WAIC 2026: China’s AI supply chain confidence increases, large models and computing hardware become the focus (UBS)
The WAIC 2026 technology inspection organized by UBS showed that global AI collaboration has deepened, China's large model iterations have accelerated, local AI infrastructure has improved, and the supply chain has responded positively to AI demand.
The WAIC 2026 technology inspection organized by UBS showed that global AI collaboration has deepened, China's large model iterations have accelerated, local AI infrastructure has improved, and the supply chain has responded positively to AI demand. UBS has strengthened its confidence in the growth of China's AI technology supply chain companies. The report highlights a number of stocks with Buy ratings, covering large model companies such as Zhipu and MiniMax, as well as semiconductor and hardware supply chain companies such as Northern Huachuang and Changdian Technology. The market’s stereotype of China’s AI development as a “follower” may be broken. China’s rise in applications and infrastructure is faster than expected. One-sentence conclusion: WAIC 2026 sent a strong signal to the market: China's AI industry is shifting from "catching up" to "running parallel", and the integrity and innovation of the local supply chain are increasing, providing huge investment opportunities for related companies. Positive/negative: Positive for China's AI industry chain, especially the buy-rated targets mentioned in the report, such as Zhipu, MiniMax, Northern Huachuang, Changdian Technology, etc. The market's awareness of the strength of China's AI industry is still in the process of improvement, and investment opportunities may not have been fully exploited. Catalysts: 1) Breakthroughs in key performance indicators of large domestic models; 2) Chinese AI chip companies’ shipments and customer introduction progress; 3) Penetration data of AI applications in the Chinese market.