Will Trump seek investment to join China in a "dark factory" future?

CBS Evening News As Trump visits China, will he seek investment to build American "dark factories" of the future? .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-evening-news.jpg'); } By Anna Coren Anna Coren Foreign correspondent Anna Coren, CBS News foreign correspondent based in Hong Kong, is an Emmy Award-winning international correspondent who covers the Asia-Pacific region. Read Full Bio Anna Coren May 12, 2026 / 7:50 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Zhuhai, southern China — When President Trump arrives in China this week for a high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping, securing investment from Chinese companies — including to help modern American factories — is expected to be on his list of priorities. But if Mr. Trump is hoping to secure investment to help bring blue-collar jobs back to America, a CBS News visit to a massive Chinese factory suggests that ship may have sailed.Inside a cavernous industrial building on the outskirts of Zhuhai, in southern China, there's a factory of the future. Hundreds of yellow robotic arms move in sync along a 1,500-foot assembly line, putting together some 4,000 components every 10 seconds for air conditioning units.Owned by Gree, China's largest air conditioning maker, the facility is what's known as a "dark factory." It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, controlled by artificial intelligence.Gree general manager Chen Huadong says it's the future of manufacturing."This is how future intelligent factories will look like, with AI-supported robots everywhere," he told CBS News, "working in real time."In the nerve center of the operation, giant screens show real-time data on production, global sales and delivery.  About 60% of Gree's production is exported overseas, including significant sales in North America.The company has even been advertising in Times Square. China already accounts for roughly 30% of global manufacturing output overall, and that's...