SHENYANG -- China has built nearly 8,000 digital workshops and smart factories, with its industrial internet's core industry value exceeding 1.2 trillion yuan (about $167 billion), according to a research report released Wednesday.

The annual report on the innovation and development of the industrial internet was released by China Academy of Industrial Internet during the 2023 Global Industrial Internet Conference held in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province.

Currently, 31 provincial-level regions across the country have launched industrial internet development policies or action plans. The research and development, as well as the industrialization, of key technologies such as 5G edge computing, industrial big data, and general artificial intelligence are accelerating, said Lu Chuncong, head of the academy.

Meanwhile, the data security system of the industrial internet network platform has been continuously improved. More than 100 colleges and universities have added relevant majors of industrial internet. Additionally, a batch of relevant talent training bases have been established, with investment funds set up, Lu added.

The 2023 Global Industrial Internet Conference is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China Association for Science and Technology and the provincial government of Liaoning.