The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Yizhuang) has officially commenced large-scale production at its ten-thousand-unit embodied intelligence robot super factory, while Shanghai's Lingang is pushing its "artificial sun" towards a 10,000-second operational milestone, and Hainan's Wenchang is preparing for a series of commercial space launches featuring reusable rockets. From north to south, spanning manufacturing to energy, an industrial transformation powered by cutting-edge technology is accelerating across China.
The development of future industries is a crucial component of China's modern industrial system and a strategic choice for fostering new quality productive forces and shaping new competitive advantages for the nation. In the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the layout of future industries is gaining momentum and deepening from top-level design to local implementation. From leading in quantum computing to the clinical application of brain-computer interfaces, breakthroughs are emerging across multiple frontier tracks, with the power of innovation accelerating the shift from "foreseeing the future" to "actively forging it."
The Surging Wave: From Laboratory Sparks to a Galaxy of Production Lines
A humanoid robot rolling off the assembly line every 15 minutes! Recently, Lingyi iTech's Beijing Embodied Intelligence Super Factory, the first ten-thousand-unit facility of its kind in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, officially began scaled production in Yizhuang. According to plans, the factory's annual capacity will gradually ramp up, aiming for 10,000 units by 2026, 20,000 by 2027, and 500,000 by 2030, striving to become a global benchmark super factory for embodied intelligence.
Almost simultaneously, the commercial reach of embodied intelligence is extending from production to consumption. Unitree Robotics opened Asia's first embodied intelligence experience center on Shanghai's Nanjing West Road, while Zhiyuan Robot unveiled its first global offline store on Shanghai's Caobao Road.
Shifting focus from the ground to the sky, the low-altitude economy is also poised for takeoff. The V5000 "Sky Dragon," a 5-ton eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) independently developed by AutoFlight, completed its transition flight in Kunshan this February, becoming the world's largest and only 5-ton eVTOL to achieve this. Meanwhile, the V2000CG cargo drone, after receiving airworthiness certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, obtained type validation from Indonesia's aviation authority in early June, securing the world's first overseas airworthiness certificate for an eVTOL.
The future is arriving, the trend is clear. Globally, a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, making future industries a core arena for countries to seize developmental high ground and build long-term competitive advantages. Domestically, in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China's future industries are riding the wave and leaping forward. According to calculations by the China Academy of Industrial Internet, the output value of China's future industries is projected to reach 15.5 trillion yuan by 2026, with an annual compound growth rate of about 15%.
The pace of iteration for frontier technologies continues to accelerate, with original achievements emerging densely. Quantum computing maintains its lead. The fourth-generation independently developed superconducting quantum computer "Origin Wukong-180" has gone online and begun accepting global quantum computing tasks. Chinese scientists successfully developed the "Jiuzhang 4.0" quantum computing prototype, further solidifying China's world-leading position in photonic quantum computing.
6G research is advancing at full speed. China has initiated the second phase of 6G technology trials, focusing on core challenges like integrated space-air-ground networking and integrated sensing and communication. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has officially approved the use of 6GHz spectrum for 6G trials to the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group, making China the first country globally to approve such trial frequencies.
From embodied intelligence to brain-computer interfaces, from bio-manufacturing to hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy... the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan has seen frequent good news from frontier tracks, with hardcore technologies accelerating their transformation into real productive forces.
Commercial applications are accelerating, with scenario innovations blossoming in multiple areas. At the 4th China International Supply Chain Expo, the domestically produced humanoid robot Walker C1 made a stunning appearance. With its light steps and fluid movements, it not only demonstrated high-difficulty waltz-like human-robot interaction but also became the expo's first "silicon-based spokesperson."
"In the brain-computer interface track, Borey Robotics' implantable brain-computer interface system has been approved for market, securing China's first medical device registration certificate for an invasive brain-computer interface. In the bio-manufacturing field, the Changping Synthetic Bio-manufacturing Industrial Cluster has gathered over 160 enterprises, with Weiyuan Synthetic's allulose approved as the country's first new food ingredient from synthetic biology."
Frontier tracks are forming a positive cycle of "technology R&D – product mass production – scenario validation."
Strategic Planning and Implementation: From Policy Blueprint to Industrial Reality
To go far, one must plan far; to prosper, one must solidify the foundation. The flourishing of future industries is not a solo act of technology but a symphony orchestrated by top-level design, regional coordination, and capital infusion.
Top-level design is being deployed intensively, anchoring long-term development direction. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee's first collective study session this year focused on future industries. The outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan explicitly calls for forward-looking layout of future industries, listing quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications as new economic growth points. The State Council's executive meetings have dedicated sessions to studying and advancing the development of future industries.
