The manufacturing industry is the backbone of the European economy, accounting for around 20 % of the EU's GDP. AI and advanced robotics are opening new horizons in all sectors of industry, developing novel manufacturing techniques as well as reimagining the interaction between human workers and automated tools. This new Results Pack presents the results of 14 innovative Horizon 2020 projects that are reshaping AI and industry. As economies aim for sustained post-COVID recoveries, industry needs to innovate in a way that is in line with the priorities of the European Commission, in particular those laid out by the European Green Deal, a Europe Fit for the Digital Age and an Economy that Works for People. Industry 5.0 provides a coherent vision for such a future industry, focused on human centricity, sustainability and resilience.

Unsurprisingly, it has been China – not Europe – that has proposed, with little success, forming a common front against Donald Trump's trade tantrums. Even Washington's bullying cannot awaken European policymakers from their slumber – or, as seems more likely, their moderately lubricated afternoon nap. Hardly a week passes without a new alarming announcement that Beijing has managed to outmanoeuvre Brussels in yet another domain. Last week brought three such developments. First, China Merchants Group, a state-owned company, joined forces with SPF Group and Centricus – asset managers based in Beijing and London respectively – to form a $15bn fund to compete with SoftBank's $100bn Vision Fund, launched to invest in the most promising technology firms worldwide.