A view of the busy Yantian Port in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province on July 10, 2022. In June, Shenzhen Yantian Port completed container throughput of 1.2606 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 104.71 percent, indicating a strong recovery in the country's high-end manufacturing base. Photo: cnsphoto

Chinese Premier Li Qiang stressed that China will put the focus of economic development on the real economy, with more efforts to boost advanced and high-end manufacturing, during an inspection tour in Central China's Hunan Province, according to China Media Group (CMG) on Wednesday.

The inspection tour comes after the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China launched a Party-wide campaign of in-depth research and studies with the goal of identifying and resolving major problems that could hamper high-quality development and the modernization drive of China.

Li has also repeatedly stressed efforts to promote investigation and research and conduct in-depth study of major issues, as the country firmly grasps the primary task of high-quality development.

The premier's inspection tour to Hunan, a major manufacturing hub in the country, signaled that the Chinese government is determined to put more weight on developing the high-end manufacturing sector, including breakthroughs on key technologies, amid the intensified US-led Western technology blockage targeting China, experts noted.

During the inspection tour on Tuesday and Wednesday, Li visited the workshops and laboratories of several enterprises, and inquired about the operations of the enterprises in detail, according to CMG. 

The companies he visited included CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co and Zhuzhou Cemented Carbide Group and Sunward Aircraft - all are leading manufacturing companies in their fields. Li was very happy to learn that the product technology of some enterprises has reached the international advanced level, CMG reported.

The development of the advanced manufacturing industry depends on innovation, Li said, calling on enterprises to vigorously cultivate, attract and make good use of outstanding scientific and technological talent, accelerate the breakthrough of core technologies and major technical equipment, as well as create more heavyweight products and technologies on the international stage.

Companies should also further promote product standards and quality improvement, including strengthening product appearance and design, so as to lead and expand market demand with product innovation, he noted.

Li also visited Changsha BYD Auto Co, a leading new-energy vehicle producer, China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co, a pioneer in railway infrastructure, and Lens Technology, a key lens products maker.

The government will also further play its part in cultivating world-class leading enterprises and help them solve difficulties, the premier said. 

While presiding over a symposium on the development of the advanced manufacturing industry, Li said that it is necessary to closely focus on the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the manufacturing industry, while strengthening strategic overall planning, and promoting high-level technological self-reliance and strength.

As the domestic and overseas situations undergo complex and profound changes, the development of China's manufacturing industry is facing an important juncture, Li said at the meeting, while noting that the country's determination to stick to the manufacturing industry cannot be shaken, and efforts to strengthen the manufacturing industry must be intensified.

"The premier's inspection tour in person is a strong signal of the country's determination to develop advanced manufacturing," Ma Jihua, a veteran expert in the technology industry, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Hunan is home to many leading heavy industrial enterprises, and the province has made strides in developing the intelligent manufacturing sector in recent years, Ma noted. 

While China is the only country that has all industrial categories recognized by the UN that has all industrial categories, a major challenge the country is facing is the transformation from traditional manufacturing industries to high-quality and high-tech industries, experts said.

"Such a trend requires breakthroughs in some key technologies, including the application of some digital technologies in the manufacturing industry, and China also has the foundation to take the lead in digitalization," Ma said.

The real economy will be a very effective way for China to achieve high-quality development, especially in the high-end manufacturing industry, which is the pioneer of the real economy, Liang Zhenpeng, senior industry analyst, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The advanced manufacturing industry creates jobs and attracts more talent and more heavyweight scientific and technological products in further improving the integrity and resilience of China's supply chains, Liang said.

Li's inspection conveyed the government's determination to break through "bottleneck" technologies and its firm support for the development of high-end manufacturing enterprises, which is a very positive signal that injects new impetus as the country is striving for high-quality development, experts noted.