---
title: "Deep Observation | How to Build a Modern Industrial System Against the Background of New Quality Productive Forces?"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/280111021.md"
description: "Under the background of new productive forces, the \"14th Five-Year\" plan emphasizes the construction of a modern industrial system, focusing on the real economy and promoting intelligent, green, and integrated development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that a modern industrial system is the material and technological foundation of the country, and advanced manufacturing is crucial in international competition. The industrial system is undergoing systematic reshaping, with innovation-driven and quality-first becoming the core driving forces. The discussion on the construction of a modern industrial system needs to analyze its internal mechanisms and evolution paths from multiple dimensions, including strategy, dynamics, stock and increment, as well as hardware and software"
datetime: "2026-03-23T06:38:28.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/280111021.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/280111021.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/280111021.md)
---

# Deep Observation | How to Build a Modern Industrial System Against the Background of New Quality Productive Forces?

The "14th Five-Year Plan" emphasizes: "We must focus on developing the real economy, adhere to the directions of intelligence, greenness, and integration, accelerate the construction of a strong manufacturing country, a quality strong country, a space power, a transportation power, and a cyber power, maintain a reasonable proportion of manufacturing, and build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone."

General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out, "A modern industrial system is the material and technological foundation of a modern country." Advanced manufacturing is the main battlefield of international technology and industrial competition, playing a crucial role in building a modern industrial system.

In 2026, the "14th Five-Year Plan" will commence. New quality productivity will become the core engine, technology will accelerate iteration, and production methods will undergo profound changes. From traditional industries to emerging industries, from manufacturing to services, from hardware to software, the entire industrial system is experiencing a systematic reshaping. The fundamental driving force behind this reshaping is new quality productivity—it is driven by innovation, with quality as the key, and is redefining the bones and dynamics of the Chinese economy.

In the context of new quality productivity, how to build a modern industrial system? This requires us to explore the internal mechanisms and evolution paths of this profound transformation from multiple dimensions, including strategic foundations, driving logic, stock and increment, hardware and software.

**1\. Modern Industrial System: The Material and Technological Foundation of Chinese-style Modernization**

The "14th Five-Year Plan" places the construction of a modern industrial system in a prominent position. Behind this arrangement is a profound understanding of the laws of modernization.

Throughout world history, behind the rise of great powers stands a solid industrial foundation. Britain became the first "world factory" in modern times due to the Industrial Revolution, and the United States rose to global dominance relying on manufacturing. Without a strong industrial system, any modernization is like water without a source or a tree without roots.

Chinese-style modernization also follows this law.

At the beginning of the founding of New China, we started the industrialization process on a basis of poverty and lack. From the 156 key projects of the "First Five-Year Plan" to establishing an independent and relatively complete industrial system; from the rapid rise of manufacturing after the reform and opening up to becoming the world's largest industrial country—over seventy years of struggle have laid a solid foundation for today's modern industrial system.

However, "foundation" does not equal "completion." Today's modern industrial system has a brand new connotation.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" clearly states the need to "build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone." This statement highlights three key words:

**"Advanced manufacturing" is the core.** Manufacturing is the foundation of a nation and the basis for a strong country. China's manufacturing scale has ranked first in the world for many years, but the problem of being "large but not strong" still exists. The core of moving from a "manufacturing giant" to a "manufacturing power" lies in "advancement"—advanced technology, advanced processes, and advanced models.

**"Modernization" is the direction.** Modernization is not a fixed standard but a process that keeps pace with the times. Today's modern industrial system must be intelligent, green, and integrated. The deep integration of digitalization and manufacturing, green and low-carbon becoming new standards, and the mutual penetration of manufacturing and services—these are the new requirements imposed by the times **"Material and Technological Foundation" is the positioning.** This statement elevates the industrial system to a strategic height. It is the "material and technological foundation" of Chinese-style modernization, meaning that without it, high-quality development is a castle in the air; without it, national rejuvenation lacks a foundation.

For this reason, the planning outline systematically deploys the four major pillars of modern industrial system construction in the second part, spanning four chapters: optimizing and upgrading traditional industries, cultivating and expanding emerging and future industries, promoting high-quality and efficient development of the service industry, and building a modern infrastructure system. These four pillars cover both existing and incremental elements, as well as hardware and software, forming a complete industrial ecosystem.

The emergence of new productive forces is injecting new momentum into this ecosystem. Driven by innovation and focused on quality, it revitalizes traditional industries, accelerates the growth of emerging industries, compels the service industry to improve quality and upgrade, and empowers the iterative evolution of infrastructure. In this sense, building a modern industrial system is itself the process of new productive forces taking root and flourishing.

