China accelerates layout of future industries in 2026

China has stepped up efforts to optimize the layout of its future industries since the beginning of the year, with breakthroughs accelerating in frontier technologies from advanced robotics to orbiting data centers.

In 2026, a series of landmark projects have taken shape across the country. In Beijing, preparations are underway for the country's first space computing innovation center. The areas of research at the center will aim to gradually relocate ground-based data centers to outer space to enable data collection, processing and output in orbit. China has also issued plans to accelerate the development and improvement of the space computing industrial ecosystem this year.

In Shanghai, the world's first pilot platform for humanoid robot components is taking shape. By establishing small-scale trial production lines for five categories of components, including reducers, the platform offers 72 testing and verification services, significantly lowering the development threshold for humanoid robots.

Since the beginning of 2026, China has launched over 100 innovation and research tasks for future industries through its open competition mechanism, focusing on general artificial intelligence, quantum technology, atomic-level manufacturing and clean low-carbon hydrogen energy. Key areas of application have been identified, while manufacturing innovation centers and pilot platforms in priority fields have been established to speed up the translation of cutting-edge technologies from laboratories to production lines.

The momentum is also evident in the clean energy sector. In north China's Shanxi Province, hydrogen-powered shared bicycles have hit urban streets, while more than 15,000 hydrogen heavy-duty trucks operate on logistics routes. Local authorities are also planning several cross-provincial hydrogen logistics corridors.

To sustain this growth, China will implement tiered nurturing for unicorn enterprises and specialized, sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises in key sectors this year. The country will also advance the development of future industry pilot zones based on local industrial strengths. To date, some 54,000 innovative businesses nationwide have settled into the country's 193 innovative industrial clusters.

China accelerates layout of future industries in 2026

China has recorded ten consecutive quarters of growth in imports and exports with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the data for the second quarter of this year from the General Administration of Customs GAC) showed on Tuesday.

China's trade with ASEAN reached 4.34 trillion yuan (about 640 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2026, marking an 18.2-percent increase compared to the same period of last year, according to GAC.

"In the first half of this year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN stood at 4.34 trillion yuan, up 18.2 percent year on year on. Of this total, imports and exports in the second quarter accounted for 2.37 trillion yuan which represented a year-on-year growth of 20.2 percent and marking the 10th consecutive quarter of growth.," said Lyu Daliang, a spokesman for the customs bureau, at a press briefing.

"China and ASEAN have continuously strengthened infrastructure connectivity. In the first half of the year, China's imports and exports with ASEAN via the new western land-sea corridor grew by 18.2 percent, with railway and highway transport increasing by 24.7 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively," Lyu said.

Established in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste.

China records ten consecutive quarters of trade growth with ASEAN