The 2026 "Vibrant China Research Tour" program brought a group of domestic journalists to visit Huzhou, Zhejiang province.

The media delegation visited Zhejiang Jiuli Hi-Tech Metals and the Moganshan Institute of Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT) to explore how artificial intelligence and industry-academia cooperation are driving industrial transformation.

At Jiuli, a leading manufacturer of industrial stainless steel pipes, they saw an AI-powered defect detection system developed by the company. The system can identify tiny flaws on steel pipe surfaces within milliseconds. The company is also building a specialized materials database to use AI algorithms in alloy development, reducing reliance on repeated experiments.

The media delegation visits Zhejiang Jiuli Hi-Tech Metals based in Huzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

Jiuli's products have been applied in major fields including nuclear power, oil and gas, and new energy. The company has also supplied PF/TF conductor jacket materials for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, designed to operate under extremely low temperatures and strong magnetic fields.

The delegation also visited the Moganshan Institute of ZJUT, which was jointly established by ZJUT and Deqing county in 2021. The institute has incubated 167 companies and built 41 joint research centers with enterprises, helping move scientific achievements from the laboratory to the real world.

In the first half of this year, Huzhou invested 14.79 billion yuan ($2.19 billion) in science and technology innovation, up 13.38 percent year-on-year.