Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for sustained efforts to expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing to support the country’s modernisation drive.
Xi, who is also General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the call in a recent instruction.
The instruction was conveyed at a national conference on advanced manufacturing held in Beijing from Wednesday to Thursday.
Xi emphasised the need to ensure high-quality development and greater security while promoting smart, green and integrated development.
He called for stronger and more self-reliant industrial chains capable of withstanding risks, alongside efforts to accelerate the development of a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone.
He also stressed the need to reinforce the foundations of the real economy.
Premier Li Qiang said Xi’s instructions provided important guidance for developing advanced manufacturing and urged China to treat the sector as a major strategic task.
Li called for steady efforts to strengthen the country’s manufacturing sector, with next-generation intelligent manufacturing as the primary direction.
He highlighted digital and intelligent transformation, high-end manufacturing, self-reliance, green and low-carbon development, and cross-sector integration.
He also called for stronger innovation capacity, competitiveness and overall strength in advanced manufacturing.
Li urged deeper implementation of the “AI plus manufacturing” initiative and greater support for enterprises undertaking digital and intelligent transformation.
He further called for strengthening the foundations of intelligent software and hardware and promoting closer integration between advanced manufacturing and modern services.
He said China should develop service-oriented manufacturing and cultivate advanced manufacturing clusters based on local conditions.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing called for further implementation of initiatives to promote high-quality development across key industrial chains.
Zhang also urged the acceleration of a high-quality standards system, efforts to address disorderly and irrational competition, and the creation of a sound ecosystem for advanced manufacturing.
