(Yicai) Feb. 13 -- China has more than 43,000 smart factories in operation, including over 35,000 basic-level and more than 8,000 higher-level ones that serve as a hub for the integration of technological and industrial innovation, according to a new report.

Of the higher-level smart factories, 15 are pioneer-level, more than 500 excellence-level, and the rest are advanced, according to the latest Annual Development Report on Smart Factories released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The report outlines the development status of smart factories in China and forecasts future trends. CAICT is a think tank under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

"Smart factories at all levels in China have covered over 90 percent of major manufacturing industries, with excellence-level smart plants spanning 34 categories," the CAICT said. "The proportion of excellence-level smart factories in the petroleum and chemical, electrical machinery, and steel and non-ferrous metal sectors has exceeded 32 percent."

The most excellence-level smart factories can be found in Jiangsu province with 67, followed by Shandong province with 49, Zhejiang province with 38, Shanghai with 28, and Hubei province with 24. The five regions also have two pioneer-level smart plants each, leading the country.

Smart factories utilize intelligent manufacturing equipment and implement industrial software systems to achieve the interconnection between production equipment and information systems, enabling comprehensive optimization of the entire product life cycle, manufacturing processes, and supply chain operations, significantly boosting overall operational efficiency.

According to the classification standards for smart factories previously issued by the MIIT, pioneer-level smart factories achieve a 100 percent computer numerical control and device connectivity rates for key production processes, with artificial intelligence application scenarios accounting for at least 60 percent, while their smart model reaches a globally leading level. Excellence-level smart plants have slightly lower indicators in comparison, with their smart model at a nationally leading level.

Advanced smart factories achieve intelligent production in key links, while basic smart plants achieve automated production of critical processes and the informatization of production and operational management.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev