At the core of the manufacturing sector is innovation, therefore, it is important to strengthen breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, improve independent innovation capabilities, optimize the environment for innovation and development, and build an open and innovative ecosystem, so as to realize more innovative breakthroughs from scratch and enhance the core competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

As a pillar industry of the national economy, the development level of the manufacturing sector determines the comprehensive competitiveness of the whole industrial chain. How to improve the sci-tech innovation level of the manufacturing sector has always been a concern inside and outside the industry. The Report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposes to “gear the manufacturing sector towards higher-end, smarter, and greener production” and that “to meet China’s strategic needs, we will concentrate resources on original and pioneering scientific and technological research to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields”. These expressions clearly indicate the significance of the organic connection between self-reliance and strength in science and technology in the new era and the development of the manufacturing sector.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the scale of China’s manufacturing sector has grown steadily, the structure has been continuously improved, and the supporting facilities have been increasingly perfected. According to related data, the added value of China’s manufacturing sector accounted for 27.4% of its GDP in 2021, up by 1.2% on a YOY basis, accounting for nearly 1/3 of that of the global manufacturing sector. However, we should be soberly aware that China still lacks enough independent brands and our products do not have a high added value or high quality. China’s manufacturing sector is large but not strong, comprehensive but not preeminent. Our innovation capability is not prominent enough in the global manufacturing sector. To address this, China must grasp the keys to sci-tech innovation, build a solid foundation for manufacturing, accelerate self-reliance and strength in science and technology, and create an innovation ecosystem of “high-end technology + high-end manufacturing” in a bid to build itself into a manufacturing power.

At the core of the manufacturing sector is innovation, To further empower the manufacturing sector with sci-tech innovation, it is important to make concerted efforts in core technology breakthroughs, improvement of the innovation system, and building of the innovation ecosystem.

China should strengthen breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and improve independent innovation capabilities. Advancing breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields requires China to strengthen top-level design and future-proof arrangements, target strategically important areas and frontier directions, break various barriers, and build a centralized platform for such breakthroughs. Furthermore, it is important to take advantage of the new system for mobilizing resources nationwide, beef up the national strength of strategic technologies, and improve the system for the supply of common basic technologies; strengthen the dominant position of enterprises as innovators, encourage enterprises to participate in basic research and enhance their basic research capabilities, especially in original innovation, thus striving to realize more innovative breakthroughs from scratch; focus on addressing technological bottlenecks, promote the localization of core technologies in key fields, drive the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector and the evolution of the industry chain, and enhance the core competitiveness of the manufacturing sector.

China should improve the sci-tech innovation system and optimize the environment for innovation and development. This requires China to accelerate the construction of a market-oriented sci-tech innovation system with enterprises as the main players and featuring industry-university-research linkage and deep integration, and create a sound innovation environment where all stakeholders can cooperate and collaborate. Furthermore, it is important to focus on the needs of the country, increase investment in basic and applied research in the manufacturing sector, and establish long-term and stable support for research institutes, universities and other scientific research institutions; establish a mechanism for tolerating and correcting errors in sci-tech innovation and encourage scientific researchers to make bold explorations in basic science, key generic technologies, cutting-edge technologies, and game-changing technologies; optimize the law-based safeguard for sci-tech innovation, strengthen intellectual property rights protection for sci-tech innovation achievements, effectively remove systematic and institutional barriers that restrict the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, create an open, transparent, fair and just market environment, accelerate the transformation and application of sci-tech innovation achievements in the manufacturing sector, and further stimulate the vitality of technological innovation and development.

China should also build an open and innovative ecosystem that gathers resources from all sides. This requires China to implement an open, inclusive, mutually beneficial and sharing strategy for international science and technology cooperation, plan for and promote innovation with a global perspective, encourage countries to strengthen exchange and cooperation in sci-tech innovation, actively blend in the global innovation network, and enhance its sci-tech innovation capabilities amid opening up and cooperation. Furthermore, it is important to accelerate the construction of infrastructure for sci-tech innovation, advance the construction of international and regional sci-tech innovation centers in a ruly manner, optimize the layout of new infrastructure, create top-notch science and technology infrastructure clusters, and form an intensive and efficient infrastructure system that is collectively constructed and shared; advance the building of sci-tech innovation alliances in unity, gather resources from enterprises, universities, scientific research institutions and social organizations, deepen exchange and cooperation in sci-tech innovation, strengthen the sharing of sci-tech innovation achievements, and form a new situation of in-depth cooperation and common development among all entities and organizations in the alliances; focus on creating a new ecosystem and a new pattern that benefit the integration and gathering of sci-tech innovation elements and the sharing of sci-tech innovation achievements.