Top Ten Trends in China’s “Smart Manufacturing” Sector in 2022

Smart manufacturing is a new production paradigm that leverages next-generation information and communication technologies alongside advanced manufacturing techniques, permeating every stage of the manufacturing process—from research and development to design, production, supply, and service—to achieve comprehensive intelligence. Smart manufacturing is a key enabler for China to realize “Made in China.” An important strategic direction for 2025, drawing close attention from all market participants. In 2022, here are the top 10 trends in the smart manufacturing market—essential insights you need to know!

Trend One
In 2022, the size of China’s intelligent manufacturing software market will reach RMB 261 billion, with an annual growth rate of 15%.

China’s manufacturing sector is vast and, within the broader framework of Digital China, faces a strong demand for intelligent transformation. As… With the ongoing implementation of the “Made in China 2025” strategy and the vigorous advancement of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, China’s smart manufacturing software industry remains in a growth phase. During this period, the vast majority of manufacturing enterprises are transitioning from extensive management toward refined operations and high‑quality development, while the smart manufacturing sector is also benefiting from an increasing number of favorable policies.

Institutional data show that, In 2022, the size of China’s intelligent manufacturing software market is expected to reach RMB 261 billion, with an annual growth rate of around 15%. By 2025, the market could expand to approximately RMB 400 billion. Among these, sub‑sectors such as biopharmaceuticals and integrated circuits are among the most in-demand in 2022.

Trend Two
In 2022, manufacturing firms established digital technology subsidiaries, disrupting the market landscape.

The landscape of the smart manufacturing software market is marked by a notable trend: an increasing number of non‑traditional technology firms are entering the digital space, establishing their own digital‑technology subsidiaries and emerging as key forces reshaping the competitive dynamics. Examples include BMW Brilliance’s creation of its digital subsidiary, Lingyue, and Midea Group’s launch of Meiyun Zhishu.

In 2022, driven by the growing demand for digitalization—enabling enterprises to get closer to customers, respond more swiftly to market changes, boost production efficiency, and reduce resource consumption—a rising number of large manufacturing firms are establishing their own digital‑technology subsidiaries. These initiatives help align corporate strategies with evolving business needs while leveraging upstream and downstream industry resources to enhance overall competitiveness.

Trend Three
With Taking “dual carbon” goals as an opportunity, smart manufacturing accelerated in 2022.

At the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2020, China announced its “dual carbon” goals: peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and striving to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. As a hallmark of advanced productive forces, intelligent manufacturing is closely linked to these dual carbon objectives.

In the future, manufacturing enterprises will leverage big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to deploy energy‑efficiency management systems within smart industrial parks, driven by core智能制造 technologies. These systems will collect and analyze equipment‑energy consumption data, environmental metrics, and operational information, generating actionable insights on energy use and efficiency. This enables managers to gain a clear understanding of historical and real‑time energy‑consumption patterns, forecast future trends, and formulate effective energy‑management strategies, thereby achieving integrated oversight across multiple energy sources, business models, and user groups. For manufacturers, the “dual carbon” goals represent a development opportunity, encompassing product design, technology, marketing, and many other areas.

Trend Four
In 2022, it is essential to shift the focus from “within firms” to “between firms” and seize opportunities in the collaborative industrial-chain market.

The COVID‑19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to the global economy and has prompted China to rethink its approach to building industrial chains. Concepts such as strengthening supply chains, filling gaps in supply chains, designating chain leaders, fostering leading enterprises, and upgrading industrial chains have been frequently discussed. The digitalization of industrial chains represents the next stage of digital transformation, following departmental informatization, enterprise informatization, and enterprise digitalization. It is imperative to leverage digital technologies to upgrade the traditional upstream–downstream interaction model, foster collaborative efforts across the value chain, and build industrial chains that are highly resilient, strongly coordinated, and capable of withstanding external shocks.

According to data from the Habi Research Institute, among the leading software and cloud vendors, at least Thirty percent have already recognized this market shift and are proactively responding. In 2022, vendors need to pivot their focus from “within the enterprise” to “between enterprises,” capitalizing on the collaborative opportunities within the industry value chain.

Trend Five

In 2022, the cloud–edge collaboration architecture will to some extent replace the traditional cloud architecture.

As technologies such as the Internet of Things continue to evolve and data volumes keep growing, cloud‑based IoT solutions are increasingly struggling to meet enterprises’ mounting demands. Consequently, more and more organizations are turning to edge computing—viewing it as an extension of the cloud—to accelerate data analytics and enable faster, more informed decision‑making.

