Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's new policy: 50,000 companies to undergo transformation and upgrading, industrial internet and AI integration enters the fast lane

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has just issued the “Industrial Internet and Artificial Intelligence Integration Empowerment Action Plan,” clearly outlining development goals through 2028. This policy document involves three core directions: expanding the scale of new industrial networks, improving the industrial data system, and cultivating intelligent solutions. The most straightforward indicator is to promote no less than 50,000 enterprises to implement upgrades and transformations of new industrial networks. This is not a small number, indicating that the digital upgrade of the industry is about to enter a large-scale acceleration phase.

The Three Core Pillars of the Policy

Construction of New Industrial Network Infrastructure

The policy first focuses on meeting the network infrastructure needs of AI industrial applications. The key words here are “high throughput, low latency, high reliability, low jitter,” which are essential requirements for AI in manufacturing, raw material processing, and other scenarios. Unlike the relaxed fault tolerance of the internet, industrial scenarios demand extremely high stability and real-time performance; a delay of just a few milliseconds could cause production line shutdowns.

The policy explicitly states that deployment and application should be accelerated in four key industries: raw materials, equipment manufacturing, consumer goods, and electronic information. These industries share common characteristics of large data volumes, complex processes, and significant efficiency improvement potential. The goal of transforming 50,000 enterprises means that from large manufacturing companies to small and medium-sized suppliers, all must keep pace with this upgrade.

Industrial Data Aggregation, Governance, and Circulation System

Data is the fuel for AI. The policy emphasizes the need to improve the “aggregation, governance, circulation, and sharing system” of industrial data and to create high-quality datasets in 20 key industries. This statement is crucial because the quality of industrial data directly determines the effectiveness of AI models.

This direction addresses a long-standing problem faced by industrial enterprises: data scattered across various systems, lacking unified standards, and unable to circulate effectively. The policy calls for establishing systematic solutions, opening opportunities for companies involved in data management, data security, and data trading.

Cultivation of Intelligent Solution Providers

The policy explicitly states to “cultivate a batch of intelligent solution providers to effectively promote the collaborative upgrade of large, medium, and small enterprises.” This means not all companies need to develop AI solutions themselves; instead, professional solution providers will offer services. This model facilitates rapid AI empowerment for SMEs and provides clear market opportunities for tech companies.

Why This Policy Is Important

From a broader perspective, this policy reflects an important industry shift. In recent years, AI applications have mainly focused on internet, finance, and consumer sectors—either C-end or internet B-end fields. Now, AI is deepening into manufacturing, raw materials, and other traditional industries, marking AI’s penetration from the “virtual economy” into the “real economy.”

While the industrial internet has been promoted for years, its effects have been limited without AI empowerment. Conversely, AI models are powerful but cannot perform effectively without real-time, reliable data channels provided by industrial internet. The integration of the two is an inevitable trend.

At the enterprise level, transforming 50,000 companies entails huge investments and demand. This involves not only network equipment vendors and data management platform providers but also industry solution providers, system integrators, consulting firms, and the entire ecosystem.

Possible Future Development Paths

Based on this policy, expected development directions include:

1. A new wave of investment in industrial internet infrastructure. Technologies that meet low latency and high reliability requirements (such as edge computing, 5G industrial applications) will see increased deployment opportunities.

2. The value of industrial data will be reassessed. Enterprises will increase investments in data governance and security, and the industrial data trading market is expected to gradually form.

3. Industry-specific AI solutions will become a competitive focus. General AI models have limited capabilities; customized solutions tailored to specific industries and scenarios are in high demand. This creates opportunities for companies with industry experience.

Summary

The core message of this policy document is clear: the integration of industrial internet and AI is no longer optional but a necessity. The goals of transforming 50,000 enterprises, building data sets in 20 industries, and cultivating intelligent solutions all point toward a systematic industry upgrade process. For manufacturing enterprises, this is a window to accelerate digital and intelligent transformation. For tech companies, it is an opportunity to enter the industrial sector. Over the next two years, many practical actions and investments will unfold in this field.