On July 28th, the Shunde District Embodied Intelligence Development Bureau was officially inaugurated in Foshan City, Guangdong Province. This marks the first government functional bureau in the country dedicated to coordinating the entire industrial chain of embodied intelligence, signaling a pioneering step in institutional innovation for the integration of intelligent robotics, artificial intelligence, and the real economy.
Shunde is China's largest production base for industrial robots, hosting a national-level SME industrial cluster specialized in robotics, recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. In 2025, the district's robotics industry output value approached 40 billion yuan, with over 100 upstream and downstream enterprises concentrated in the area, forming a complete industrial chain encompassing components, finished machines, and system integration. As a trillion-yuan industrial powerhouse, Shunde has established this new specialized agency based on two 400-billion-yuan industrial clusters in home appliances and equipment.
Chen Xinwen, a member of the Standing Committee of the Foshan Municipal Committee and the Shunde District Committee Secretary, stated that to address transformation challenges, promote the upgrading of traditional manufacturing, expand emerging industries, and cultivate future industries, artificial intelligence is a key driver capable of delivering exponential growth. The establishment of the Embodied Intelligence Development Bureau is a forward-looking and strategic move. In parallel, Shunde will advance universal AI education for all citizens, reshape new and old industries, enhance industrial carriers, and implement innovative application scenarios, guiding society to actively embrace AI and solving the pain point of disconnect between technology and industry.
"We are anchored to the main line of 'AI empowering manufacturing for a leap forward, leading the intelligent rebirth of thousands of industries,' competing on two tracks and launching plans for three major offensives," explained Hai Yubao, the newly appointed director of the Shunde District Embodied Intelligence Development Bureau. Focusing on the two fields of intelligent manufacturing and manufacturing intelligence, a comprehensive set of industrial cultivation measures will be deployed. Among them, the "AI + Industry Reshaping" plan covers six sub-directions, including brand cultivation, whole-home intelligence, urban governance, and rural revitalization. The "Intelligent Robot 100" plan aims to implement 100 types of real-world application scenarios within two years, leveraging government and state-owned enterprise scenarios to drive large-scale cost reduction in the industry. The "Embodied Intelligence Chain-Repair and Strengthening" plan will chart an industrial map for precise investment attraction, establish specialized incubators in three town clusters, and attract university and research institution innovation teams to settle and cultivate native intelligent enterprises.
The bureau is supported by four collaborative mechanisms: inter-departmental joint meetings for overall coordination, an expert think tank for technical oversight, an industry alliance to connect enterprises, and an innovation center platform to empower, thereby breaking down barriers in policy, technology, application scenarios, and talent resources. As the nation includes embodied intelligence and humanoid robots in the forward-looking deployment of future industries under the "15th Five-Year Plan," Shunde, leveraging its robust manufacturing base, has established the country's first specialized agency. By coordinating the entire robotics industrialization chain through government oversight, it aims to provide a replicable "Shunde Model" for the development of new productive forces across various regions.