China's manufacture of smart devices for consumers emerged as a pillar in the growth of the country's industrial economy in the first quarter of 2026.
Main factors behind the development included implementation of policies on consumer goods trade-in programs with greater intensity and in more sectors, and in-depth integration of artificial intelligence technologies and consumer products.
In recent days, a number of smart devices for consumers have gone on the market, including smart glasses that can recognize objects and do relevant translations, companion robots with emotion perception and interaction capabilities, and AI 3D printers capable of multi-color and multi-material printing.
During the January-March period, China's smartphone output amounted to 298 million units, a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percent, and the production of service robots hit 4.4 million units, up 2.6 percent year on year.
The sales of relevant intelligent devices drove the manufacture of electronic components in China, where 127.2 billion units of integrated circuits were produced in the first three months, growing 24.3 percent year on year.
In the first quarter this year, China's major enterprises manufacturing computers, communication equipment and other electronic devices saw their total export delivery value rise 4.2 percent year on year, with the exports of liquid-crystal-display TVs reaching 25.61 million units, up 9 percent year on year, and exports of integrated circuits hitting 85 billion, increasing by 13.4 percent.
Major enterprises are those each with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.9 million U.S. dollars).
China's smart-device manufacture becomes pillar of industrial economy in Q1
