In a significant move to drive economic growth and technological advancement, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have jointly released an important document titled ‘Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces.’ This comprehensive guideline outlines 19 major development and reform tasks, emphasizing four core principles: innovation-led, reform as the key, adapting to local conditions, and establishing new structures before abolishing old ones.
Innovation Takes Center Stage
The document places ‘vigorously advancing scientific and technological innovation’ at the forefront of its five major tasks. It calls for strengthening original and disruptive technological innovation, accelerating breakthroughs in core and essential technologies, and strategically coordinating the development of national scientific and technological capabilities. Furthermore, it stresses enhancing the role of enterprises as the primary drivers of technological innovation and expediting the transformation of scientific research outcomes into tangible productivity.
Cultivating Emerging Industries
A key focus is on nurturing emerging industries into powerful economic pillars. The guidelines advocate for accelerating the development of strategic emerging industries such as next-generation information technology, new energy, new materials, intelligent connected new energy vehicles, robotics, biopharmaceuticals, high-end equipment, and aerospace. The aim is to foster distinctive and complementary strategic emerging industry clusters tailored to local strengths, thereby concentrating resources, centralizing key players, integrating achievements, and promoting specialized collaboration. The document also encourages deepening intra-industry and intra-product specialization, promoting cross-industry and cross-regional integration, and actively avoiding ‘involutionary’ competition. By establishing cross-regional industry collaboration mechanisms led by industrial chains and driven by enterprises, the plan supports eastern regions in guiding the development of emerging industries in central, western, and northeastern areas, adapting to local conditions.
Exploring Future Industries
Looking ahead, the policy emphasizes the proactive cultivation of future industries. This involves exploring diverse technological routes, typical application scenarios, viable business models, and market regulatory rules. Industries targeted for future development include quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, hydrogen and fusion energy, brain-computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communication (6G). The goal is to rapidly form relatively complete industrial ecosystems for these nascent fields. To support this, a mechanism for increasing investment and sharing risks in future industries will be established, leveraging existing fiscal policies and guiding sustained investment from social capital.
Implementing the ‘AI+’ Initiative
The comprehensive ‘AI+’ initiative is set to be fully implemented, driving the transformation of traditional industries through artificial intelligence. A particular highlight is the acceleration of the application of new-generation intelligent terminals, including intelligent connected new energy vehicles, AI-powered smartphones and computers, and humanoid robots. The plan aims to foster innovation in AI and other digital intelligent technologies, breaking through fundamental theories and core technologies, and ensuring efficient supply of computing power, algorithms, and data. National AI industry application pilot bases and high-value application scenarios will be established based on local conditions and industry-specific needs, promoting AI adoption across various sectors. Crucially, a robust system for technology monitoring, risk early warning, and emergency response will be built to ensure AI is developed and deployed safely, reliably, and under control.
