Economic Watch: AI emerges as new growth engine for China's industries BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a reliable engine of growth for China's industrial transformation. From factories and mines to classrooms and hospital wards, fresh AI applications are creating new businesses and reshaping the world's second-largest economy. The 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-level Meeting on Global AI Governance will take place in Shanghai from July 17 to 20, where officials and industry leaders are set to discuss deeper international AI cooperation. The event comes at a time when China's AI industry is gathering speed. China's core AI industry in 2025 exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan (about 176.7 billion U.S. dollars), with the sector featuring over 6,200 companies. More than 30 percent of large industrial enterprises in China have adopted AI, and leading smart factories have embedded the technology in over 70 percent of their operations. AI MEETS REAL ECONOMY At TBEA Shenyang Transformer Group Co., Ltd. in Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, two "factories" run in parallel: a physical one where robotic arms and automated guided vehicles work alongside operators, and a virtual one where simulation systems verify production schedules to reduce physical trial runs. "This intelligent system, covering simulation, scheduling, execution and monitoring, has shortened product development cycles by 21 percent and boosted efficiency by 40 percent," said Xu Linlin, head of process and digital management at the company. AI is also solving persistent problems across traditional industries. EACON Mining Technology Co., Ltd., an autonomous-driving solutions provider for the mining industry, said its system for open-pit mines, which is capable of working in extreme cold, heat and high altitude, has been deployed in over 40 mines, powering more than 3,100 autonomous trucks in daily operation. In shared mobility, meanwhile,