The nation has set the tone, and a regional industry reshuffle has begun

On March 20th, Suzhou, known as the “Strongest Prefecture-level City,” announced at the Suzhou Business Conference the top ten emerging industries and the top ten future industries to focus on in the next phase, signaling a clear move to concentrate strengths and open new competitive tracks.

Recently, the national “14th Five-Year Plan” explicitly emphasized leading future development in key areas, building a comprehensive future industry cultivation system, and promoting quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, sixth-generation mobile communication, among others, as new drivers of economic growth.

Since the term “future industries” was first proposed in 2024, the government work report has continued to highlight and deploy related initiatives for three consecutive years. These highly disruptive industries are now entering a new stage of development.

Opportunities are unprecedented. For local regions, quickly identifying positioning and gaining a leading advantage in the new round of industrial competition is crucial for future prospects. Who is accelerating breakthroughs in the six major future industry sectors?

“Widespread Blooming” Type Industry: Embodied Intelligence

Among the six key future industries prioritized nationally, embodied intelligence is undoubtedly the hottest track right now. According to incomplete statistics, at least 21 provinces have explicitly mentioned “embodied intelligence” or “robots” in their 2026 government work reports.

This widespread mention reflects the unique attributes of the embodied intelligence industry: long supply chains, diverse technological routes, and broad application scenarios. The exploration of multiple pathways around embodied intelligence is also accelerating.

2025 is dubbed by industry insiders as the “mass production year” for humanoid robots. The latest report from the globally renowned tech research firm Omdia shows that Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers are leading globally.

In the industry, Shanghai is considered the most feasible and fastest city for mass production of embodied intelligence domestically. It is estimated that core components needed for humanoid robots, as well as unseen data and control algorithms, can be fully supplied within a 150 km radius centered on Shanghai. The leading hardware supply chain in the Yangtze River Delta, along with Shanghai’s long-standing AI industry foundation and talent pool, are collectively accelerating the “Shanghai license” embodied intelligence mass production.

Building on this, Shanghai has further proposed to implement the “AI+” initiative, strengthening the layout of computing power infrastructure, industry-specific corpora, and vertical models, promoting the widespread application of new-generation intelligent terminals and agents. Nationwide, embodied intelligence is entering a critical phase from technological validation to commercialization—once the robot’s flexibility reaches practical levels, the next competition will be about who can “do the work” more effectively.

At the Guangdong “First Spring Conference” this year, Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee Huang Kunming emphasized the need to “put embodied intelligence into use,” sending a clear signal.

It’s evident that as a major manufacturing province, Guangdong focuses on application demonstration and promotion. With manufacturing accounting for about one-eighth of the national total, and all 31 manufacturing categories plus ten trillion-yuan-level industry clusters like new-generation electronic information, Guangdong provides a rich “testing ground.”

From the government work report, while many regions are still in the “layout” or “cultivation” stage regarding embodied intelligence, some provinces like Guangdong have already targeted more specific tracks. For example, Guangdong aims to “accelerate the high-level application of AI across all fields and all times,” cultivating large models for vertical sectors and scene-specific small models, and speeding up the construction of embodied intelligence training platforms.

Additionally, Shandong’s government work report also proposed to “build embodied intelligence robot training systems,” while Zhejiang explicitly supports the creation of national AI application pilot bases for embodied intelligence.

Beijing is shifting focus toward scenario openness. According to the recently issued “Action Plan for Technological Innovation and Industry Cultivation of Embodied Intelligence (2025–2027),” application scenarios such as scientific research, education, automotive manufacturing, and commercial retail will be opened in phases. The plan prioritizes deploying thousands of embodied robots and cultivating industry clusters worth hundreds of billions, while also exploring applications in elderly care and household services.

Featured Breakthrough Industries: Biomanufacturing, Hydrogen Energy

It must be noted that future industries typically have long incubation cycles, high risks, and strong uncertainties, requiring tailored and rational planning based on local conditions.

From another perspective, future industries are not exclusive to a few large economic provinces; other regions can also leverage their industrial endowments to achieve distinctive breakthroughs.

For example, Heilongjiang, with abundant agricultural raw materials, has become a key player in China’s biomanufacturing sector. In 2024, the Suiha Daqi biomanufacturing cluster officially joined the “national team,” becoming the only national-level advanced manufacturing cluster in biomanufacturing.

Data shows that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Heilongjiang’s leading enterprises in biomanufacturing grew from fewer than 80 to 194, with output value exceeding 100 billion yuan and an average annual growth rate over 10%. According to Heilongjiang’s government work report, this year will see accelerated development of the bioeconomy, with a new round of “Double Hundred Projects” in biobased economy, maintaining over 10% growth in key industries.