Only by solidifying this material and technological foundation can the ship of Chinese-style modernization sail steadily and far.

**II. The Dialectics of New Productive Forces Leading the Construction of a Modern Industrial System**

The "14th Five-Year" planning outline systematically deploys the four major pillars of modern industrial system construction, which contain profound dialectics.

**First, the dialectical relationship between "new" and "old."**

The emergence of new productive forces is injecting new momentum into the modern industrial system. However, new productive forces do not arise out of thin air; they are built on the foundation of traditional industries. Traditional industries, after transformation and upgrading, can also be organically integrated into new productive forces. This relationship between "new" and "old" is a key to understanding the construction of a modern industrial system.

Traditional industries account for over 80% of our manufacturing sector, supporting tens of millions of jobs and constructing a complete industrial chain and supply chain system—this is the "foundation" accumulated over decades, which cannot be replaced by emerging industries. The advantage of traditional industries lies not in being "old," but in their deep industrial accumulation, mature application scenarios, and stable market demand, which serve as the "testing ground" and "converter" for technological innovation.

For this reason, the "14th Five-Year" planning outline places "optimizing and upgrading traditional industries" before "cultivating and expanding emerging industries." This arrangement is not accidental but contains profound strategic considerations—new productive forces must first act on traditional industries, promoting their orderly transformation and optimization, in order to preserve the foundation and stabilize the base, avoiding a cliff-like decline in traditional industries due to the impact of new momentum.

**Second, the dialectical relationship between "establishing" and "breaking."**

The transition from old to new is not instantaneous but a gradual process. The plan emphasizes "adapting to local conditions" and "seeking progress while maintaining stability," which essentially aims to build a flexible mechanism that allows for dynamic balance in the conversion of momentum, rather than a rigid one-size-fits-all approach.

Before new momentum has fully formed a dominant force, one should not rush to "break" the old momentum; before new industries have firmly established themselves, one should not hastily eliminate traditional industries. The transition between old and new should be "soft" and "gentle," connecting naturally, allowing traditional industries to smoothly undertake and transition in an orderly manner during their transformation and upgrading This is precisely the specific requirement of the "establish first, break later" principle in rhythm management.

**Third, the dialectical relationship between "hard" and "soft."**

The industrial system not only includes the "hard power" of manufacturing but also the "soft power" of services. The deep integration of productive services and manufacturing promotes the ascent of manufacturing to the high end of the value chain; the life services directly meet the needs of people's livelihoods and are an indispensable part of the industrial system.

Modern infrastructure is both "hard support" and "soft connection"—traditional infrastructure such as transportation, energy, and water networks empower each other with new infrastructure such as information and computing power, together forming the "meridians" of industrial development.

The four elements support each other: traditional industries are the "chassis," emerging industries are the "engine," services are the "lubricant" and "value enhancer," and infrastructure is the "carrying platform." Without a solid traditional industry, emerging industries lack a foundation; without the guidance of emerging industries, traditional industries lose direction; without the support of services, manufacturing struggles to upgrade; without the guarantee of infrastructure, the entire industrial system cannot operate.

**Fourth, the methodology of systematic advancement.**

The transformation of traditional industries, the cultivation of emerging industries, the upgrading of services, and the construction of infrastructure should be viewed as a systematic project, promoted in a coordinated manner to form a joint force.

New quality productivity does not aim to abandon traditional industries but to empower them; it does not seek a one-size-fits-all "break," but rather an orderly "establish"; it does not pursue immediate "speed," but rather a stable and long-term "quality."

To advance this systematic project, it is essential to adhere to General Secretary Xi Jinping's emphasis on "developing new quality productivity according to local conditions." Systematic advancement is not uniform; it must respect regional differences and implement differentiated policies under a unified goal. Different regions have varying resource endowments, industrial foundations, and research conditions, and development paths cannot simply apply a single model, nor can they be rushed or become bubble-like, and certainly cannot be one-size-fits-all.

In the dialectical unity of "new" and "old," "establish" and "break," "hard" and "soft," the modern industrial system can steadily strengthen, preserving decades of "family assets" while opening up new prospects for the future.

**Three, optimize and enhance traditional industries to consolidate the basic foundation.**

Traditional industries are the "family assets" of the modern industrial system. This "family asset" carries the integrity and resilience of the industrial and supply chains and is related to the stable operation of the national economy.

