The 2026 World Manufacturing Convention opened in Hefei on Sept. 20, drawing global attention with over 10,000 exhibits. Many advanced manufacturing products came from the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone.

In new-energy battery production, micron-sized magnetic impurities in anode materials traditionally take five hours to detect. CIQTEK's high-throughput detector cuts that to minutes, helping to improve battery yield and safety. Founded in the zone in 2016, CIQTEK has become a leader in quantum technology and high-end scientific instruments, showing how frontier innovation translates into industrial growth.

Jianghuai Frontier Technology Coordination and Innovation Center exhibition area at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, Anhui province. [Photo/WeChat account: hefeigaoxinfabu]

The zone is also advancing controllable fusion, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, biomanufacturing, and frontier materials. Jianghuai Lab brought its medal-winning pitch-pot robot and smart charging robot from the World Humanoid Robot Games; and Anhui Aibo Smart Technology displayed brain-computer interface products. Backed by the CAS Center for Excellence in Quantum Information and Quantum Physics, Deep Space Exploration Lab, and over 500 provincial-level or higher R&D platforms and new-type R&D institutions, the zone acts as a source of original innovation.

AI is becoming deeply integrated with manufacturing. At iFLYTEK's booth, scanned handwritten exam papers are graded in seconds using the Spark deep-reasoning model, optical character recognition, and intelligent marking — a fully domestic integrated solution that frees teachers for feedback and tutoring. AI can also "make things": The AI for Science Center for Matter Creation at the University of Science and Technology of China, a 10-billion-yuan-plus project, debuted at the convention. Its firefighting protective suit can briefly withstand flames at 1,300 degrees Celsius, with thermal protective performance far exceeding peers. The zone now hosts more than 1,500 AI-chain firms across foundation, technology, and application layers, integrating AI with quantum technologies, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing.

Under its industrial ecosystem, the zone is strengthening new energy, AI-powered manufacturing, and healthcare while cultivating quantum technologies and aerospace. Hefei I-TEK OptoElectronics, the first domestic industrial camera maker listed on the STAR Market, showed off ultra-high-resolution cameras and image acquisition cards used in new-display and new-energy production lines. Anhui Tongling Bionic Technology brought a portable cardiovascular rehabilitation device, moving hospital-grade training into communities and homes. Anhui Wanyi Science and Technology displayed high-end analytical, leak-detection, and online inspection instruments for scientific research and industrial testing.

New energy's scale now reaches near 200 billion yuan ($29.84 billion). The zone's AI manufacturing firms total over 200 along the industrial chain, and its AI enterprises above the designated size number more than 300. It has a cluster of more than 400 firms in healthcare, over 90 firms working on quantum technologies, and over 150 involved in aerospace.

With 30 years of history developing high tech and achieving industrialization, the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone integrates its roles as a sci-tech source, industrial pilot, and premium core districts to drive high-tech intelligent manufacturing.