China promotes advanced manufacturing and future industries

Chinese Premier Li Qiang conducted a research tour in Shanghai, emphasizing the need to accelerate the growth of emerging and future industries while strengthening advanced manufacturing. During his visit to the Shanghai Electric National Artificial Intelligence Application Pilot Base, Li highlighted the transformative role of artificial intelligence in reshaping manufacturing systems and production models. He advocated for the deep integration of “artificial intelligence + manufacturing” to drive intelligent upgrades across research, production, and management.

Li also visited the Shanghai Future Point Community, an innovation incubator focusing on future industries such as brain-computer interfaces and quantum computing. He noted that while future industries represent a potential blue ocean for advanced manufacturing, they are characterized by long growth cycles and high market risks. To address this, he called for the development of venture capital and “patient capital,” alongside the establishment of risk-sharing mechanisms.

Complementing these efforts, recent policy guidelines from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council regarding the development of “new quality productive forces” stress the importance of coordinating traditional, emerging, and future industries. The guidelines warn against “industrial single-track advancement,” suggesting that a healthy ecosystem requires traditional industries to provide a foundation for supply chains and market scenarios, while emerging and future industries drive technological breakthroughs and new growth engines.