For this reason, the "14th Five-Year Plan" outlines "optimizing and enhancing traditional industries" before "cultivating and expanding emerging industries." This arrangement is by no means accidental but contains profound strategic considerations: new quality productivity does not aim to abandon traditional industries but to empower them, allowing this "family asset" to rejuvenate through transformation and upgrading.

The optimization and enhancement of traditional industries is not a simple patch-up but a systematic leap from "old quality" to "new quality." This leap unfolds in four directions.

**First, enhance the value chain through high-end development.**

The "large but not strong" issue of traditional industries lies in the low-end lock of the value chain. High-end development aims to promote industries from the low end of the value chain to the mid-high end, shifting from scale expansion to quality and efficiency improvement. Steel should transform into high-quality steel, petrochemicals should become first-class bases, and shipbuilding should move towards high-end equipment—this is not a simple product upgrade but a fundamental leap in industrial positioning **Second, reshape the production chain through intelligence.**

Intelligence is not just a "digital cloak" for traditional industries, but a reconstruction of production logic. When artificial intelligence is deeply integrated into manufacturing processes, when industrial robots replace repetitive labor, and when digital twins permeate research and production, the entire production system achieves a "brain change" and "blood change." This is not just efficiency improvement, but a reshaping of production methods.

**Third, reconstruct competitiveness through greening.**

Green development is not a "tightening spell" for traditional industries, but a "pass." When energy consumption standards become hard constraints, and clean production becomes the new norm, traditional industries must either gain new life through green transformation or be blocked outside the green threshold. This is not a passive response, but an active reconstruction of competitive logic.

**Fourth, extend the industrial ecosystem through integration.**

From "selling products" to "selling services," from single manufacturing to integrated solutions, integration opens up the imaginative space for traditional industries. When manufacturing and services are deeply integrated, and production and consumption are directly connected, traditional industries transform from "factories" into "platforms," from "nodes" into "networks."

These four directions point to the same goal: to shift traditional industries from "scale-speed type" to "quality-efficiency type," from "old quality state" to "new quality state." By preserving this "foundation" and stabilizing this "base," new productive forces can thrive on a solid foundation.

**Four, cultivate and strengthen emerging industries and future industries to build new advantages.**

If traditional industries are the "foundation" of the modern industrial system, then emerging industries and future industries are the "engine." The power of this engine determines how fast the entire system can run and how high it can fly.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" outlines both in parallel, which is no coincidence. Emerging industries are the growth engine of the present, while future industries are the strategic initiative for tomorrow—one concerns the "now," and the other determines the "future."

**First, the transformation of emerging industries into "pillars."**

From "strategic emerging industries" to "emerging pillar industries," a single word change releases a clear signal: these industries are no longer just "potential stocks," but must grow into real "strong stocks." The new generation of information technology, new energy, new materials, aerospace, etc., must gradually take on the heavy responsibility and become the main engine of economic growth.

The core of this transformation is shifting from "cultivating and strengthening" to "pillar leading." Only when the growth rate of emerging industries is fast enough and the increment is large enough can it drive a qualitative change in the entire industrial structure.

**Second, the "foresight" strategy of future industries.**

Future industries are driven by cutting-edge technology and are currently in the incubation stage, yet they possess disruptive potential. Quantum technology, biological manufacturing, embodied intelligence, 6G, etc., have been clearly identified as key tracks for future industries.

Unlike emerging industries, future industries face dual uncertainties—uncertainty in technological routes and uncertainty in market demand. For this reason, the plan proposes to establish mechanisms for investment growth and risk sharing in future industries and to organize and implement demonstration projects for future industry development. This itself is a profound grasp of the laws of industrial development: it is necessary to be daring to lead, while also preventing risks; to encourage exploration, while allowing for failure **Three is the intrinsic connection between emerging industries and future industries.**

The two are not separate but are a continuous spectrum of mutual empowerment and gradient evolution. Today's emerging industries originate from yesterday's future industries; today's future industries will become tomorrow's emerging pillars.

This evolution follows the path of "breakthrough - diffusion - integration - reconstruction." Breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies diffuse and penetrate related fields, integrate with traditional industries, and ultimately reconstruct the entire industrial system. In this process, emerging industries and future industries together constitute an important carrier of new productive forces.

**Four is the principle of localized layout.**

General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to "develop new productive forces according to local conditions." This principle also applies to the layout of emerging industries and future industries.

Different regions have varying resource endowments, industrial foundations, and research conditions, and development paths cannot simply apply a single model. It is necessary to measure "production" and act accordingly, comprehensively considering the economic and strategic aspects of the industry; it is also essential to measure "capability" and act cautiously, assessing the matching degree between factor endowments and industrial demands. Different regions should choose differentiated development tracks based on their own advantages, showcasing their strengths and developing in a dislocated manner to avoid a rush to the top and bubble formation.

