China's laser tech leaps from vintage sci-fi film to worldwide industry

In Heilongjiang, China's top grain-producing province in the northeast, tractors tow sets of laser modules across the plains. Employing an AI-powered system to identify and target weeds, the blade-like modules fire laser beams to kill unwanted plants without damaging crops or polluting soil.

The all-weather intelligent equipment, China's first of its kind, was developed by HGTECH, a leading global player in laser technology and intelligent manufacturing, headquartered in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. Named after Shennong, the Divine Farmer, China's legendary culture hero who introduced agriculture and herbal medicine, the robot has been deployed in several provinces.

Inspired by the 1980 film in his youth, Ma Xinqiang, chairman of HGTECH, majored in laser technology at his alma mater, which ranked among China's earliest institutions to launch laser programs. Back then, nearly all of China's laser equipment was imported.

Now, the laser technologies and products developed by Ma's company are used worldwide in automobiles, ships, consumer electronics and communications systems. At an HGTECH workshop, a production line that welds parts for alkaline electrolyzers -- devices that use renewable energy to split water to make hydrogen -- is undergoing pre-shipment testing for overseas delivery.

Such a fully automated production line combines laser welding with machine vision, robotic positioning and automated assembly to raise efficiency. "As a major producer of green energy, China is seeing growing demand for its laser products and integrated intelligent manufacturing solutions in this field," said He Peng, product manager for hydrogen-energy products at HGTECH's laser subsidiary.

The company's intelligent manufacturing solutions for alkaline electrolyzers are serving customers across different continents,. With branches in North America, Asia and Europe, HGTECH's products are sold in more than 90 countries and regions, and the company plans to establish more than 40 sales and service centers worldwide.

HGTECH's offerings extend well past laser weeders and electrolyzer assembly lines. The firm says its laser gear for shipbuilding holds a 15.4 percent global market share, leading the world, and its 3D five-axis laser cutting equipment has kept the top global market share for three years.

Read More:How China is preparing for the risk of AI escaping human control. At the company's exhibition hall, a simulation showed a laser system welding a new-energy vehicle body in 41.5 seconds. The technology won the First Prize of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award.

HGTECH is also among the few companies in China capable of developing and producing laser-cutting equipment for 12-inch semiconductor wafers. It rolled out 800G silicon photonic chips in 2022, an emerging technology at that time.

Besides, the company's laser-based 3D printing makes everything from aircraft-engine parts and drone wings to art sculptures, while laser marking adds traceability to food and beverage goods. "Einstein proposed the theory of stimulated emission roughly 110 years ago.

Laser technology is ultimately about benefiting humanity," said Li Hui, HGTECH's assistant general manager. "Wherever there is a need, we innovate. "Li credited China's fast-growing laser industry to scientists' and engineers' innovation, national efforts to boost tech capacity and high-quality development, plus a large, vibrant home market and rising global demand for laser uses.

2026 laser industry development report released by the Chinese Optical Society, China's laser equipment market generated 95.8 billion yuan (about 14.16 billion U.S. dollars) in sales in 2025, up 6.8 percent year on year and accounting for 58 percent of the global market.

At the company's global partners conference in May 2026, Ma said HGTECH aims to increase the share of overseas sales in its total revenue to 35 percent by 2030. "We are contributing to the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, while continuing to improve people's quality of life," Li said.