China's factories skip digitalisation to adopt AI agents, Black Lake CEO says

Black Lake CEO Zhou Yuxiang says many Chinese factories are skipping full traditional digitalisation and moving directly to AI agents, in the same way China skipped credit cards for mobile payments.

He says manufacturers are using AI tools from design to production to compete on agility and meet small-batch, customised demand.

Zhou told the South China Morning Post that the shift aligns with Beijing's "AI plus" initiative, which targets AI integration across 90 per cent of China's economy by 2030.