Accelerating Development of the Industrial Internet

The CPC Central Committee’s decisions to implement in-depth Industrial Internet (II) innovation and development strategy and accelerate development of II reflect its keen understanding of advances in the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, while being based on the stage, environment, and conditions of development in China and with a continued focus on achieving high-quality economic development. 

During the 1990s, the internet and other information technologies underwent large-scale commercialization, ushering in the new Consumer Internet (CI) era. With the continued popularization of mobile internet, new business functions, such as mobile payments as well as online travel booking, grocery shopping, and medical care, have proliferated, leading to a thriving digital economy. In recent years, the numbers of internet users and cell phone users in China have both exceeded 1 billion, but CI development has plateaued. Developing the digital economy further will require expansion into new growth areas. II has resulted in network connections between factors and resources, greater elasticity in supplies of services, and the efficient distribution of platforms, leading to profound changes in the modes of production, business models, and forms of enterprises in the manufacturing sector. This has accelerated the development of new drivers of economic growth. The wide range of industries, long value chains, and multiple innovation stages involved in production activities provide ample scope for applications of new-generation information and communication technologies (ICTs). Nevertheless, challenges such as significant differences between industries, a low degree of standardization, and insufficient scale effects, mean that II cannot simply copy the development path of CI but requires a deeper understanding of its underlying laws in order to forge its own path. The period from inception to gradual maturity and then widespread CI adoption in China took approximately 30 years. The II development cycle may be even longer, and it will require strategic determination and sustained efforts.

Digitalization is becoming a key force in reorganizing production factors and resources, reshaping economic structures, and restructuring the competitive landscape around the world. Most major countries are using emerging technologies such as II to promote the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry and cultivate industrial competitive advantages. Although the strategies and policies employed vary by country, their essential objectives are to achieve integrated applications of new-generation ICTs, encourage data resource utilization, boost the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry, and make industries more competitive on the global stage. The US, for example, is continuing to implement its national strategy of reindustrialization, with its focus on promoting advanced manufacturing. This strategy seeks to maximize the use of IT and industry advantages to promote the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry and solidify the leading position of the United States. Germany has developed its “Industry 4.0” policy, which aims to achieve real-time connectivity, mutual identification, and effective communication among people, equipment, and products as well as to build a highly flexible and personalized smart manufacturing model based on the construction of smart factories and smart production lines. The EU formulated the “Industry 5.0” policy to create human-centric, sustainable, and resilient industries in Europe through digital transformation. Japan, meanwhile, devised its strategy of “connected industries,” which aims to increase the use of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI to improve the connectivity of key industries and key links.

China is a major global player in both manufacturing and the internet, offering great potential for the growth of domestic II. China boasts 41 major industrial categories, 207 intermediate industrial categories, and 666 small industrial categories, making it the only country in the world to possess all the industrial categories in the United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities. China's manufacturing value added has been the highest of any country in the world for 14 consecutive years, providing a wealth of application scenarios for II development. China has first-mover advantages in key areas of new-generation ICTs and has built world-leading information and communication networks. As of September 2024, China had some 4.09 million 5G base stations, more than 60% of the global total, and has achieved its goals of ensuring every county has gigabit optical fiber services, every township has 5G coverage, and every village has broadband connectivity. China ranks second in the world for computing power and is home to the world's leading ICT enterprises, providing the strong technical services and infrastructure required for II development.

Editor: Li Xiaoqiong