China’s manufacturing sector is rapidly adopting agentic artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to enhance agility and competitiveness, a shift that is starting to influence global supply chains, according to Zhou Yuxiang, CEO of Black Lake, a Shanghai-based provider of cloud-based AI solutions for factories.
In a recent interview, Zhou explained that many factories in China are bypassing traditional digitalisation phases and moving directly to AI-driven operations, similar to how China leapfrogged credit cards in favor of mobile payments. This transition supports the country’s broader “AI plus” initiative, which aims to integrate AI into 90 percent of the economy by 2030.
Black Lake has developed various role-specific AI agents designed to handle an array of tasks in manufacturing, including design file management, workflow coordination, procurement, quality assurance, supply chain synchronization, planning, scheduling, and equipment maintenance. Zhou stated that approximately 40 percent of these AI agents have attained full autonomy, enabling them to make decisions under human oversight. The remaining 60 percent function as co-pilots, assisting human workers in decision-making processes; however, they are expected to become fully autonomous within 12 to 18 months through reinforcement learning informed by engineering input.
“Factories adopt these solutions primarily for speed,” Zhou said. “Once embedded, the AI agents learn from human feedback, reducing errors and eventually reaching a level of performance comparable to that of human experts within one to two months.”
The implementation of AI agents is also addressing challenges posed by an aging workforce and diminishing numbers of younger skilled workers willing to undergo lengthy training under seasoned technicians.
Black Lake is extending its AI agent technology beyond China’s borders, capitalizing on rising demand in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Initially, the company’s international presence grew alongside Chinese factories expanding into countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Mexico. Subsequently, multinational corporations leveraging Black Lake’s technology domestically have adopted similar systems across their overseas operations. Furthermore, local manufacturers in these regions are now integrating Black Lake’s solutions to enhance their own production capabilities.
Zhou emphasized that these AI agents embody China’s accumulated industrial expertise, reflecting the nation’s leadership in global manufacturing. The growing need for manufacturing agility is partly driven by new “Made in China” brands achieving international success. For example, Pop Mart’s Labubu line of designer toys, which features hundreds of unique designs, demands rapid supply chain adaptability that standard mass-production methods struggle to accommodate.
The shift toward agentic AI underscores a transformation in global manufacturing strategies, with China poised to export innovative digital solutions that enable faster, more flexible production across diverse markets.