Modern industrial system, core tech to hog focus

Building a modern industrial system with a focus on making breakthroughs in core technologies will be a key priority next year as it can help advance industrial upgrade and boost the resilience of supply chains, experts and company executives said on Monday after digesting the highlights of the tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded on Friday.

They said China will improve the global competitiveness of its traditional industries. The conference, they said, stressed the need to speed up research, development and application of cutting-edge technologies in the fields of new energy, artificial intelligence, biotech, green and low-carbon development and quantum computing, and work harder to develop the digital economy.

Fu Baozong, director of the industry department of the Beijing-based Academy of Macroeconomic Research, which is part of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, said China has formed a sound and efficient industrial chain and supply chain system, which plays a decisive role in the international industrial division.

However, under the impact of multiple factors, the upstream and downstream circulation obstacles in the industrial chains and supply chains have increased recently, and the weaknesses of some links have become prominent, Fu said.

To further improve the resilience and security level of the supply chains, it is necessary to strengthen interregional linkages, and upstream and downstream cooperation, while ensuring stable production at key enterprises, Fu said.

To help achieve breakthroughs in core technologies, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has approved the establishment of a string of national manufacturing innovation centers, including three new ones in November, which focus on graphene, virtual reality and ultra-high-definition video industries.

The ministry said it would guide the new manufacturing innovation centers to improve their ability to seek technological innovation so as to provide strong support for the high-quality development of primary fields in manufacturing.

Wang Yiming, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said as global competition in strategically important industries intensifies, some countries are acting like a "small courtyard with high walls" against China, aiming to contain its high-tech sectors.

So, it is of greater importance to pursue breakthroughs in key technologies now, Wang said, adding that self-reliance in certain crucial technologies is a prerequisite to guarantee national security.

Zhu Minghao, executive director of the high-end manufacturing research center of Beijing Jiaotong University, said the intelligent, green and high-end transformation of traditional industries is an important basis for the manufacturing industry to pursue high-quality development. It not only promotes traditional industries to glow with new vitality, but also helps release more domestic demand.

Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo Group Ltd, said consistent long-term input into R&D is key to boosting innovation, and the company will double its R&D investment within three years.

Yu Kai, CEO of Horizon Robotics, the first Chinese company to commercialize self-designed processors for autonomous driving, said smart electric vehicles are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for China to develop homegrown artificial intelligence chips and operating systems. Horizon Robotics will step up efforts to push for indigenous innovation, Yu said.