As the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico draws to a close, products from China have captured global attention on this year's tournament stage.

The evolution of Chinese products from traditional manufacturing to intelligent creation marks a significant shift towards digitalization and high creativity.

Experts note that as technologies like AI reshape the World Cup, Chinese intelligent manufacturing has moved from providing peripheral support to becoming deeply embedded in the core of the events, emerging as a formidable force behind the scenes.

From Supporting Role to Technological Enabler

The 2026 World Cup has been dubbed the "first AI World Cup," with new technologies like AI enhancing everything from equipment and officiating across the entire event chain and all scenarios.

"From critical components in event equipment to display technology for officiating systems, from AI-enhanced viewing experiences to data platforms for team preparation, Chinese intelligent manufacturing is deeply participating in this top-tier football tournament with mature technological product innovations," said Li Mingyan, Director of the Intelligent Economy Research Institute at Saizhi Industry Research Institute.

At the level of crucial event equipment, the official match ball, "Trisail," features a smart bladder with a 500Hz chip, capable of recording ball contact data 500 times per second, including metrics like flight speed and rotation speed. This intelligent component was developed and manufactured by a Chinese enterprise.

In the realm of officiating assistance, new technology has made millimeter-level decisions more accurate and transparent.

It is understood that the 3D digital human visualization solution developed by LENOVO GROUP (LNVGY) enabled the automatic generation of digital human models for every player in the World Cup for the first time.

This system can realistically recreate players' body postures, running trajectories, and spatial relationships through 3D animation, providing strong auxiliary evidence for referee decisions.

"Looking at the global digital track for major sporting events, the industry threshold has long shifted from single hardware supply to the comprehensive delivery of integrated intelligent solutions," said Zhu Keli, Founding Dean of the Guoyan New Economy Research Institute.

He believes that China's complete industrial system, full-stack AI self-research capabilities, and rapid iteration engineering capabilities form a unique overlapping advantage.

This matches the high-standard comprehensive demands of major events, opening a window of opportunity for Chinese intelligent manufacturing to enter event scenarios and achieve a transition from a supporting participant to a key solution provider.

From Commodity Export to Brand Globalization

Chinese intellectual property (IP) has also garnered significant popularity during this World Cup, with the IP character LABUBU from Pop Mart being invited as a featured original Chinese IP for the opening ceremony.

Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, believes that the global consumer attention on Chinese brands and IP is an inevitable result of multiple overlapping advantages.

First, as the hard power of products and technology leaps forward, Chinese companies have become deeply embedded in the international event system.

Second, business models have upgraded, shifting from simple advertising exposure to deep IP co-creation.

Third, trendy cultural IP has achieved cross-cultural breakthrough, gaining favor among global young consumers.

In Zhu Keli's view, the breakout success of Chinese brands and original IP at this World Cup results from the combined effect of growing strength and era opportunities.

On one hand, Chinese manufacturing has shed the label of low-cost contract work, with products like digital technology offering stable quality, leading technology, and durable adaptability, gaining recognition in overseas markets.

On the other hand, original Chinese cultural symbols, represented by trendy toy IP, align with global youth aesthetic trends and have achieved breakthrough via the World Cup stage.

It is reported that among the 16 official sponsors of this tournament, Chinese companies occupy 4 spots.

LENOVO GROUP (LNVGY) has become the first official technical service provider from China in FIFA's century-long history.

Li Mingyan stated that although Chinese brands shine brightly on the World Cup stage, building brands with lasting international influence still requires sustained effort.

Enterprises should adhere to a long-term perspective, accept the cyclical nature of brand asset accumulation, and establish a "global brand architecture + local product matrix."

Zhang Linshan believes that to build Chinese manufacturing brands with international influence, it is essential to strengthen cultural empowerment and brand narrative, construct a communication system suitable for the global market, and leverage new technologies to enhance the effectiveness of international brand communication.

From Scale Benefits to Innovation Advantages

The brilliance of Chinese products on the World Cup stage reflects the continuous leap in the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing.

In terms of the industrial system, China possesses all 41 major industrial categories in the United Nations industrial classification.

Data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in the first half of this year, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 5.4% year-on-year, with manufacturing growing by 5.6%.

The scale of the manufacturing sector has remained the world's largest for many consecutive years.

Regarding supply chains, as global manufacturing shifts from "efficiency first" to also prioritizing "safety first," the industrial resilience and collaborative capabilities of Chinese manufacturing are shaping new competitive advantages.

The full-chain supporting capability, from components to finished products, gives Chinese manufacturing strong response speed and risk resistance.

In Li Mingyan's view, in the past, Chinese manufacturing relied mainly on comparative advantages in factor costs like labor and land.

Today, Chinese manufacturing has moved away from a development model overly dependent on labor and resources, transitioning towards a form driven by innovation, technology, and capital intensity.

Zhu Keli said that the global competitive advantages of Chinese manufacturing are now undergoing systematic iteration and upgrading.

In the face of intensifying global manufacturing competition, it is imperative to lead the comprehensive transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector with new quality productive forces.

Facing increasingly fierce global competition, Zhang Linshan believes it is also necessary to cultivate and strengthen strategic emerging industries such as high-end equipment, new energy, and new materials, make forward-looking layouts for future industries, guide processing trade to extend into high value-added segments like R&D design and brand operation, and enhance the position in the global value chain.