- January-March output rises 8.5%, eclipsing broader industrial growth
- Manufacturing investment jumps as city doubles down on advanced sectors
Hangzhou’s signature “296X” advanced manufacturing clusters grew faster than the broader industrial sector in the first quarter of 2026, as investment surged across key technology industries under the city’s flagship industrial policy.
Output from the clusters rose 8.5% year-on-year, outpacing large-scale industrial growth by 1.6 percentage points, officials said at an April 29 municipal meeting chaired by the city’s Party Secretary Liu Fei.
Manufacturing investment climbed 13.3% in the first three months, up 13 percentage points from last year’s pace.
First introduced in October 2025, the “296X” framework targets two trillion-yuan sectors—artificial and visual intelligence—alongside nine billion-yuan industries spanning robotics, semiconductors, biomedicine, new energy and advanced manufacturing, while incubating future fields such as quantum technology.
Investment in AI, high-end equipment and integrated circuits surged more than 50% in the first quarter, contributing 0.7 percentage point to overall fixed-asset investment growth and helping lift project investment by 8.9%, with a more optimized structure.
The city secured 114 projects worth more than 100 million yuan ($14.64 million) during the period, including 12 exceeding 1 billion yuan.
Research and development spending by large industrial firms reached 5.62% of revenue, up 0.38 percentage point from the full-year 2025 level.
“Our ‘296x’ advanced manufacturing clusters have gained full momentum and delivered clear phased results,” Liu said, calling for sustained efforts to strengthen the industrial base and maintain economic growth.
Hangzhou plans to roll out additional policy support to accelerate commercialization of research, Liu said, while expanding real-world application scenarios in areas such as healthcare, education and urban governance to drive adoption of new technologies.
The city will also lean on leading companies to strengthen supply chains and address bottlenecks, aiming to scale up industrial clusters and improve efficiency, he said.
Earlier data showed investment in advanced manufacturing reached 15.26 billion yuan in January-February, up 20.1% from a year earlier, reflecting continued momentum of the “296X” drive.
