Strengthening the Real Economy to Consolidate the Foundation for Development in the 15th Five-Year Plan Period

The 15th Five-Year Plan period is a critical period for China to consolidate the foundation and make comprehensive efforts to basically realize socialist modernization. The *Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China* (hereinafter referred to as the *Outline*) makes comprehensive arrangements for economic and social development, explicitly proposing to "build a modern industrial system and consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy," and plans and promotes this as an independent chapter in a coordinated manner, fully reflecting the Party and the state's far-reaching strategic considerations for economic and social development. In the past, supported by a strong real economy, our Party led the people to create two miracles rarely seen in the world: rapid economic development and long-term social stability. Looking ahead, we must persist in focusing the efforts of economic development on the real economy, build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone, and consolidate the "ballast stone" of economic and social development.

“十五五”时期是我国基本实现社会主义现代化夯实基础、全面发力的关键时期，《中华人民共和国国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划纲要》（以下简称《纲要》）对经济社会发展作出全面部署，其中明确提出“建设现代化产业体系 巩固壮大实体经济根基”，并将其作为独立篇章系统谋划、统筹推进，充分体现了党和国家对经济社会发展的深远战略考量。过去，在强大实体经济支撑下，我们党领导人民创造了世所罕见的经济快速发展和社会长期稳定两大奇迹。面向未来，要坚持把发展经济的着力点放在实体经济上，构建以先进制造业为骨干的现代化产业体系，筑牢经济社会发展“压舱石”。

Building a Modern Industrial System to Strengthen the Real Economy

以现代化产业体系建设壮大实体经济

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The real economy is the foundation of a country's economy, the fundamental source of wealth creation, and an important pillar of national strength." [1]1 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the Symposium on Promoting the Development of the Manufacturing Industry and the Real Economy," *Qiushi*, 2023, no. 10. Industry is the core support of the real economy. Facing the tide of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, consolidating and strengthening the real economy must rely on a modern industrial system. Against this backdrop, the *Outline* more systematically elaborates on how to consolidate the basic foundation of China's economy, providing development guidance for China to build a modern industrial system and consolidate and strengthen the real economy.

习近平总书记指出：“实体经济是一国经济的立身之本，是财富创造的根本源泉，是国家强盛的重要支柱。”产业是实体经济的核心支撑。面对新一轮科技革命和产业变革的时代浪潮，巩固壮大实体经济必须以现代化产业体系为依托。在此背景下，《纲要》更为系统地阐述了如何夯实中国经济的基本盘，为我国建设现代化产业体系、巩固壮大实体经济提供了发展指引。

First, the goal orientation is more strategic. Building a modern industrial system is a process that keeps pace with the times. The essence of industrial system upgrading is the synergistic evolution of industrial resilience and industrial competitiveness enhancement. This process requires the industrial system to possess the capacity to withstand internal and external uncertainties and risks, while also emphasizing the leap in industrial capability through innovation empowerment. The *Outline* explicitly proposes the development goal of "accelerating the improvement of the completeness, advanced nature, and security of the modern industrial system," systematically elaborating on the inherent structural requirements of the modern industrial system, providing guidance for promoting continuous upgrading and dynamic optimization of industries while seeking progress amidst stability and proceeding step by step.

一是目标定位更具战略性。现代化产业体系建设是一个与时俱进的过程，产业体系升级的本质是产业韧性与产业竞争力提升的协同演进，这一过程既要求产业体系具备抵御内外部不确定性风险的抗压能力，也强调通过创新赋能实现产业能级跃升。《纲要》明确提出“现代化产业体系完整性、先进性、安全性加快提升”的发展目标，系统阐释了现代化产业体系的内在构成要求，为推动产业在稳中求进、循序渐进中持续升级与动态优化提供了指引。

Second, the development direction is more synergistic. From the perspective of the laws of industrial development evolution, industrial integration is an inevitable trend when industrial development reaches a certain stage, and it is an important path to break industrial boundaries and reconstruct the industrial ecosystem. The *Outline* explicitly designates "intelligentization, greenification, and integration" as the important directions for building China's modern industrial system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Compared with the "high-end, intelligent, and green" direction in the 14th Five-Year Plan Outline, the addition of "integration" this time represents a precise grasp and proactive adaptation to the evolutionary laws of industrial integration and development, focusing on building an interconnected, synergistic, and symbiotic modern industrial ecosystem, and promoting the shift of industrial development towards full-chain, full-field systemic integration.

