The Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BETDA) – known as E-Town – aims to become a globally influential AI hub capable of generating CNY200 billion in core AI industry output by 2030 through a district-wide artificial intelligence ecosystem, according to Kong Lei, Communist Party Secretary of the development zone. Rather than focusing solely on nurturing AI companies, the area plans to embed AI across industries, infrastructure and urban governance through its “AI+” initiative, making AI a key driver of economic growth and city management. “In the AI era, competition is no longer about a single technology,” Kong said. “It involves the entire value chain, including foundational capabilities, critical hardware, essential software, core data resources, application ecosystems and governance capacity.” He said the area is determined to seize what it sees as a strategic opportunity created by AI to reshape technological innovation, industrial development and regional competitiveness.
E-Town generated a GDP of CNY401.2 billion in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 12.1%. Although it accounts for just 1.37% of Beijing’s land area, it contributed about 40% of the capital’s industrial added value, according to Kong. To support its ambitions, E-Town is strengthening its capabilities in both frontier research and industrial infrastructure. Since the beginning of the 15th Five Year Plan period (2026-30), it has accelerated research into next-generation technologies, promoting the integration of AI with quantum science, 6G communications and space technologies. “We have pioneered innovative technologies and paradigms, such as quantum-AI integration and space-air-ground integrated networks, laying the groundwork for future industrial innovation,” Kong said.
Semiconductors are another strategic priority. Leveraging its well-established integrated circuit industry, E-Town is building a complete ecosystem spanning chip design, manufacturing, packaging, testing and computing power while expanding into emerging fields such as scenario-defined and industry-specific AI chips. “This will help remove some of the key bottlenecks restricting AI development,” Kong said. One example is ChangXin Memory Technologies, which operates one of its major production facilities in E-Town. The company, whose AI memory chips have attracted growing market attention, drew further interest from investors following its initial public offering (IPO) in late July. To further strengthen computing capacity, the district is building a 100,000-petaflop intelligent computing cluster, providing a critical hardware foundation for future AI development, the China Daily reports.
The size of China’s artificial intelligence industry was estimated to exceed CNY1.2 trillion in 2025, up 40% year-on-year. China was home to more than 6,600 AI companies as of June 2026, representing 15% of the global total. The application segment accounted for 55% of the entire AI industry chain in 2025, up 22% year-on-year. The foundational segment accounted for 38% and grew 59%, while the segment covering models and frameworks made up 7% and grew 189%. The industry is highly concentrated in just a few regions, with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shandong accounting for more than 80% of the national total.
