Smart Manufacturing, Shared Opportunities: 2026 World Manufacturing Convention Opens Sept. 20 in Hefei

HEFEI, China, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 World Manufacturing Convention opened Sept. 20 in Hefei, Anhui Province, spotlighting one of China's fastest-growing manufacturing hubs.

Under the theme "Intelligent Manufacturing for a Better Future," the convention provides a forum for ideas and business partnerships, connecting China's manufacturing sector with the global economy.

Opening ceremony and keynote speakers examined how a new wave of technological innovation and industrial transformation is reshaping global manufacturing, focusing on cutting-edge technologies, industry trends and the advances driving that transformation.

"By combining our capabilities through joint research, industry partnerships, shared data spaces and open innovation ecosystems, we can accomplish far more than with any individual technology solution," said Jivka Ovtcharova, a member of Germany's National Academy of Science and Engineering.

Carlos Magariños, global chairman of the Global Alliance of SMEs, returned after two years. "I've watched Chinese companies go from making components to building their own brands," he said. "Now they're becoming far more international." He added that Anhui's rapidly expanding clean energy, electronics and information technology sectors are producing a growing range of advanced, innovative products.

Representing the Office of the President of Côte d'Ivoire, Solange Amichia read the president's congratulatory letter. "For Côte d'Ivoire, industrialization is a strategic imperative, central to achieving our development goals," the letter said. "China, our partner, plays a vital role in our progress."

"The UK is honored to be this year's guest country of honor—reflecting the value we place on deeper ties with Anhui and our commitment to a long-term, stable and strategic UK-China partnership." Speaking in fluent Chinese, British Ambassador to China Peter Wilson drew repeated applause.

"Europe has world-class engineering and deep industrial roots. China has vast manufacturing scale, speed in turning ideas into reality and strong digital and industrial ecosystems. Our strengths differ—and are highly complementary," Ovtcharova said. "Together, we can build a shared future for manufacturing."

The convention unveiled 10 new technologies and products developed in Anhui and at the forefront of their fields in China and beyond, including memory testing equipment, crawler welding robots, wheeled-arm humanoid robots and solid oxide fuel cells.

Agreements were signed for 790 projects totaling 363.41 billion yuan in investment, turning global engagement into tangible business results.

The World Manufacturing Convention offers a window onto Anhui—and a gateway to the wider world.