二是发展方向更具协同性。从产业发展演变规律看，产业融合是产业发展到一定阶段的必然趋势，是打破产业边界、重构产业生态的重要路径。《纲要》明确将“智能化、绿色化、融合化”作为“十五五”时期我国现代化产业体系建设的重要方向。相较于“十四五”规划纲要中的“高端化、智能化、绿色化”，此次新增“融合化”，是对产业融合发展演进规律的精准把握和主动顺应，着力于构建一个互联互通、协同共生的现代产业生态系统，推动产业发展转向全链条、全领域系统融合。

Third, the policy thinking is more contemporary. From the perspective of industrial policy theory, industrial policy is essentially a series of policy tools and institutional arrangements formulated and implemented by the government based on the laws of industrial development and national strategic needs. Its core function is to remedy market failures and guide high-quality industrial development. The *Outline* proposes to "promote the transformation of industrial policies towards universal benefit and functionality." This deployment is a deepening practice of modern industrial policy theory, meaning that the focus of policy shifts from selectively supporting specific industries and specific enterprises to creating a fair competition environment, strengthening basic research, and tackling common technological problems, thereby better serving various market entities that align with the orientation of high-quality development.

三是政策思维更具时代性。从产业政策理论视角来看，产业政策本质上是政府基于产业发展规律与国家战略需求而制定和实施的一系列政策工具与制度安排，其核心功能是弥补市场失灵、引导产业高质量发展。《纲要》提出要“推动产业政策向普惠化和功能性转型”，这一部署是对现代产业政策理论的深化实践，意味着政策着力点从选择性扶持特定产业、特定企业，转向营造公平竞争环境、强化基础研究、攻克共性技术等方面，从而更好地服务于各类符合高质量发展导向的市场主体。

Precisely Targeting Efforts to Advance the Construction of a Modern Industrial System

精准发力推进现代化产业体系建设

Facing the development orientation and practical challenges of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we must follow the laws of industrial development, take the real economy as the core support, focus on key links with precise targeting, and accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system with practical measures.

面对“十五五”时期的发展导向和现实挑战，要遵循产业发展规律，以实体经济为核心支撑，聚焦关键环节精准靶向发力，以务实举措加快推进现代化产业体系建设。

First, strengthen industrial resilience, and consolidate the basic foundation of the real economy through the "re-industrialization" and upgrading of traditional industries. Industrial resilience is the systemic capability of an industrial system to maintain structural stability, achieve functional recovery, and gain evolutionary momentum from it when facing external shocks or internal disturbances. In China's modern industrial system, traditional industries, accounting for over 80%, are the basic foundation for the stable operation of the industrial system and constitute the core cornerstone of industrial resilience. Strengthening resilience essentially requires traditional industries to overcome the "low-level growth bottleneck" and transform them into the foundational base for providing new quality productive forces through systemic reform. Promoting the "re-industrialization" of traditional industries requires adhering to guiding measures according to circumstances and implementing differentiated policies for different sectors. First, implement an integrated transformation of "standards, technology, and institutions." Use the upgrading of national standards to guide industries towards the mid-to-high end, empower the entire chain with digital-intelligent and green technologies, and use high standards to force the elimination of inefficient and outdated production capacity, forming a composite driving force for upgrading. Second, continue to promote the reinforcement of the industrial foundation. Focus on weak areas such as key basic materials, core basic components, and basic software, establish a normalized mechanism for continuous tackling of key problems, improve support policies for major technical equipment such as the first (set) of major technical equipment, and break through the bottleneck in the market application of innovative products. Third, improve the gradient cultivation system for high-quality enterprises. Strengthen the leading and driving role of leading enterprises as "chain masters," cultivate a large number of specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprises [2]2 "Little giant" enterprises refer to small and medium-sized enterprises that are specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative, recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as national-level leaders in their niche markets. and manufacturing single champion enterprises in a gradient manner, form an industrial ecosystem of integrated innovation and synergistic symbiosis among large, medium, and small enterprises, and comprehensively enhance the modernization level and core competitiveness of the entire industrial chain.

一是强化产业韧性，以传统产业的“再工业化”升级筑牢实体经济基本盘。产业韧性是产业体系在面对外部冲击或内部扰动时，保持结构稳定、实现功能恢复并从中获取进化动力的系统能力。在我国现代化产业体系中，占比超80%的传统产业是产业体系稳定运行的基本盘，构成了产业韧性的核心基石。强化韧性本质上要求传统产业跨越“低水平增长瓶颈”，通过系统性改造将其转化为提供新质生产力的基础底座。推动传统产业“再工业化”，需坚持因势利导、分业施策。其一，实施“标准—技术—制度”集成改造。以国家标准提升牵引产业迈向中高端，以数智化、绿色化技术赋能全链条，以高标准倒逼低效落后产能出清，形成驱动升级的复合动力。其二，持续推进产业基础再造。聚焦关键基础材料、核心基础零部件、基础软件等短板领域，建立常态化持续攻关机制，完善首台（套）重大技术装备等支持政策，破解创新产品市场应用瓶颈。其三，健全优质企业梯度培育体系。强化龙头企业的“链主”引领带动作用，梯度培育一大批专精特新“小巨人”企业和制造业单项冠军企业，形成大中小企业融通创新、协同共生的产业生态，全面提升全产业链的现代化水平与核心竞争力。

