Huawei Enterprise AI Push Is Reshaping Industrial Infrastructure The company is combining 5G, autonomous vehicles, cloud systems and operating software to build integrated technology platforms for mines and other industrial operators. Huawei’s expanding enterprise business is becoming a test of how China’s industrial infrastructure may be reorganised around connected machines, artificial intelligence and fewer workers in hazardous environments. At the Yimin coal mine in China’s far north-east, about 100 autonomous lorries transport coal without drivers. The vehicles can operate through the night and in poor weather, and can change their own batteries. The mine, operated by state-owned power utility Huaneng, covers about 42 square kilometres. Each autonomous lorry can carry 90 tonnes of coal. According to Zhao Yaozhong, a Huaneng manager cited in the supplied report, the deployment has allowed 120 workers to move to posts outside the pit, reducing their exposure to dust and danger. If the planned expansion proceeds, another 300 autonomous lorries could be added over the next three years, with most people eventually removed from operations inside the pit. The significance of Yimin is not limited to the vehicles themselves. The mine demonstrates Huawei’s attempt to sell a connected industrial system rather than a single piece of equipment. Base stations provide 5G coverage across the site, enabling the autonomous-driving system to function. The driving technology was developed from Huawei’s automotive work and adapted to the size of the lorries and the conditions inside the mine. An operating system called Mine HarmonyOS controls the mine’s operations, while artificial-intelligence software from Huawei’s cloud division is used in some underground mines to interpret geological data and monitor equipment remotely. This integration reflects a strategy Huawei announced in 2021, when it created specialised enterprise teams known as juntuan, or “army corps”. These teams were designed to combine capabilities from across