Emerging industries and future industries represent a current growth pole and a future high point, respectively. Only through collaborative efforts can the "engine" of the Chinese economy generate powerful momentum.

**Five, promote high-quality and efficient development of the service industry to support industrial upgrading.**

If manufacturing is the "bones" of the industrial system, then the service industry is the "flesh." Without the attachment of flesh, even the strongest bones cannot support a complete "person."

The 14th Five-Year Plan outlines the service industry as a separate chapter, sending a clear signal: the service industry is not an "accessory" to manufacturing but an indispensable supporting force for industrial upgrading.

**1\. Productive services: extending to the high end of the value chain.**

Productive services directly serve the manufacturing industry, and their development level determines a country's position in the global value chain. Research and development design, intellectual property, technology transfer, inspection, testing, and certification—the quality of these services directly affects the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry.

For this reason, the planning outline proposes "improving the integration development level of modern services with advanced manufacturing and modern agriculture." This integration is not a simple "supporting" relationship but a deep "coupling": when manufacturing enterprises shift from "selling products" to "selling services," and when research and development design becomes the core value of products, manufacturing achieves an ascent from the low end of the "smile curve" to both ends.

**2\. Life services: upgrading to high-quality and diversified offerings.**

Life services are directly related to the well-being of the people. Elderly care, childcare, health, cultural tourism, and housekeeping—the quality of these services determines the quality of life for the populace.

The planning outline proposes "accelerating the filling of gaps in universal services such as elderly care, childcare, and health" and "cultivating a number of new growth points in life services." This is not only a livelihood project but also a development project. When the supply of services and consumption upgrades form a virtuous cycle, the service industry itself becomes an important force in driving domestic demand **Third, the dialectical unity of production and life, manufacturing and services.**

The two major sectors of the service industry are not isolated from each other. Productive services enhance the competitiveness of manufacturing, while the development of manufacturing provides a material foundation for life services; life services unleash consumption potential, and consumption upgrades, in turn, drive productive services to develop towards high-end. The two mutually promote each other in a virtuous cycle, together forming the internal mechanism that supports industrial upgrading in the service industry.

**Fourth, the institutional guarantee for the development of the service industry.**

The planning outline provides institutional guarantees for the development of the service industry from multiple dimensions, including relaxing access, expanding openness, standard construction, and talent cultivation. Relaxing access to the service sector allows more quality entities to participate in competition; expanding high-level openness in the service industry attracts internationally renowned companies to invest and operate in China; accelerating the construction of service standards promotes quality service commitments, certifications, and labeling systems.

These institutional arrangements point to the same goal: to enhance quality in competition, expand space in openness, and gain trust through regulation.

The service industry is not the "supporting role" of the industrial system, but an indispensable "leading role." When productive services extend to high-end, when life services upgrade in quality, and when the two deeply integrate with manufacturing, the entire industrial system gains more robust "flesh and blood" support.

**Six, building a modern infrastructure system to promote industrial development.**

If we compare the industrial system to a person, infrastructure is the "meridian"—energy pipelines, transportation routes, and water network systems are the "veins" that transport materials and power; information communication, computing power facilities, and data platforms are the "channels" that convey knowledge and wisdom. The two intertwine to form the lifeline of industrial development.

If the meridians are blocked, even strong muscles and bones cannot exert force; if the meridians are not smooth, even abundant flesh and blood cannot be sustained.

The "14th Five-Year" plan dedicates a chapter to infrastructure based on this understanding: without modern infrastructure, there can be no modern industrial system.

**First, transportation, energy, and water networks: the iterative upgrade of traditional infrastructure.**

Transportation is the artery of industrial development, energy is the driving force of industrial operation, and water networks are the guarantee of industrial production. The planning outline proposes to improve the modern comprehensive transportation system, basically complete the "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway main corridors and the national expressway network; strengthen the construction of new energy infrastructure, and build a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient new energy system; accelerate the construction of a modern water network to enhance flood disaster prevention and the ability to coordinate and allocate water resources.

These upgrades of traditional infrastructure are not for the sake of "building roads and bridges," but to better support industrial development—making goods transport faster, ensuring stable energy supply, and guaranteeing production water.

