5G and AI Transform China’s Manufacturing Sector, Making Factories Faster and More Energy-Efficient

JAKARTA — Manufacturing industries in Zhejiang, China, are becoming increasingly automated. Production lines that once relied heavily on manual labor are now being filled with robotic arms, autonomous vehicles, and artificial intelligence systems capable of operating with speed and precision.

According to a report by China Daily on Tuesday, July 7, the transformation has been driven by the integration of 5G networks and artificial intelligence technologies developed by China Mobile Zhejiang Branch. The technologies are helping local companies transition from traditional manufacturing to smart production.

At the center of the effort is the China Mobile Yangtze River Delta (Jinhua) Data Center. Covering 18.67 hectares, it is one of the largest data centers in eastern China. Total investment in the facility has exceeded 3 billion yuan (approximately US$441.6 million).

The facility houses 13,000 server racks with an IT capacity of 86 megawatts. In 2025, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology designated it a national-level green computing facility.

The data center is also credited with high efficiency. It has achieved a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.24, saving 34 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and reducing carbon emissions by 18,000 metric tons annually.

The application of 5G and AI is particularly visible at the smart factory operated by Ronma Solar Energy Group in Jinhua. The company manufactures monocrystalline silicon solar cells and photovoltaic modules, which convert sunlight into electricity.

Inside the facility, hundreds of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) move independently without magnetic strips or QR codes. The vehicles use 5G-based visual navigation and AI algorithms to interpret production maps in real time.

Xiong Zhoushi, General Manager of China Mobile Jinhua Branch, said the factory measures 580 meters in length and 100 meters in width. More than 800 devices, including 223 autonomous vehicles, are connected through a 5G network.

“Since operations began, there has not been a single network interruption,” Xiong said.

According to Xiong, Ronma’s production workshop consists of 14 process stages. Once battery cells complete oxidation processing, they are automatically loaded onto autonomous vehicles and transported to the next stage based on software instructions.

“The entire process is operator-free and controlled automatically by our software system,” he said.

Ronma’s daily battery-cell production capacity stands at 3.78 million units, while actual output has reached 3.7 million units. The 97% capacity utilization rate is reportedly the highest in China’s photovoltaic industry.

AI is also being deployed for quality control. He Liang, Dean of the Ronma Solar Research Institute, said AI-powered visual inspection systems have replaced manual checks. Defect detection accuracy across various categories now exceeds 90%.

“We have integrated AI visual inspection to replace manual inspection,” He said.

According to He, AI is also used to optimize parameters in high-temperature manufacturing processes. The model analyzes massive datasets to reduce energy costs by up to 9%. Predictive maintenance algorithms are employed to detect hotspots, performance degradation, and electrical connection issues before they disrupt production.

The digital transformation extends beyond the energy sector. In the textile industry, Zhejiang Truelove Blanket Technology Co. has partnered with China Mobile to build a cloud-based 5G intelligent textile inspection factory.

The system monitors 8,000 threads in real time. If a thread breaks or is missed, the machine automatically stops. As a result, a single worker can now oversee 12 machines simultaneously. Product defect length has fallen by 90%, while the company saves nearly 3 million yuan annually in labor costs.

At Zhejiang SAFUN Industrial Co., AI has reduced research and development cycles from two months to just five days. The company uses AI-powered design agents for intelligent decomposition, virtual simulation, and knowledge reuse. As a result, overseas orders are expected to increase by 30% annually.

Traditional Chinese medicine has also entered the smart manufacturing era. Zhejiang Shouxiangu Pharmaceutical Co. has established a 10-gigabit pharmaceutical park using “50G PON + Wi-Fi 7” infrastructure and launched the “AI Ancient Formula” project.

Supported by Tongyi Qianwen and DeepSeek large language models, the system digitizes ancient texts such as Danxi Xinfa and automatically generates prescription plans.

The cultural industry is also embracing AI. At Hengdian World Studios, often referred to as China’s Hollywood, the Film and Television Cultural Industry Brain platform has accumulated more than 3.9 billion structured data points.

Lai Enhui, head of Zhejiang Gewu Zhizhi Culture Media, said a 120-minute AI-generated short drama can now be completed within two weeks.

“Our team can produce around 10 such dramas per month,” Lai said.

China Daily reported that China Mobile is now seeking to expand its digitalization model into additional industries. Ni Jun, Deputy Manager of the Government and Enterprise Department at China Mobile Jinhua Branch, said the company is currently focusing on electrical tools, textiles, and magnetic materials.

“We are currently focusing on three key local industries: electrical tools, textiles, and magnetic materials,” Ni said.

According to Ni, China Mobile first establishes pilot enterprises before standardizing digital solutions for wider adoption. In Jinhua, the company operates 74 service grids covering every township and street, allowing teams to visit factories individually and offer digital transformation plans.

Developments in Zhejiang illustrate a new direction for manufacturing. Future factories will rely not only on machinery, but also on data, high-speed networks, and the ability to monitor production processes in real time.