Shanghai accelerates 'AI+' integration, innovation in key industries in 2026

Shanghai is set to intensify its "AI+" initiative, focusing on enhancing computational infrastructure, industry-specific data, and vertical AI model development, as well as promoting the widespread application of next-generation intelligent terminals and systems, said Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai, on Tuesday.

The city also plans to expedite the intelligent transformation of key industries, aiming to establish at least 50 advanced smart factories within this year. It will also actively foster new models and business formats native to intelligent technologies, Gong added while delivering the Shanghai Municipal Government Work Report at the annual session of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, the city's legislative body.

The work report also highlighted the advancement of the Lin-gang Sci-tech Innovation City in the new year, and efforts to develop high-level innovation communities throughout Shanghai.

The city seeks to enhance the capabilities of specialized industrial parks in industries like chip manufacturing and large aircraft production, while also vigorously nurturing future industries, such as brain-computer interfaces and fourth-generation semiconductors.

Over the past five years, the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people in Shanghai increased from 29.6 to 65. Significant progress has been made in tackling key core technologies, leading to the formation of trillion-yuan-level industrial clusters in sectors, including electronic information, life health, automotive and high-end equipment, Gong said.

In the past five years, Shanghai's research and development expenditure as a percentage of its GDP rose to about 4.5 percent. This substantial investment in R&D enabled the city to maintain a leading position in cutting-edge fields like AI and quantum computing, according to experts.