Ningbo Holds Symposium on "AI + Manufacturing"

To thoroughly implement the spirit of the 8th Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Ningbo Municipal Committee and strive to seize the high ground in AI development, the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government organized a symposium on "AI + Manufacturing" in the afternoon of July 31 to deepen the integration of AI into manufacturing. Six experts, including Mao Guanglie, former Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and a member of the National Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee, Yang Huayong, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the College of Engineering at Zhejiang University, Chen Bingrong, Director of Ningbo’s Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee, Tao Wei, Director of the Systems Institute at the National Industrial Information Security Development Research Center, Wang Xiaosi, Chief AI Expert at China Unicom, and Ma Mingman, Solutions Director of Huawei’s Manufacturing and Big Enterprise Division, shared insights and offered advices for Ningbo’s "AI + Manufacturing" initiative. Vice Mayor Li Guanding chaired the meeting, with Zhang Jun, Director of the Industrial Digitalization Division of the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Zhejiang, in attendance.

At the meeting, the Ningbo Municipal Economic and Information Technology Bureau reported on the drafting of the “Three-Year Action Plan (2025–2027) for Advancing ‘AI +’ and Deepening the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing in Ningbo”. Representatives from five enterprises, including the Geely Auto, the Boway Group, the Bluetron, the Aerocket Intelligent, and the GravityXR, shared their experiences in digital transformation and AI applications. Director Zhang Jun praised Ningbo’s pioneering efforts and outlined the provincial department’s next steps in related work. The experts, including Mao Guanglie, Yang Huayong, Chen Bingrong, Tao Wei, Wang Xiaosi, and Ma Mingman, provided suggestions on Ningbo’s overarching strategy and key tasks for advancing "AI + Manufacturing" in the next phase, tailored to the city’s context. They emphasized that Ningbo should leverage reform as a driving force, capitalize on its strengths such as a comprehensive industrial portfolio, diverse manufacturing scenarios, and vibrant enterprises, and advance "AI + Manufacturing" with high standards. By focusing on national priorities, the city should accelerate breakthroughs in key areas like industrial data valorization, large-scale model training, and AI agent deployment, optimize the "cloud-edge integration" computing supply model, and strengthen scenario-driven demonstrations. The goal is to set a benchmark provincially and nationally, establishing Ningbo as an industrial AI innovation hub.

Li Guanding expressed gratitude to the experts for their long-standing support. He noted that their recommendations were visionary, systematic, pragmatic, and actionable, offering significant guidance for Ningbo’s "AI +" initiative and manufacturing digital transformation. He urged relevant departments to adopt the experts’ advices, seize opportunities, and systematically advance breakthroughs in "AI + Manufacturing": Firstly, promote bidirectional integration by empowering the entire manufacturing chain with AI, focusing on critical links, and developing flagship application scenarios while leveraging manufacturers as "testing grounds" for AI adoption. Secondly, mobilize enterprises to drive transformation, establish industry benchmarks, tackle core algorithms, share replicable experiences, and encourage digital service providers to refine solutions for sector-specific challenges. Thirdly, foster collaboration across stakeholders, leverage expert think-tanks, break down interdepartmental barriers, and secure policy support to ensure effective implementation.

The meeting was attended by officials from the Ningbo Municipal Economic and Information Technology Bureau, the Ningbo Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the Ningbo Municipal Data Administration, and Ningbo Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau and so on.