**Second, information, computing power, and data: moderately advanced new infrastructure.**

If traditional infrastructure addresses "physical connectivity," new infrastructure addresses "digital intelligence empowerment." The plan proposes to moderately advance the construction of new infrastructure, deepen the large-scale deployment of 5G and gigabit optical networks, and promote the "East Data West Computing" project, constructing a multi-level computing power facility system and a national integrated computing power network The "moderate advance" of new infrastructure is not blind investment, but rather a forward-looking judgment based on industrial development. When computing power becomes a new productive force, and data becomes a new production factor, those who take the lead in infrastructure will seize the initiative in industrial development.

**Three, the mutual empowerment of traditional infrastructure and new infrastructure.**

Traditional infrastructure and new infrastructure do not replace each other, but rather empower each other. The intelligent upgrade of transportation infrastructure makes logistics smarter and more efficient; the intelligent transformation of energy infrastructure makes the power system more flexible and reliable; the digital transformation of water conservancy infrastructure makes water resource scheduling more precise and scientific.

Conversely, new infrastructure also requires the support of traditional infrastructure. Computing centers need stable power guarantees, 5G base stations require accessible transportation networks, and data centers need reliable water source support. The deep integration of the two forms a "meridian system" for industrial development.

**Four, the dialectical unity of "hard support" and "soft connection."**

The 14th Five-Year Plan emphasizes that infrastructure should "enhance safety resilience and operational sustainability." This reminds us that modern infrastructure cannot only focus on the issue of "building," but also on the issue of "management"; it cannot only pursue "hard" scale expansion, but also pay attention to "soft" efficiency improvement. Safety resilience is the bottom line of "hard support," while operational sustainability is the key to "soft connection."

When the meridians are connected, the bones are strong. When traditional infrastructures such as transportation, energy, and water networks are iteratively upgraded, when new infrastructures such as information, computing power, and data are moderately advanced, and when "hard support" and "soft connection" form a synergy, the modern infrastructure system can truly become a solid foundation for industrial development.

**Seven, the "new quality" leap of the industrial system.**

From traditional industries to emerging industries, from manufacturing to services, from hardware to software—the discussions in the first six parts point to a common conclusion: the process of building a modern industrial system is itself a systematic leap from "old quality" to "new quality."

This leap is not a mere patchwork improvement, but a complete transformation.

**One, the leap in form: from "hard" to "hard-soft integration."**

The traditional industrial system is dominated by manufacturing, with services merely as a complement. The industrial system led by new quality productivity is an organic whole where manufacturing and services are deeply integrated, and hardware and software empower each other. Productive services extend to the high end of the value chain, pushing manufacturing from "selling products" to "selling services"; high-quality development of life services releases domestic demand potential, which in turn drives the upgrading of manufacturing. Infrastructure also upgrades from a simple "hard support" to a coupling of "hard support" and "soft connection."

**Two, the leap in approach: from "old" to "new-old symbiosis."**

New quality productivity does not arise out of thin air; it is built on the foundation of traditional industries. Traditional industries can also be transformed and upgraded to become organic components of new quality productivity. Emerging industries originate from yesterday's future industries, and today's future industries will grow into tomorrow's new pillars. This pattern of new-old symbiosis and tiered evolution is where the resilience of the industrial system lies. It is not about starting over, but about orderly succession; It is not a one-size-fits-all "break," but a steady "establishment."

**Three is the leap in dynamics: from "factor-driven" to "innovation-driven."**

Traditional growth relies on inputs such as land, capital, and labor, with diminishing marginal returns being an iron law. The industrial system led by new productive forces derives its growth momentum from technological innovation, efficiency improvement, and structural optimization. Upgrading to high-end enhances the value chain, intelligence reshapes the production chain, and greening reconstructs competitiveness—these dynamics have no ceiling, and the boundaries of growth continue to expand.

**Four is the leap in value: from "quantity" to "quality."**

This is the most fundamental leap. Scale expansion is no longer the sole pursuit; quality and efficiency improvement have become the core metrics. Traditional industries shift from "large but weak" to "large and strong," emerging industries grow from "potential stocks" to "strong stocks," and the service industry upgrades from "supporting role" to "leading role." The goal of the entire industrial system shifts from "whether there is" to "how good it is," from "how fast" to "how stable."

Form, method, dynamics, value—these four dimensions of leapfrogging combine to form the "new quality" leap of the industrial system.

The ultimate direction of this leap is to solidify the material and technological foundation of Chinese-style modernization. When traditional industries are revitalized, when emerging and future industries are full of momentum, when the service industry and manufacturing deeply integrate, and when infrastructure arteries are smooth, the bones of the Chinese economy can become stronger, and the ship can sail steadily and far.

This is the profound meaning of the term "new quality." (_The author is the director of the Party Building and National Development Research Center at Fudan University, a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University._)

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