Plan strengthens foundations of the digital sector

Editor's note: China has issued a development plan for the electronic information manufacturing industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. Xinhua News Agency spoke to Ao Li, vice-president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and Liang Linjun, a chief engineer at the same academy. Below are excerpts of the interviews. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

With the implementation of the plan, China's electronic information manufacturing industry, covering semiconductors, electronic components, PCB assembly and smart manufacturing systems, is expected to develop a modern industry system with stronger foundations, more complete industry chains, more dynamic innovation and greater openness. This will enable the industry to provide comprehensive support for the advancement of new industrialization and further strengthen the physical foundation of the digital economy.

Innovations in electronic information products will be widely transformed into digital capabilities across various industries through successive layers of integration involving components, complete machines and systems. The supply of computing hardware provides a solid material foundation for applying AI to the real economy.

The electronic information manufacturing industry is entering a new growth cycle centered on intelligent transformation.

The rapid evolution of next-generation AI is creating new demand, new forms of products and new approaches to development for the electronic information manufacturing industry. At the same time, it is placing higher demands on the supply of basic hardware and on coordination among different systems.

Building on the opportunities presented by next-generation AI, the plan adopts a systematic and problem-oriented approach, with a focus on strengthening the hardware foundation for computing power and supporting the growth and expansion of the smart economy.

All stakeholders should take the plan as a guide; expand access to typical application scenarios; advance the development of standards for agent collaboration, high-speed interconnection among computing systems, and software-hardware compatibility; strengthen long-term capital support that matches the pace of innovation; and accelerate the training of interdisciplinary talent with expertise in both AI and electronic manufacturing. These efforts will help turn the technological potential of AI into a stronger driving force for industrial growth.

The plan also seeks to strengthen modern industrial governance, optimize the coordinated regional development of the industry and establish a new pattern of opening-up and international cooperation.

The relevant tasks focus on strengthening endogenous growth drivers, improving the order of development, optimizing the spatial distribution of industries and deepening international cooperation.

Supply-side upgrading and smoother demand-side circulation will advance in tandem, helping the industry achieve a higher level of dynamic balance within China's domestic and international dual circulation economic paradigm.

In addition, relentless and margin-crushing internal competition has attracted widespread attention in the industry. The plan calls for timely revision and improvement of industry regulatory requirements, coordinated planning of production capacity and industrial layouts in different subsectors, early-warning mechanisms for production capacity, and comprehensive efforts to address this kind of competition.

These measures are intended to further regulate market competition, guide the rational allocation of production capacity and promote more efficient use of resources.

China should continue to strengthen both the foundations of the industry and its industrial chains, while bringing together the efforts of government, industry, universities, research institutions and end users to ensure the effective implementation of the plan.