Liuzhou in S China's Guangxi emerges as AI manufacturing center

AI logistics robots transport new energy vehicle batteries on an assembly line at Liuzhou Wuling New Energy Motors, a subsidiary of Guangxi Automobile Group, in Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

Chinese automaker SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) and tech giant Huawei Technologies held a signing ceremony Sept. 6 in Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to deepen their strategic cooperation and upgrade their partnership around SGMW's Baojun brand.

The collaboration marks the latest step in Liuzhou's "AI Plus Manufacturing" initiative as the city works to establish itself as Guangxi's hub for AI applications and industrial development.

Currently, Liuzhou is pursuing deep integration of AI and manufacturing as its main development strategy. Liuzhou's status as a national pilot city has enabled it to guide 435 small- and medium-sized enterprises through digital upgrades. The companies, spanning the automotive, steel and construction machinery sectors, have adopted AI and advanced technologies to modernize their operations.

Liuzhou has focused on intelligent connectivity and green low-carbon technology as key automotive industry priorities during the current Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said Guan Weirong, director of the Liuzhou municipal science and technology bureau.

"We've particularly supported enterprises in tackling key technologies for intelligent connected vehicles to advance the intelligence of products," Guan added.

Since 2021, Liuzhou has invested more than 100 million yuan ($14 million) in municipal science and technology funding focused on intelligent connected vehicles. The investment has enabled companies to achieve breakthroughs in 91 core technologies, generating economic benefits exceeding 47.8 billion yuan.

Liuzhou has developed an "AI Plus" ecosystem combining intelligent manufacturing with practical applications. The city houses 42 robot and intelligent terminal manufacturers, 12 provincial benchmark intelligent manufacturing companies, 75 smart factories and 62 digital workshops. These facilities can produce 20,000 intelligent service robots annually, supporting a comprehensive robot industry with six product series and more than 50 specifications.

From January to July this year, Liuzhou's AI industry generated an output value of 5.7 billion yuan, representing a 23.7 percent year-on-year increase. During the same period, the city signed 12 industrial projects each worth over 100 million yuan, with total investment reaching almost 4 billion yuan. Actual industrial investment totaled 356 million yuan, marking 11.3 percent year-on-year growth.