BEIJING (Reuters) – China is at least thirty years away from a manufacturing power of ‘great power’, a former industry minister said on Sunday, despite the world’s most complete industrial supply chains.
In recent years, China has become the world’s leading manufacturing country and accounts for more than a third of global production, driven by domestic demand to manufacture everything from motor vehicles to industrial machinery. But the great dependence of its industries on American high-tech products such as semiconductors was a strategic weakness.
“Basic capabilities are still weak, nuclear technologies are in the hands of others, and the risk of being ‘hit in the throat’ and having a ‘slippery chain’ has increased significantly,” said Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Trade. Information technology for a decade before retiring last year.
As the Chinese economy turned towards a services-based model, and polluting smokestack factories were engulfed, production output as part of the economy declined. In 2020, production was slightly more than a quarter of gross domestic product, the lowest since 2012.
“The ratio of output to GDP has fallen too early and too fast, which not only weighs on economic growth, but also affects its employment, but also brings security gaps in our industries and the ability of our economy to withstand risks. And reduce its global competitiveness. “Miao, now a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the largest advisory body to the government, said.
President Xi Jinping said in November that innovation in the manufacturing industry was far from sufficient, and that companies needed to tackle ‘bottleneck’ technologies to become fully innovative.
“The Chinese manufacturing industry has achieved great things in recent years, but the situation of being ‘big, but not strong’ and ‘comprehensive, but not good’ has not fundamentally changed,” Miao said in a speech to delegates. of CPPCC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
There are many problems that limit the development of high-quality Chinese manufacturing, but the most important are inadequate market-oriented reforms, Miao said.
While the tax burden on companies remains heavy, and financial support for the manufacturing sector urgently needs to be strengthened, a shortage of innovative and high-tech talent has also significantly curtailed the development of the sector, Miao added.
“We need to maintain our strategic intentions, stay clear and deeply understand the gaps and shortcomings.”
Reporting by Stella Qiu, Ryan Woo, Hallie Gu and Yingzhi Yang; Edited by Simon Cameron-Moore and Christopher Cushing