At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the morning of July 20th, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) provided an update on the development of industry and information technology in the first half of the year.
Total Engineer of the MIIT, Wang Weiming, highlighted robust global demand in areas such as artificial intelligence and green, low-carbon transitions. In the first half, measured in Renminbi, export values for integrated circuits, electronic components, and wind turbine generators increased by 88.7%, 62.6%, and 35.6% year-on-year, respectively.
Computing Power Infrastructure Reaches 2185 EFLOPS
In the era of the digital economy, computing power serves as a critical foundational resource. During the first half of this year, China's computing power capacity continued to expand. By the end of June, the nation's intelligent computing power scale had reached 2185 EFLOPS, capable of performing 218.5 quintillion floating-point operations per second. The overall utilization rate of national computing power facilities reached 71.4%, with 52 intelligent computing facilities each equipped with over 10,000 accelerator cards established nationwide. Transmission channels have been continuously broadened, with over 70 major computing power channels constructed around national computing hub nodes in the past two years, improving network performance between related hub nodes by 10%.
Moving forward, the MIIT will continue to optimize the resource allocation of computing power infrastructure, establish nodes for computing power interconnectivity, and enhance the utilization efficiency of computing resources. Efforts will focus on optimizing the supply and deployment of computing power, strengthening coordinated monitoring, and conducting research on new transmission protocols and inter-card connectivity technologies. The ministry will deepen the "Millisecond-Level Computing Access" initiative in metropolitan areas to improve the interactive experience of computing applications, promote computing power interconnectivity, and implement actions to empower small and medium-sized enterprises with accessible computing power, thereby improving the usability of computing power services.
Humanoid Robot Products Exceed Half of Global Total
Data from the MIIT shows that in the first half of the year, several industries with international competitive advantages have accelerated their growth. In the field of intelligent robotics, China-developed quadruped robots account for nearly 70% of global sales share, with over 400 models of humanoid robot products available, exceeding half of the global total. In sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, new energy, and biopharmaceuticals, a number of global unicorn companies have emerged, actively contributing Chinese solutions to international standard development and industrial governance.
Total Engineer Wang Weiming further noted that the deepening and expansion of "AI+" initiatives has resulted in an AI technology adoption rate exceeding 30% among large-scale manufacturing enterprises. The global cumulative downloads of open-source large AI models have surpassed 10 billion. Efforts to accelerate the "science-service-industry" feedback loop are underway, with the second batch of 111 key cultivation platforms for pilot-scale testing released and 14 exceptional-level and 402 standard-level technology business incubators recognized. The leading role of national major science and technology projects is being fully leveraged to accelerate breakthroughs in core and foundational technologies. The quantum computing prototype "Jiuzhang 4.0" has set a new world record in optical quantum information technology, and the world's first invasive brain-computer interface medical device has been approved for market.
Acceleration Planned for Next-Generation Communication Network Development
It was reported that research is currently underway regarding the construction of a next-generation communication network. What defines this new network? According to Xie Cun, spokesperson for the MIIT and Director of the Information and Communication Administration, its novelty is primarily reflected in four aspects: First, the scope of connectivity extends from traditional individual users to a diverse range of entities including humans, machines, objects, and embodied intelligence. Second, coverage breaks through traditional terrestrial limits, expanding towards integrated air, space, ground, and sea coverage. Third, connection capabilities see significant improvements in determinism and stability, better meeting the differentiated needs of industry applications. Fourth, network functions evolve from simple information transmission to the deep integration of multiple capabilities such as communication, sensing, computing, intelligence, and security. It can be said that the next-generation communication network is not merely an upgrade of the traditional sense but a crucial innovation in digital information infrastructure for the intelligent era.
In the next phase, the MIIT will prioritize the planning and construction of the next-generation communication network to drive the development of the information and communication industry. Work will focus on three areas: network deployment, industrial support and enablement, and application innovation and promotion. Efforts will strengthen innovation and research in core technologies such as 6G mobile communications, ultra-high-speed optical communications, submarine optical cables, and satellite communications, accelerating the development of related products to support the high-quality construction and deployment of the new network. Integration and development in areas like brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, intelligent connected vehicles with 5G-Advanced/6G, and satellite internet will be deepened. The foundational digital support role of the next-generation communication network will be leveraged to collaboratively enable integrated application innovation across water networks, new power grids, computing power networks, urban underground pipeline networks, and logistics networks.