Jiangxi eyes scenario-based industrial collaborations

Technical workers test product performance at the UBTech AI industrial park in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, on Oct 9, 2024. [Zhang Haiyan/For China Daily]

Project represents more than just another investment from Greater Bay Area; it exemplifies a paradigm shift in what province now offers technology firms

At an artificial intelligence industrial park in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, humanoid robots are actively being trained for the workforce.

Inside the facility, Walker S2 robots practice tasks that may soon become standard in factories and logistics centers — learning to identify objects, handle materials, avoid obstacles and adapt to dynamic industrial environments.

Built by Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based UBTech Robotics Corp, the park hosts Jiangxi's first Walker S2 production line and the province's inaugural humanoid robot data collection and training center. With over 100 robots deployed, the facility has generated more than 15 million pieces of high-quality test data for algorithm training and scenario adaptation, local media reported.

Samples of rare earths are on display at the Ganzhou Museum in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, on Jan 19, 2025. [China Daily]

This project represents more than just another investment from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It exemplifies a paradigm shift in what Jiangxi now offers technology companies. Beyond traditional incentives like land, labor and policy support, the province now provides real-world testing grounds for emerging products.

This strategy was the focal point of the 2026 Jiangxi-Greater Bay Area Economic and Trade Week, held across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in May. Marking Jiangxi's first major cross-regional trade and investment push in the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), the initiative featured a main event, 19 themed activities and a series of targeted investment promotion visits.

The most notable shift during the event was a new emphasis on application scenarios. At a supply-demand matchmaking event for application scenarios in Jiangxi's emerging industries in Shenzhen on May 21, the cities of Jiujiang, Ganzhou and Shangrao, as well as the Ganjiang New Area, released 151 scenarios spanning artificial intelligence, intelligent manufacturing, brain-computer interfaces, the low-altitude economy, smart cities, government services and cultural tourism. Rather than conventional investment pitches, these offerings were designed to address a critical question for tech firms: where can a product be tested, data collected, early adopters found, and initial orders scaled into broader markets?

"Scenarios act as a bridge connecting technology with industry, linking research and development to the market," said Chen Zhimin, a second-level inspector at the Department of Commerce of Jiangxi Province. Chen emphasized the province's desire for companies to bring their innovations to Jiangxi to find suitable testing and application fields.

Huang Aiqun, director of the Jiangxi Industrial and Information Technology Integration Promotion Center, said the event aimed to align frontier technologies with Jiangxi's industrial needs in sectors like optoelectronic information, solid-state batteries and embodied intelligence through a model of open scenarios, demand release and enterprise roadshows.

While many new technologies have graduated from the laboratory, they require real-world conditions to achieve widespread adoption. A robot needs a factory floor; a brain-computer interface company requires hospital wards; a low-altitude economy startup depends on airspace and logistics routes; and an optical sensing firm needs industrial parks and energy facilities.

Consequently, Jiangxi has integrated these practical scenarios directly into its investment promotion strategy. The Shenzhen event brought together executives from 35 listed companies, high-tech enterprises and specialized "little giant" firms. Though representing diverse industries, their needs frequently overlapped: they all required testing grounds, technological refinement and access to initial customers.

Robots are tested at the UBTech AI industrial park in Jiujiang, Jiangxi, on Oct 9, 2024. [Zhang Haiyan/For China Daily]

Highlighting regional collaboration, Chen Shuilian, vice-mayor of Jiujiang, detailed the city's partnership with the GBA. Jiujiang has successfully explored models such as "GBA headquarters plus Jiujiang base" and "fund guidance plus industrial cultivation" in sectors including lithium battery materials, humanoid robots and 3D printing.

Ganzhou presented a different scenario, focusing on new rare earth materials and new energy. Leveraging platforms like the Ganjiang Innovation Academy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Rare Earth Functional Materials Innovation Center, the city aims to link research, pilot incubation and industrial application.

The national center has incubated 17 technology companies and built 26 pilot demonstration lines, providing crucial support for Ganzhou's rare earth industry, which now exceeds 100 billion yuan ($14.78 billion) in scale. For Ganzhou, the greater challenge lies not just in extracting resources, but in transforming them into advanced materials and components that can integrate into broader industrial chains.

Shangrao highlighted its photovoltaic and optical electronics sectors, leveraging industry leaders like Jinko Solar Co, which boasts over 5,600 global patents and a 20-billion-yuan R&D investment over the past five years, to create more testing, demonstration and supply-chain opportunities. Meanwhile, the Ganjiang New Area showcased future-oriented public resources and research platforms, such as a traditional Chinese medicine innovation city in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, and digital economy industrial parks, pointing to another dimension of structural openness.

Scenarios alone, however, are insufficient without capital. On May 20, Jiangxi hosted a conference in Shenzhen, focusing on the deeper integration of industry and finance. Six Jiangxi enterprises involved in the province's key manufacturing initiatives pitched their technologies, growth prospects and financing needs to industrial funds from both Jiangxi and the GBA.

"Jiangxi has a solid industrial foundation, a sound financial ecosystem and a strong open environment," said Fang Yanru, chairwoman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jiangxi Provincial Committee, expressing hope that GBA financial institutions would strengthen their cooperation with the province. Jiangxi's outstanding loans exceeded 7 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 7.8 percent year-on-year, with manufacturing loans rising 13.9 percent. The province currently boasts 54 companies listed in Shenzhen and 24 in Hong Kong.

Xu Zhonghua, executive deputy director of the office of the financial affairs committee of the Communist Party of China Jiangxi Provincial Committee, urged stronger industry-finance cooperation and smoother two-way information channels to identify more high-quality Jiangxi firms with listing potential.

Market access remains another vital pillar of this strategy. At a cross-border e-commerce event, officials highlighted the synergy between Jiangxi's comprehensive manufacturing capabilities and the GBA's advanced digital platforms, noting that such cooperation could achieve a result where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For enterprises, the demand is direct and practical. Xiao Shaping, foreign trade manager of Jiangxi OYF Vehicle Industry Co, said the Shenzhen event directly connected her company with potential clients from Russia and Pakistan, effectively linking Jiangxi's industrial belts with global e-commerce opportunities.

Wang Chunlei, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Jiangxi Province, summarized the activity week as a reflection of three fundamental shifts in the province's approach: from traditional investment promotion to trade-investment integration, from one-way industrial transfer to two-way cooperation, and from basic industrial collaboration to comprehensive integrated development. Moving forward, Jiangxi plans to hold more than 100 specialized, industry-focused matchmaking events in the GBA annually.

Ultimately, the true measure of success will be follow-up work. While 151 scenarios have been released, the focus now shifts to transforming these opportunities into pilot projects, securing timely funding and building global brands. These questions will not be answered in a single activity week, but the direction is clear. By bringing concrete offers to the GBA — testing grounds, industrial platforms, capital links and manufacturing capacity — Jiangxi is moving beyond simple project promotion toward long-term, scenario-based industrial partnerships.