Report by the China Center for Information Industry Development says China's AI inference data volume has exceeded training data volume for the first time

On the 31st, the "Top Ten Trends in Innovative Development of New Domains and New Quality" released by the China Center for Information Industry Development showed that the volume of AI inference data in China has exceeded the volume of training data for the first time, marking that China's artificial intelligence has moved from the model training and R&D stage into the stage of large-scale industrial application.

Latest report shows that China's AI inference data volume has exceeded training data volume for the first time

Data shows that as of June 2026, the average daily token call volume exceeded 175 trillion, an increase of more than 1,000 times compared with the beginning of 2024. The iteration cycle of top large models has also been compressed from several months in the past to a few weeks or even a few days, and artificial intelligence is fully shifting from the laboratory stage of "feeding models" to the industrial implementation stage of "using models."

Liu Wenqiang, Party Secretary and Vice President of the China Center for Information Industry Development: At present, artificial intelligence is reshaping the industrial system at an unprecedented speed. It is no longer merely a transformation of tools, but is becoming a tool of transformation; artificial intelligence is becoming a general-purpose technology driving transformation across all domains.

Intelligent manufacturing is an important scenario for accelerating the large-scale application of artificial intelligence. With the in-depth implementation of the "AI + Manufacturing" initiative, China has built more than 500 excellence-level smart factories in total, covering 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and more than 80% of major manufacturing industry categories. Domestic computing power and large models have been implemented in more than 1,000 application scenarios across 20 industries such as steel and automobiles, promoting the continuous expansion of new models such as personalized customization and full-life-cycle services.

Cross-disciplinary integration zones become the main battlefield for innovation in new domains and new quality

The report shows that China's cross-disciplinary integration fields, represented by high-end manufacturing and digital manufacturing, have become new drivers of industry, contributing more than 50% to the growth of value added of industrial enterprises above designated size and unleashing strong industrial momentum.

Cross-disciplinary integration zones combine the advantages of overlapping technologies and scenarios from multiple fields, naturally becoming a breakthrough point where original and disruptive innovations emerge in concentrated form. Intelligent connected vehicles, benefiting from the integrated innovation of new materials, the new generation of information technology, advanced manufacturing and other technologies, have achieved continuous iteration of high-computing-power chips and cockpit-driving integration technology, and key components such as high-performance LiDAR and intelligent steer-by-wire chassis have been installed in vehicles in batches. In addition, demonstration applications in multiple scenarios such as robotaxis, smart logistics, mining areas and airports are being implemented in an orderly manner. Brain-computer interfaces integrate technologies such as biomanufacturing, artificial intelligence and new materials; a number of products have completed clinical feasibility verification, and applications are accelerating their expansion from the medical field to education, industry and other fields.

Yu Yingyu, Deputy Director of a department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: We will accelerate the large-scale application of emerging industries, and the first batch of 133 national demonstration bases for the development of emerging industries has been established. China has laid out 30 national manufacturing innovation centers in total, cultivated 21 national-level manufacturing pilot-test platforms in a tiered manner, focused on cultivating 331 pilot-test platforms and more than 2,400 reserve pilot-test platforms, and a series of breakthroughs in cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation are promoting the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are increasingly becoming the backbone of innovation in new domains and new quality

The tracks of new domains and new quality have uncertain technical routes, fragmented scenarios and high trial-and-error costs, and are highly dependent on agile and flexible innovation entities. At present, a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises and innovation clusters are becoming the backbone and key carrying units for the development of new domains and new quality.

In recent years, China has continued to improve the tiered cultivation system for high-quality enterprises, with more than 600,000 technology-based and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. Among them, there are nearly 6,000 "little giant" enterprises in emerging and future industry fields such as quantum technology, artificial intelligence and the low-altitude economy, and a number of unicorn enterprises have emerged in cutting-edge technology directions such as embodied intelligence, biology and controllable nuclear fusion.

Yu Yingyu, Deputy Director of a department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: At present, China has cultivated a total of 1,862 manufacturing single-champion enterprises, 17,600 specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "little giant" enterprises, more than 150,000 specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, and more than 500,000 high-tech enterprises, and the integrated development of large, medium and small enterprises is advancing in depth.

Data shows that in 2025, the R&D investment intensity of China's specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "little giant" enterprises reached 7%, significantly higher than the average level of industrial enterprises above designated size, and the total number of invention patents reached 460,000, with an average of 26.6 per enterprise.

From January to August 2026, the total profits of specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative "little giant" industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 22.2% year on year, better than the level of industrial enterprises above designated size, strongly supporting the continued recovery and improvement of the industrial economy.