Compared with other industries, the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector has… There is a strong demand for “massive data,” “real-time interaction,” and “stability and security.” In recent years, edge‑side devices have increasingly appeared in manufacturing transformation initiatives.

Through integration with artificial intelligence, big data, The integration of technologies such as 5G gives rise to more efficient, lower‑cost solutions. The emergence and implementation of cloud‑edge collaboration are designed to address the limitations of traditional centralized cloud services, reducing latency, enhancing scalability, improving access to data, and making application development more agile.

Trend Six

In 2022, AR and MR, among other human-computer interaction technologies, drove an upgrade in user experience.

How to integrate people, experiences, and business in the digital environment to continuously deliver superior user experiences has become one of the key priorities for corporate management. AR and MR, among other human–computer interaction technologies, hold great promise, and immersive interaction methods can deliver entirely new experiences to manufacturing users.

Application scenarios include AR device management, AR‑based training, AR‑assisted inspections and maintenance, and AR‑enabled remote diagnostics, among others. In 2022, an increasing number of smart manufacturing software vendors will seek to integrate AR and MR—along with other human–machine interaction technologies—into the manufacturing sector.

Trend Seven

“IT–OT data integration and data-driven approaches” are key levers for realizing the practical application of data as a production factor in the manufacturing sector.

In the past, common applications in manufacturing included project management, R&D management, and collaboration tools. With the advent of the digital era, these have been software‑enabled, generating vast amounts of data. This data can be categorized into two types: IT data and OT data.

By leveraging the fundamental states of physical assets and integrating two types of data, it is possible to construct comprehensive digital twin models for facilities, equipment, and products, covering the entire end-to-end process—from order receipt and manufacturing to shipment and logistics monitoring—while enabling real-time monitoring. Furthermore, these digital twins allow for proactive forecasting of potential future operational changes in the virtual realm, supporting data‑driven decision‑making and enhancing the agility of smart manufacturing.

Therefore, “IT–OT data integration and data-driven approaches” are of paramount importance in building smart factories, serving as a key enabler for the practical application of data as a production factor in the manufacturing sector.

Trend Eight

Data security ranks first on the list of vendors’ technology priorities. In 2022, manufacturers need to place greater emphasis.

According to data from the Habi Research Institute, data security ranks first on the list of vendors’ technology priorities. Twenty-three percent of vendors report that this is a technology they prioritize. This trend stems from the fact that data serves as the cornerstone of the DT (Data Technology) era, and data security—integral to data governance—directly determines the success or failure of such efforts.

Whether driven by the intrinsic needs of business development or by external legal and compliance requirements such as the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, how can we effectively implement data security governance? Ensuring data security was a key concern for manufacturing enterprises and smart manufacturing software vendors in 2022.

Trend Nine

In 2022, specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises deserve the attention of all manufacturers.

In July 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “China Industrial Development and Industrial Policy Report (2011)” proposed: “Vigorously promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises toward the ‘specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative’ model—namely, specialization, refinement, distinctiveness, and innovation.” This marked the first time the “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” concept came into public view.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also… In 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued guidelines to promote the “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and in 2018 it launched an initiative to cultivate “Little Giant” enterprises that embody these qualities. It was only a decade later, today, that the “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” approach truly gained widespread attention. As of September 2021, the ministry had released three batches of lists for such “Little Giant” enterprises, totaling 4,762 companies.

In 2022, more specialized, niche, and innovative manufacturing enterprises with core technologies will usher in new growth opportunities. They represent a key emerging market for smart manufacturing and deserve the attention of all manufacturers.

Trend Ten

The issue of talent shortage, It will be even more prominent in 2022.

In the future, enterprises will continue to enhance their level of intelligent manufacturing, steadily advance the digitalization and networking of their equipment, strengthen digital design, build smart workshops, widely deploy integrated technologies, and leverage data analytics to extract insights from production and manufacturing data. An increasing number of manufacturers recognize that intelligent manufacturing is key to bolstering core competitiveness, driving a growing and rising demand for skilled talent in this field.

Both understand The demand for smart manufacturing talent—particularly those with expertise in both IT and manufacturing—is growing faster than the supply, leaving the market in a state of acute talent shortage. This trend is expected to become even more pronounced in 2022. It calls for close attention from all stakeholders—including government agencies, universities, technology vendors, and enterprises—to systematically address the challenge of cultivating smart manufacturing talent.