China has unveiled a blueprint for its industrial Internet, setting targets to build 50,000 industrial 5G private networks and drive the value added of the industrial Internet core industry past 2.5 trillion RMB by 2030.

Jointly issued by eight authorities led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the guideline marks a decisive leap toward integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the nation's manufacturing backbone.

As China's industrial Internet enters a critical stage of development, the rapid rise of AI is presenting unprecedented opportunities.

"Shallow intelligence is evolving into 'comprehensive, deep intelligence,'"said Yu Xiaohui, president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), at the 2026 Industrial Internet Conference in Beijing on June 30.

"We are transitioning from basic data analysis to complex reasoning and autonomous decision-making,from localized optimization of single equipment to holistic optimization across entire supply chains,and from assisted decision-making to end-to-end autonomous execution,"Yu said.

He added that the industrial Internet's vast application scenarios and massive data accumulation are expected to drive AI breakthroughs, accelerating "intelligent emergence" in the physical world.

The blueprint outlines phased goals: By 2030, new infrastructure will be deployed on a large scale, and roughly five globally influential comprehensive platforms will be established. By 2035, China aims to build a world-leading industrial Internet infrastructure system and an internationally advanced technological and industrial framework.

"Industrial Internet officially entered a new phase of agent-based industrial Internet in 2026," said Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Wu explained that by leveraging industrial intelligent agents,large models,and knowledge graphs,closed-loop autonomous control spanning multiple devices and production lines can be achieved.This will realize the Agent-as-a-Service model,endowing production systems with self-learning,self-adaptation,and self-evolution capabilities.

According to the latest MIIT statistics, the scale of China's core industrial Internet sector currently exceeds 1.6 trillion RMB, driving approximately 2.5 trillion RMB in industrial added value. Nationwide, more than 25,000 "5G + Industrial Internet" projects have been launched.

As technologies like 5G-A and AI increasingly integrate with industrial scenarios, the "5G + Industrial Internet" model is witnessing dual breakthrough in both technological iteration and in-depth application, according to Tang Libo, deputy director of the Institute of Technology and Standards at CAICT.

To achieve these goals, the guideline details 18 specific tasks across five dimensions: infrastructure development, technological innovation, integrated application, security assurance, and industrial ecosystem construction.

Key tasks include guiding local authorities to cultivate comprehensive, industry-specific, and specialized industrial Internet platforms. 

The document also emphasizes accelerating the development of the national industrial Internet big data center system, improving fundamental rules for industrial data circulation, and piloting industrial data asset registration platforms at the city level.