Artificial intelligence boosts Chongqing's manufacturing sector
Chongqing — A dual-arm robot that can assemble components into laptop modules with extraordinary accuracy featured prominently at the eighth Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade, held in Chongqing in southwest China. The display underscores a broader shift underway in Chongqing, where artificial intelligence (AI) is digitally and intelligently transforming local production. Under the theme ‘New Western China, New Manufacturing, New Services’, the fair opened in Chongqing on Thursday, 21 May and runs until Sunday, 24 May, attracting nearly 1,400 companies from 50 countries and regions.
For tasks that require high precision and repetition, long hours of manual work are prone to errors. By integrating intelligent algorithms, robots can significantly improve production stability and consistency, said Cheng Yuan, a testing engineer at Chongqing Huashu Robotics Co., Ltd., the robot manufacturer on display.
AI not only boosts productivity but also enhances safety and working conditions in industrial environments, freeing workers from harsh and dangerous surroundings. In many factories, workers face hazards such as falling objects and thick dust, making manual material transport potentially dangerous.
To address these challenges, New Generation (Chongqing) Intelligent Equipment Technology Co., Ltd. has developed AI-enabled autonomous transport vehicles equipped with perception and obstacle-avoidance systems, enabling autonomous navigation in complex industrial environments. Custom algorithms were also developed to respond to specific client needs, enabling the vehicles to operate safely in dusty or moist factories.
AI-based refinements are likewise transforming other heavy industries. CISDI Information Technology (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. focuses on AI-enabled improvements in the steel industry, using an in-house AI platform to not only improve production quality but also free workers from extremely hot and potentially hazardous environments. The platform, combined with smart cameras and deep learning algorithms, can perform tasks such as raw material screening, fire detection, and rolling process control, covering more than 100 application scenarios across the entire steel production process.
‘In the past, workers had to wear protective goggles and directly observe flames reaching temperatures of 1,500 to 1,600 degrees Celsius,’ said Pang Shuyang, an AI engineer at CISDI Information. He added that the company now uses machine-vision cameras and AI algorithms in place of human eyes, achieving accuracy of more than 99 percent.
‘To truly empower industry, AI requires not only algorithms, computing power, and data, but also real-world application scenarios rich in talent and an open and collaborative ecosystem,’ said Zhang Chengqi, chair professor of AI at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, during his opening remarks at the fair.
Covering all 31 major manufacturing sectors in China, Chongqing provides favourable conditions for firms to develop intelligent manufacturing and digital transformation. At Seres Super Factory in Chongqing, more than 1,600 intelligent terminals and 3,000 robots operate collaboratively in the production of New Energy Vehicles, achieving 100 percent automation for key processes such as welding and painting. Using AI-based visual inspection technology, the system can complete dozens of inspections on a single component in seconds, significantly improving product consistency and quality control.
In 2025, Chongqing’s core AI industry grew 23.6 percent year on year, said Yang Fan, deputy director of the city’s Commission of Economy and Informatization. Chongqing now has four ‘lighthouse factories’ certified by the World Economic Forum in recognition of their technology-driven industrial transformation. China has pledged to accelerate digital and intelligent technology innovation and expand ‘AI plus’ practices to boost economic and social development and drive deep transformation of production methods, according to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), released in March. A matchmaking event for ‘AI + Manufacturing’ was held at the fair, drawing entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and innovators to strengthen exchange and collaboration.