Qiushi.com commentator: Why should we vigorously develop advanced manufacturing?

Developing advanced manufacturing is the core engine for strengthening, optimizing, and expanding the real economy. In his recent important article, "Strengthening, Optimizing, and Expanding the Real Economy," published in *Qiushi* magazine, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly demanded, "Accelerate the development of advanced manufacturing." In January of this year, at a seminar for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres on studying and implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the General Secretary emphasized that "the *Suggestions* emphasize focusing on the real economy in economic development, which means maintaining a reasonable proportion of manufacturing and vigorously developing advanced manufacturing." These important statements point to the inevitable path for the real economy to move from scale expansion to quality improvement. To follow this path effectively, four key questions must be answered.

First, maintain a reasonable proportion and safeguard the foundation of manufacturing. Manufacturing is directly related to technological innovation, industrial upgrading, employment stability, and national defense security; it is the foundation of the national economy. General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the issue of the proportion of manufacturing. As early as 2018, he pointed out that "my country is still in the stage of industrialization, but the proportion of manufacturing in the economy has already declined too rapidly, which must be given high attention." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee explicitly required "maintaining a reasonable proportion of manufacturing." As my country's economic structure continues to upgrade, the proportion of manufacturing value added in GDP has gradually adjusted from its past peak to around 25% currently. This change aligns with the general laws of industrial evolution, but we must be highly vigilant against the risk of a rapid or excessively low decline. Germany's manufacturing value added as a percentage of GDP has remained stable at around 20% for a long time, building a strong technological foundation and systematic advantages. Japan and South Korea have also maintained a relatively high level of manufacturing as a percentage of GDP, consistently above 20%. Conversely, Latin American countries like Brazil and Argentina prematurely "deindustrialized" before their industrialization was mature. Their manufacturing share declined sharply and remained below 20% for an extended period, making a reversal difficult and ultimately leading to hollowing out of industry and an unbalanced economic structure. These contrasting experiences illustrate a crucial point: once a reasonable proportion of manufacturing is lost, regaining it is extremely difficult. We must resolutely safeguard this bottom line and ensure that the manufacturing share remains within a reasonable range without any wavering.

Secondly, we should focus on high-end, intelligent, and green development, accelerating the deep integration of the real economy and the digital economy. Maintaining a reasonable proportion of industrial output is not about protecting outdated production capacity, but about achieving a qualitative leap while stabilizing the fundamentals. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The manufacturing industry must adhere to the direction of high-end, intelligent, and green development, and continuously improve the technological content and added value of products." High-end development primarily addresses the issue of value chain hierarchy. Currently, my country's manufacturing industry is still generally at the low to middle end of the global value chain, with insufficient independent supply capacity in key areas such as high-end chips, core industrial software, and high-end CNC machine tools. We must focus on key core technologies, concentrate our efforts on tackling key challenges, and enhance the added value and core competitiveness of the industry. Intelligent development primarily addresses the issue of production efficiency. Digitalization is the foundation and prerequisite for intelligentization; without data collection, interconnection, and integration, intelligentization is like water without a source. The key lies in "using" it—using digitalization as a foundation to truly bring intelligentization into workshops and production lines, focusing on removing obstacles in the implementation stages such as industrial software adaptation and system integration. Green development primarily addresses the issue of sustainable development. Green and low-carbon development is a new commanding height in international competition in manufacturing and a crucial battleground in the game of international trade rules. Whoever takes the lead in green manufacturing will gain the initiative in future international trade.

Third, we must streamline the transformation channel from technological innovation to industrial innovation, accelerating the conversion of scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces. For advanced manufacturing to truly become "advanced," it must rely on continuous technological innovation. General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly called for "promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation," and in April of this year, at a symposium on strengthening basic research, he further emphasized "unblocking the innovation chain of basic research, applied development, and achievement transformation." Studying these two statements together carries significant weight—"integration" refers to the direction, while "unblocking" addresses the pain points. With the direction clear, why is "unblocking" repeatedly emphasized? Because there are still obstacles in the process. my country's technology transfer rate is approximately 35%, significantly lower than that of developed countries. Many research achievements are disconnected from the needs of economic and social development from the outset, and a large number of patents are created solely for project completion and awards, becoming a massive "dormant patent" system. At the same time, many "bottleneck" problems have seen breakthroughs in the laboratory, but due to the lack of pilot-scale testing and engineering processes, they cannot be transformed into industrial capabilities. Unblocking the transformation channel from technological innovation to industrial innovation requires grasping three key links. Scientific research evaluation is the "guiding principle." We must further break free from the shackles of the "four criteria" (only focusing on academic qualifications, research methodology, and research effectiveness), and improve the evaluation system oriented towards innovation quality, actual contribution, and commercialization performance. This will guide scientific research efforts towards the main economic battlefield and closer to the real needs of industry. Pilot-scale testing is a "perilous leap." We must place greater emphasis on the construction of pilot-scale testing platforms, and coordinate the layout of a number of high-level pilot-scale testing bases and concept verification centers to truly build a solid bridge for scientific and technological achievements to cross the "valley of death." Enterprises are the "core carriers." We must strengthen the leading role of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation, and support leading technology enterprises and specialized and innovative enterprises to take the lead in forming innovation consortia, allowing enterprises to take the lead and play a key role in technological innovation decision-making, R&D investment, scientific research organization, and achievement transformation.

Fourth, we must coordinate the upgrading of traditional industries, the expansion of emerging industries, and the cultivation of future industries to form a tiered and orderly development pattern. Developing advanced manufacturing is not just about focusing on "high-precision and cutting-edge" technologies, but about prioritizing, tiering, and ensuring continuity. Traditional industries account for about 80% of the added value and employment in the entire manufacturing sector, serving as a "ballast" for stabilizing growth and employment. They should not be simply treated as outdated production capacity and phased out. We must maintain historical patience and differentiate between situations, implementing targeted policies. For those with upgrading potential, we should revitalize them through technological transformation and digital empowerment, allowing "old trees to sprout new buds." Emerging industries are the main battleground for cultivating new growth drivers and are currently in a window of opportunity for technological breakthroughs and market expansion. We must promote the integrated and clustered development of strategic emerging industries to create a number of new growth engines. Future industries are strategic reserves for shaping long-term advantages. We must proactively plan and solidify our foundations in areas of major national needs and strategic competition. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to coordinate the relationship between cultivating new growth drivers and upgrading old ones. The key to this coordination lies in adapting to local conditions. Each region should, based on its own resource endowment and industrial foundation, clarify its main focus, leverage its strengths, and develop in a differentiated manner, resolutely avoiding a rush to invest in or duplication of development. Only through the successive transformation and tiered support of these three types of industries can the manufacturing sector achieve a vibrant situation of full-chain development and coordinated advancement.