appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Ralph Jennings

He Huifeng

President Xi Jinping has reiterated calls for China to make its supply chains more resilient and self-sufficient while accelerating the creation of a modern industrial system underpinned by advanced manufacturing.
Xi’s latest directives, issued at a national conference on advanced manufacturing in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, were said to be aimed at strengthening the Chinese economy, the state-run Xinhua reported.
Xi’s push this week echoed Beijing’s previous statements and came as the world’s second-largest economy has been growing at a slower pace amid employment worries, soft consumption and a persistent property market downturn.
Upgrades to the industrial sector, the president said, were essential to securing China’s global competitiveness, Xinhua reported.
In recent years, the so-called world’s factory has increasingly upgraded its industrial base, moving from traditional sectors towards a hi-tech, AI-heavy industrial base led by domestic inputs. The shift also reflects Beijing’s focus on self-reliance and its efforts to reduce dependence on foreign chips and hardware designs.
With China and the United States racing to develop advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence models and semiconductors, geopolitical tensions have become a major obstacle to cooperation between the countries.


Premier Li Qiang reinforced Xi’s message at the conference, calling the roll-out of advanced manufacturing a long-term strategic priority in China’s drive to become an industrial superpower.
Li added that next-generation smart manufacturing would be the sector’s primary direction. Smart manufacturing refers to the use of data, connected equipment and automation to improve factory production.
The premier called for a broader push into digitisation, technological self-reliance, low-carbon production and cross-sector integration to ensure that Chinese manufacturing becomes “smarter, greener and more interconnected”, Xinhua reported.
“China is so large that we must dedicate ourselves to the real economy,” Xi previously said, according to an earlier Xinhua report on Tuesday. The real economy refers to production and trade in actual goods and services, rather than financial transactions or monetary instruments.
Xinhua added that Xi also called for the country to “lead overall industrial revitalisation through scientific and technological innovation” as Beijing continues to enact its strategy for “new quality productive forces” – a term the president has used since 2023 to describe a shift away from traditional means of production towards a more tech-driven model.
“To boost manufacturing, innovation-driven development is at the core,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying, citing the goal of turning China into a greater manufacturing powerhouse.


President Xi’s industrial power play sees China bet big on AI, chips and smarter factories

China’s rocket boom has made Hainan a space hub. Can launches fuel wider growth?

Why more export controls won’t stop China’s industrial engine

China bets on chips and AI in new 5-year road map to challenge US tech dominance

China manufacturing

An automated guided vehicle operates at the workshop of a building-materials company in northern China's Tianjin last month. The nation is looking to build more smart factories. Photo: Xinhua

BYD, Xiaomi and Innolight executives likely to join Xi Jinping on US visit: sources

US President Donald Trump talks with President Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on May 15. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump walks with President Xi Jinping upon arrival at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14. Photo: Reuters

Record influx of university graduates pushes China’s youth unemployment rate to 18.9%

A university graduate promotes products via livestreaming in Milin, in western China’s Tibet autonomous region, on September 14. Photo: Xinhua

A university graduate checks air-dried lingzhi mushrooms in a greenhouse in Milin, in western China’s Tibet autonomous region, on September 14, Photo: Xinhua

After US rate hikes, HKMA says Hong Kong dollar could come under pressure

The HKMA office at Two International Finance Centre in Central. Photo: Jelly Tse

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority office in Central. Photo: Jelly Tse

China cuts US Treasury holdings to 18-year low amid global bond sell-off

Ten-year US Treasury yields hit a 19-year high this week. Photo: dpa

EU’s von der Leyen vows tough China-trade stance: ‘words are good, but deeds are better’

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her annual State of the Union address on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Economy

China Economy

Global Economy

News

Economy, Trade & Business

China Future Tech

Semiconductors

Beijing is accelerating its push for resilient supply chains amid geopolitical tensions and domestic weaknesses


Beijing is accelerating its push for resilient supply chains amid geopolitical tensions and domestic weaknesses.


President Xi’s industrial power play sees China bet big on AI, chips and smarter factories

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing is accelerating its push for resilient supply chains amid geopolitical tensions and domestic weaknesses

Beijing is accelerating its push for resilient supply chains amid geopolitical tensions and domestic weaknesses