According to an announcement from the regional Department of Industry and Information Technology, in line with the notice from six ministries including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology regarding the 2026 Smart Factory Gradient Cultivation Action, the regional department has initiated the application process for the 2026 regional Elite-level and Leader-level smart factories starting July 21.

Under the application requirements, enterprises applying for Elite-level smart factories must have already passed the regional Advanced-level smart factory certification. Those applying for Leader-level smart factories must have obtained the national Elite-level smart factory certification. Applicants are required to conduct a self-assessment of their smart manufacturing capability maturity, or a third-party certification assessment, via the Smart Manufacturing Evaluation Public Service Platform. Specifically, Elite-level smart factories must achieve a smart manufacturing capability maturity of Level 3 or above, while Leader-level smart factories must reach Level 4 or above. For 2026, the regional department has allocated 30 recommendation slots for Elite-level smart factories and 1 recommendation slot for Leader-level smart factories. Enterprises that have completed project acceptance under the National Smart Manufacturing Demonstration Factory List will not occupy local recommendation slots when applying for Elite-level smart factory status.

This application process adopts a combination of online and offline methods. All applicant enterprises must complete their online submissions by August 10. The municipal industry and information technology bureaus must submit their recommendation documents and related materials to the regional Department of Industry and Information Technology by August 14.