- Government funds and industry alliances target robotics, AI, and digital-physical integration
- Top officials urge strategic shifts in manufacturing, business models, and organizational design
Zhejiang Province is racing into the era of AI agents, with businesses poised to pivot toward AI-native models, human-machine collaboration, and deep digital-physical integration, a top provincial politician said on June 6.
“AI agents have moved from concept to the frontline of industry. We are irreversibly entering a new era of ‘carbon-silicon symbiosis,’ human-machine collaboration, and deep digital-physical integration,” said Zhou Guohui, vice chairman of the 12th Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s political advisory body.
He made these remarks at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Zhejiang Entrepreneurs (Investment & Financing) Cooperation Week on June 6 in Hangzhou.
Zhou, who previously served as Zhejiang’s science and technology chief, is the author of Proactive and Effective (《有为与有效》), a 2025 book analyzing the secrets behind the emergence of “Hangzhou’s Six Dragons,” a group of high-growth startups.
The veteran official, now 66, credits the city’s “rainforest-like” ecosystem that connects entrepreneurs, capital, government, market, and research institutions to cultivate tech startups and foster high-profile innovations.
Three strategic shifts
He told Zhejiang business leaders at the event that they face three major strategic shifts: Production must move from traditional physical manufacturing to agent-driven manufacturing.
Business models need to evolve from “Internet plus” approaches to AI-native strategies.
Organizational structures should transition from hierarchical management to what he called “carbon-silicon collaboration.”
“Opportunities in this era are unprecedented, but those who fail to advance will fall behind,” Zhou said.
The weeklong forum, themed “Fission in the Era of AI Agents,” convened over 800 government, academic, and corporate representatives from home and abroad to explore industrial transformation opportunities.
On the capital side, Zhejiang is building a systematic framework for investment in AI agents.
An investment network
The province’s Future Industries Sci-Tech Fund of Funds totals 10.1 billion yuan ($1.49 billion) and uses a “sub-fund plus direct investment” model targeting AI-plus, future manufacturing, energy, information, and space.
Separately, Hangzhou’s Shangcheng District has launched a 10 billion yuan industry fund with sub-funds focusing on embodied robotics, smart terminals, and low-altitude economy projects.
Industry alliances around agentic AI are already taking shape in the province, with the Zhejiang AI Agent Industry Development Alliance established in January 2026.
This organization brings together leading firms including Alibaba Cloud, Transfar, iFlytek, and Supcon, alongside over 200 expert representatives, to foster “government-industry-academia-finance-use” collaborative innovation.
Provincial policies, including computing vouchers, model vouchers, corpus vouchers, and scenario vouchers, are designed to encourage adoption of AI agents through financial incentives.
Targets include surpassing 1 trillion yuan in core AI industry revenue by 2027 and 1.2 trillion yuan by 2030, expanding AI application scenarios to over 300.
What’s more, authorities in Zhejiang aim to raise agent adoption in key sectors above 75%, while pushing humanoid robot production past 20,000 units annually.
