Gavekal Technologies

Europe’s desire to limit imports of carbon-intensive goods is leading to changes in industrial China. Beijing has launched a set of zero-carbon industrial parks that will tightly link factories with renewable energy sources, helping them cut their carbon footprint and comply with new EU regulations that will tax carbon-intensive steel and aluminum imports and bar entry to batteries that fail to meet carbon limits.

The 2026 WAIC showcased thousands of competitive AI products targeting consumer, enterprise, and government adoption. Competition is expanding beyond foundational models toward enterprise solutions and next-generation consumer-AI interfaces, including agentic smartphones and humanoid robots. Despite strong investment, policy support, and expanding pilots, commercialization remains constrained by uncertain revenue models, high computing costs, integration barriers, and uncertain legal frameworks.