Similarly, in biomanufacturing, provinces like Chongqing and Yunnan are also making efforts. Chongqing’s government report mentions establishing a “Chongqing Biomanufacturing Research Institute” and supporting the development of the Chongqing International Bio-City’s innovation drug ecosystem. Yunnan aims to “cultivate biomanufacturing industrial parks,” while Hainan highlights “marine biomanufacturing.”

Another promising future industry based on regional resource advantages is hydrogen energy.

As early as the “14th Five-Year Plan,” hydrogen energy was included in forward-looking planning for future industries. Statistics show that at least 23 provinces mentioned this industry in their 2026 government work reports, with over 20 provinces having clear medium- and long-term plans for hydrogen energy over the next 5 to 10 years.

Unlike fossil fuels, hydrogen cannot be directly mined but must be produced from water or fossil fuels. This characteristic makes resource endowment critical for the layout of the hydrogen industry.

Among many provinces, Jilin has the most detailed mentions in this year’s government work report.

It states that by 2025, key projects such as the Zhongneng Jilin Shuangyang “green electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol” facilities will be completed and put into operation, with the country’s leading total capacity; Changchun, Songyuan, and Baicheng will be among the first regions in the national pilot for hydrogen energy; and the country’s first hydrogen-powered cultural tourism train has been successfully operated.

Recently, Jilin Party Secretary Huang Qiang also experienced a hydrogen train during field research, expressing the desire to “let hydrogen-powered city trains run across Jilin.”

As one of China’s nine major wind and solar power bases with over 10 million kilowatts capacity, Jilin boasts abundant green energy resources; its old industrial base also provides a foundation for full industry chain development. These advantages bolster Jilin’s ambition to become the “Northern Hydrogen Valley.”

Notably, on March 16th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and three other departments jointly issued the “Notice on Conducting Pilot Projects for Comprehensive Hydrogen Energy Applications,” opening broader space for industry development. Experts interpret this as a major highlight—creating a “new track” for hydrogen energy industry development, expanding from mainly fuel cell vehicles to applications in steel, chemicals, shipping, and other industrial sectors, marking a transition from “single transportation demonstration” to “full-scenario, large-scale commercialized breakthroughs.”

Some provinces have already made deployment. For example, Inner Mongolia’s government report emphasizes “strengthening the coupling of green hydrogen with metallurgy, chemicals, and synthetic biology industries”; Gansu focuses on hydrogen equipment projects and proposes establishing flagship application scenarios.

Leading Industries: Quantum Technology and Others

In contrast, industries like quantum technology, nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G face extremely high technical barriers and talent requirements, currently limited to a few leading players.

In quantum technology, Anhui is a clear leader. The “2024 Global Future Industry Development Index Report” ranks Hefei’s quantum industry second worldwide, only behind San Francisco. Among the top 20 quantum companies globally, four are from China, three of which are in Anhui. By the end of 2025, Anhui’s quantum industry chain has surpassed 100 enterprises, ranking first nationally.

The global quantum industry is now in a “racing sprint” phase. Anhui’s latest deployment includes building quantum computing R&D platforms and implementing the “Thousand Scenes” quantum information initiative, accelerating the application and transformation of quantum technologies.

In nuclear fusion, only Anhui, Hubei, and Sichuan explicitly list it as a key development direction in their 2026 government reports.

This aligns with their core innovation resources: Anhui relies on the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Sichuan benefits from a strong nuclear industry base and the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics; Hubei leverages the J-TEXT device at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and top academic disciplines.

Shanghai, known as the “Cradle of China’s Nuclear Power Industry,” continues to invest through capital. The Shanghai Future Industry Fund has invested in companies like Xinghuan Energy, Dongsheng Fusion, and China Fusion Energy Co., Ltd., forming a relatively complete and diverse nuclear fusion industry chain.

The 6G industry also shows significant regional clustering. According to the 2026 government work report, only Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu explicitly mention 6G, all achieving notable results: Beijing’s small-scale 6G trial network was first completed; Shanghai has formulated a 6G future industry cultivation plan; Jiangsu successfully built the world’s first 6G outdoor trial network.

Looking toward the “14th Five-Year Plan,” provinces like Guangdong, Anhui, Hubei, Sichuan, and Heilongjiang have also signaled their layout intentions, with regional competition in the 6G track intensifying.

In the brain-computer interface sector, key companies are mainly clustered in the Yangtze River Delta, including Borui Kang, Brain虎科技, Shen Nian Technology, and Qiang Brain Technology. Other regions such as Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Hubei, and Sichuan are also gathering related enterprises, leveraging strong scientific research support.

More provinces are eager to participate: Chongqing, Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, and Hainan have all announced plans for brain-computer interfaces in 2026, aiming to secure a position in this emerging track. The industry race that could reshape regional landscapes has only just begun.