Innovation essential to upgrading

China will count on innovation to drive manufacturing upgrading and economic restructuring, encouraging industry giants to make breakthroughs in core technology and take advantage of the Internet to reshape development, Premier Li Keqiang has said.

“Manufacturing is the foundation of economic development,” Li said at a meeting with government officials and executives of leading manufacturers on Friday. “China economic transformation and new industrialization rely on a strong manufacturing sector.”

But Chinese manufacturers as a whole are still at the mid- and low-end of international division of labor, they are big but not always strong, Li said.

China should briskly push forward its “Made in China 2025” strategy to bring manufacturing to a new level, with measures to eliminate outdated capacity and techniques and quicken shifting economic engines, Li said.

In discussions with entrepreneurs, Li called on homegrown companies to improve diversity, quality and the brand value of their products, and vigorously follow international standards. Braving global competition will “prompt innovation and breakthroughs in core technology,” Li said.

Manufacturers should foster high quality and applicability of their products and cut reliance on cheap costs, Li said.