China

How China Excels In Innovation And Economic Resilience

China is one of the world’s most innovative economies. From 2022 to 2023, China boasted a 9% increase in R&D investments and a 17% increase in the number of robots deployed in industrial automation. The nation also leads globally in AI-related scientific publications.

China is increasingly adopting Industry 5.0 principles that make it a leader among upper-middle-income Asian peers. It is particularly strong across four dimensions of the Industry 5.0 index: a comprehensive government vision for AI integration, supply chain resilience, national digital infrastructure, and sustainable innovation.

Talent

China’s national AI strategy accelerates integration of the technology into key sectors

China is ranked 13th in the index for metrics related to national strategies that legislate AI usage. The government announced in August 2025 measures to accelerate AI’s application in several key sectors: science and technology, industrial development, consumption upgrades, people’s well-being, and governance and global cooperation. By 2027, China aims to have a 70% integration rate of intelligent terminals and AI agents across these sectors. By 2030, the government hopes for a penetration rate that exceeds 90% and serves as a significant growth driver for its economy.

Resilience

China’s internet infrastructure is expansive and becoming more advanced

China excels in both the scale of its digital infrastructure and the infrastructure’s next-gen capabilities. The number of internet users in China hit 1.1 billion in December 2024 — a penetration rate of close to 80%. By the end of 2024, 974 million Chinese had engaged in online shopping.

China aims to build a national data infrastructure to support data collection, security, and circulation for a more digitized economy by 2029, and upgraded 5G networks that will bolster digital economies even further. The government also has pledged to promote 6G internet research and development.

China blends digital innovation with supply chain resilience

China ranks seventh in the index for its ability to facilitate trade and fifth in advances to its supply chain resilience. The government announced in May 2025 a plan to develop more digitized and intelligent supply chains by adopting artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and blockchain technologies. The plan is part of a broader aim to enhance the resilience and security of supply chains, with the additional goal of building replicable models for advanced and self-supporting supply chain systems across the country’s major industries by 2030.

These measures will build on China’s dominant position in global supply chains: China produces three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and controls three-quarters of global lithium refining capacity, according to S&P Global.

Sustainability

China is a leader in sustainable technology patents

China scores particularly well in the sheer number of green technologies developed. The government announced that 53,000 invention patents related to low-carbon and green technologies had been granted in 2024 — double the 2020 level. Patents in the clean energy and storage sectors showed robust growth, with invention patent authorizations rising 34.9% and 32.8%, respectively, year on year, the highest increases among all green technology categories.

A surge of green technology patents aligns well with the government’s climate ambitions. China pledged in September 2025 to cut climate pollution up to 10% in the next decade. Achieving that goal will be aided by increased electric vehicle sales and a scaling up of wind and solar power, the latter of which the government hopes to grow six times over 2020 levels. China’s clean energy investment eclipsed $625 billion in 2024, nearly double the 2015 level.