggles with 3nm and 5nm advanced nodes, but it now dominates mature nodes (28nm and above). By 2027, it is projected to hold 31% of global 28nm capacity, which are the chips used in cars, home appliances, and industrial machines.

3. 5G, 6G and Digital Infrastructure China has over 4.2 million 5G base stations — more than 60% of the world total. It is already testing 6G in 20+ cities. The phrase “compute-power coordination” entered China’s Government Work Report for the first time in 2026, showing how seriously it takes computing as national infrastructure. This super-fast network is why drones, autonomous buses, and smart cities work so well in Shenzhen and Hangzhou.

4. Space and Green Tech China’s Tiangong space station is fully operational, it landed on the far side of the moon (Chang’e-6), and is planning a manned moon mission by 2030. In green tech, it produces 80% of the world’s solar panels and wind turbines. Conclusion:

5. Why is China so fast?

1.4 billion Users provide massive data and market for testing. State + Private: Government provides long-term funding (Big Fund for chips, 500 billion yuan), private companies like Huawei, Tencent. Integration: China doesn’t invent one technology — it integrates all. China’s rise means cheaper EVs, faster AI adoption, and a real alternative tech ecosystem outside Silicon Valley. Whether this leads to cooperation or more competition will define the next decade.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026