Published by ChinaMNC · Dingjie

World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference 2026 in Nanjing: What Foreign Founders Should Know

A practical briefing for foreign founders on the 2026 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference in Nanjing, Jiangsu, including dates, organizers, program highlights, and what the event signals for AI-plus-manufacturing opportunities in China.

2026 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference: Nanjing, November 19–21

Foreign founders evaluating a manufacturing, industrial software, or automation business in China should note a significant event on the 2026 calendar. According to the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, the 2026 World Intelligent Manufacturing Conference will take place in Nanjing from November 19 to 21. The State Council has approved the event, which is jointly hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government and the International Intelligent Manufacturing Alliance.

The details were announced at a news conference on October 27. Gui Jun, Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, outlined the program. For founders, the gathering is worth tracking not only as a showcase but as a signal of where policy, industrial demand, and technology adoption are converging in one of China's most manufacturing-intensive provinces.

What the Conference Program Includes

The event is structured as a multi-layer activity system rather than a single trade show. According to the announcement, the program includes:

• One theme conference as the central plenary session.
• More than 10 thematic activities covering specialized topics.
• Nearly 30 industrial ecosystem conferences running alongside the main program.

These components are designed to combine high-level forums, results announcements, frontier exhibitions, and industry matchmaking. For a foreign founder, the ecosystem conferences and matchmaking elements are often the most practical: they are where suppliers, service providers, and industrial customers meet in person rather than on a stage.

What Will Be Released and Displayed

The conference will publish a range of outputs, according to the source. These include:

• Results from the construction of leading-tier intelligent factories.
• The 2026 list of the world's and China's top ten intelligent manufacturing scientific and technological advances.
• A series of research reports from the National Intelligent Manufacturing Expert Committee.

In addition, the exhibition will feature leading-tier and excellence-tier intelligent factories, industrial datasets, large-model algorithms, and industrial world model generators, among other innovations. The stated aim is to show how the next generation of intelligent manufacturing is moving from theoretical exploration into practical implementation.

For founders, these exhibits can serve as a useful market scan. They indicate which categories of industrial technology Chinese authorities and large enterprises are actively promoting — and, by extension, where partnership and pilot opportunities may exist.

Jiangsu's Industrial Base Behind the Event

The conference is grounded in Jiangsu's existing industrial ecosystem. The source cites several data points that help explain why the event is being held there:

• 28,000 enterprises have opened up industrial scenarios.
• 27 national artificial intelligence typical cases have been documented.
• More than 19,000 enterprises have received transformation diagnosis services.

These figures suggest a province that has already invested heavily in digitizing its factories and in diagnosing the needs of companies undergoing transformation. For a foreign founder, that translates into a relatively mature buyer market — but also one where local service providers are already active and competition is real.

Topics on the Agenda

At the conference, academicians, experts, and industry leaders will hold in-depth exchanges on several themes, according to the source:

• Iterative upgrading of intelligent factories.
• Technical breakthroughs in key equipment.
• Implementation of vertical-domain large models.
• Cultivation of service provider capabilities.

The stated purpose is to confront the real pain points enterprises face in digital transformation and to distill technical solutions and implementation models that can be replicated and promoted. The conference is also intended to provide a reference for the national "AI plus manufacturing" initiative.

This framing matters for foreign founders. It suggests that the event is not solely a technology showcase but also a channel for identifying practical, repeatable deployment models. Founders with a proven solution in industrial AI, equipment monitoring, or factory software may find the discussions relevant to how their offering could be localized and positioned.

An International Exhibition Zone

The conference will set up a dedicated international invited exhibition zone, drawing overseas enterprises from countries including Germany and Switzerland to exhibit. The stated goal is to strengthen the physical载体 — the concrete platform — for international exchange and cooperation.

For foreign founders, this is a direct signal that international participation is welcome and structurally supported. It also offers a low-pressure way to test market interest: exhibiting or attending as an international participant allows a founder to gauge demand, meet potential distributors or joint-venture partners, and observe how competitors present themselves to Chinese industrial buyers.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

Based on the announced program, founders considering China operations can use the conference in several concrete ways:

• Market validation: Observe which intelligent manufacturing categories are being promoted and which exhibitors attract attention.
• Partner scouting: Use the ecosystem conferences and matchmaking sessions to identify local service providers, integrators, and potential customers.
• Competitive mapping: See how leading-tier and excellence-tier factories and technology providers position their offerings.
• Policy orientation: Track the research reports and top-ten advances lists, which reflect official priorities in the sector.

None of this replaces formal due diligence. Company registration, foreign investment rules, tax treatment, and data compliance all require separate professional advice. But the conference can provide early, practical intelligence that informs a market-entry strategy.

Why Nanjing and Jiangsu Matter

Jiangsu is one of China's leading manufacturing provinces, and Nanjing, its capital, hosts a dense base of industrial enterprises, universities, and research institutions. For a foreign founder in industrial technology, establishing a presence in or near such a cluster can shorten the path to pilot projects and customer feedback. The conference is a concentrated opportunity to experience that ecosystem in a few days.

Founders planning to attend should prepare in advance: identify target sessions, request meetings with exhibitors, and clarify what kind of local entity — representative office, wholly foreign-owned enterprise, or joint venture — would best support their China strategy.

Next Steps

Foreign founders interested in the Chinese intelligent manufacturing market can use the November 19–21 window to combine conference attendance with on-the-ground research in Nanjing and the surrounding Yangtze River Delta. For help registering and operating a company in China, foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.