Supporting measures from ministries are being precisely implemented. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, focusing on key tracks like quantum technology and clean low-carbon hydrogen, has deployed over 100 future industry innovation "unveiling the list and assigning the lead" research tasks. It is systematically establishing a number of manufacturing innovation centers and pilot-scale testing platforms in key future industry areas, aiming to turn "good ideas" from the lab into "good products" on the production line.
Local governments are pursuing differentiated layouts, with pioneer zone construction gaining momentum. With the blueprint set, implementation follows. Beijing Yizhuang is striving to build a globally influential future industry pioneer zone, with futuristic new landmarks like the "Chip, Brain, Intelligence, Port" high-quality industrial park and "Future Energy Town" set to rise. Tianjin's Binhai New Area has cumulatively built over 90 future technology application scenarios and gathered more than 150 future industry development platforms and leading enterprises.
From national-level future industry pioneer zones to provincial-level ones and local characteristic industrial clusters, a three-tier system is taking shape for future industries. From the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to the Yangtze River Delta, from the Greater Bay Area to Chengdu-Chongqing, regions are leveraging their endowments and local conditions to form a future industry map characterized by gradient complementarity and distinct strengths.
Patient capital is providing precise nourishment, accompanying high-quality enterprises in their "long-distance run." Future industries involve long investment cycles and high R&D uncertainty, requiring capital that can "endure solitude" and enterprises that can "sit on a cold bench" to journey together.
Venture capital guidance funds, focusing on "investing early, small, long-term, and in hard tech," support original and disruptive technological innovation. Beijing has launched the "Win the Future" Growth Plan, targeting promising early-stage financing companies and innovation teams in future industry fields, planning to invest over 100 million yuan annually for five consecutive years.
The STAR Market is broadening the listing channel for hard-tech companies. Its fifth set of listing criteria has been expanded to include the artificial intelligence large model field. In line with the strategic deployment for developing future industries, it supports the listing of more "hard tech" enterprises in areas like quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, and embodied intelligence.
Capital flows vigorously, and enterprise vitality surges. Since 2026, embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and commercial space have become hotspots for capital deployment, with large-scale financing and industrial strategic investments landing frequently. Leading venture capital firms, local state-owned capital, and industry chain leaders are forming a collaborative investment echelon, building a relay cultivation model of "government mother fund + market-oriented venture capital + industrial capital."
Steady and Sustained Progress: Navigating Towards the Future with Balance
The momentum is robust, the direction clear. But the more fervent the upsurge, the more necessary it is to examine it soberly; the faster the acceleration, the steadier the steps required. While future industries hold vast prospects, they also face practical challenges like uncertain technological pathways, long conversion cycles, and difficult commercial validation. How can this "future" progress more steadily and go further? Experts and enterprise representatives interviewed believe that grasping certainty amidst uncertainty and solidifying stability within the industrial fervor are key to the steady and sustained progress of future industries.
Balance the relationship between the "distant" and the "near," maintaining strategic resolve. The interweaving of long-cycle evolution and short-term hotspots tests strategic resolve. Judgments on frontier technologies should not be led by temporary trends, nor should long-term layouts waver due to short-term fluctuations.
Balance the relationship between "fast" and "slow," respecting the gradient of technological maturity. Future industry tracks are numerous, with varying levels of technological maturity. How to grasp the rhythm and apply force precisely? The technological maturity of future industries shows a clear gradient: applications like large models and solid-state batteries have entered a rapid commercialization stage; quantum computing and general embodied intelligence are in the engineering scale-up and system integration verification phase; while brain-computer interfaces and deep-sea/space development are still largely in the laboratory and early clinical stages. The commercialization pace cannot be uniform across different industries; the objective laws of technological development must be respected, with differentiated policies for industries at different maturity levels.
Balance the relationship between "supply" and "demand," achieving precise two-way effort. Investment does not guarantee output, and technology does not guarantee a market. Cultivating future industry startups requires dual efforts from both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, regarding effective capital provision, there is a need to further explore long-cycle industrial funds, more tolerant investment growth, and risk-sharing mechanisms. On the demand side, to drive market demand, enterprises should be encouraged to pioneer application scenarios in areas like manufacturing, energy, and healthcare, breaking the dilemma of "having technology but no application scenario."
The power of scenario-driven development is becoming evident. With policy dividends continuing to be released and technology maturing, aerial mobility is expected to achieve more breakthroughs during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
The future is arriving, with change as the only constant; the road may be long, but progress will bring us there. Strengthening original innovation "from 0 to 1" and expanding application innovation "from 1 to 100" – as the sparks from laboratories illuminate the galaxy of production lines and top-level blueprints transform into widespread realities, China's future industries are advancing with determined steps, injecting a continuous stream of new momentum into high-quality development.
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