Zhang Li, Director of the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology: Global Industrialization Enters a Period of Profound Change.

On April 2, 2026, Zhang Li, the director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, stated at the 2026 SIDI Forum that global industrialization has entered a period of profound transformation driven by technological breakthroughs, rapid transformation, organizational restructuring, and institutional adjustments. The underlying logic, operating methods, and competitive landscape of industrialization are undergoing systemic changes. From a technological perspective, technologies such as artificial intelligence are driving industrial systems towards self-learning, self-optimization, and intelligent decision-making; in terms of production paradigms, flexible manufacturing, distributed manufacturing, and green manufacturing are accelerating, and multiple varieties, small batches, customization, and low carbonization are becoming the new direction of global manufacturing. In terms of organizational forms, new organizational models characterized by network collaboration, platform organization, and ecological structures are beginning to emerge, promoting production collaboration to move from internal integration within enterprises towards cross-entity, cross-regional, and cross-border systemic linkages.