Second, optimize the innovation ecosystem, and activate the momentum for high-quality development by cultivating new forces. The evolution of new technologies is highly uncertain, making it difficult for the government to accurately predict the technological development path or lock in key directions. It is necessary to build an adaptive policy system, promote the transformation of industrial policy from a "technology supply-oriented" to a "demand-driven" type, and form an institutional foundation that supports the fair and efficient allocation of scenario resources. First, establish a mechanism for cultivating new tracks led by application scenario innovation. Focus on key areas such as smart cities, green and low-carbon development, and livelihood security, publicly release a batch of "application scenario demand lists," open up and create a number of high-value major application scenarios, and promote the formation of a closed loop covering the entire chain of "opportunity discovery, capability cultivation, supply-demand matching, implementation and construction, and publicity and promotion." Second, build a full-chain incubation ecosystem for future industries. For frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and biotechnology, build a complete cultivation chain covering frontier exploration, concept validation, pilot-scale testing and maturation, and application incubation. Establish a promotion mechanism for synchronous exploration and coordinated adaptation of technological routes, application scenarios, business models, and inclusive and prudent regulation, improve the innovation fault-tolerance mechanism, and maximize the encouragement of original innovation and disruptive innovation. Third, explore agile governance and flexible regulatory models. For new business forms, new models, and new track fields such as biomedicine, intelligent driving, and the low-altitude economy, actively explore "sandbox regulation" and trigger-based regulation. While firmly adhering to the safety bottom line, grant sufficient space for innovation and trial and error, and simultaneously accelerate the process of legislation and amendment in relevant fields to stabilize market development expectations.

二是优化创新生态，以新生力量培育激活高质量发展动能。新技术的演进不确定性高，政府难以准确预判技术发展路径或锁定重点方向，需通过构建适配性政策体系，推动产业政策从“技术供给导向型”向“需求牵引型”转变，形成支撑场景资源公平、高效配置的制度基础。其一，建立应用场景创新引领新赛道培育机制。聚焦智慧城市、绿色低碳、民生保障等重点领域，公开发布一批“应用场景需求清单”，开放和创造一批高价值重大应用场景，推动形成“机会挖掘—能力培育—供需撮合—落地建设—宣传推广”全链条闭环。其二，构建未来产业全链条孵化生态。针对人工智能、量子科技、生物科技等前沿领域，构建覆盖从前沿探索、概念验证、中试熟化到应用孵化的完整培育链条。建立技术路线、应用场景、商业模式与包容审慎监管同步探索、协同适配的推进机制，健全创新容错机制，最大限度鼓励原始创新与颠覆性创新。其三，探索敏捷治理与弹性监管模式。对生物医药、智能驾驶、低空经济等新业态新模式、新赛道领域，积极探索“沙盒监管”、触发式监管，在坚决守住安全底线的前提下，赋予充足的创新试错空间，同步加快相关领域立法修法进程，稳定市场发展预期。

Third, promote industrial synergy, using modern service industries to empower and extend the value-chain level. Industrial synergy emphasizes that different industrial categories produce a multiplier effect through deep integration; the deep integration of modern service industries with advanced manufacturing is the core manifestation of an advanced industrial system. Producer services effectively reduce the operating costs of the real economy by increasing the input of intermediate elements such as knowledge, technology, and information, and raise the explicit knowledge density of the manufacturing link; they are the "lubricant" for collaborative innovation and the "amplifier" for value addition. To further strengthen the supporting capacity of service industries and reinforce industrial synergy, efforts can be made in the following two aspects. First, strengthen high-level producer services. Focus on developing service segments such as R&D and design, supply chain management, and inspection, testing, and certification; rely on advanced manufacturing clusters to lay out a number of common technology platforms and pilot-scale testing platforms; and cultivate new business forms such as smart supply chain networks, shared manufacturing platforms, and industrial data spaces. Second, deepen the deep integration of the "two industries." [3]3 "Two industries" refers to the advanced manufacturing industry and the modern service industry. Promote the deep embedding of high-end service industry elements into the entire manufacturing process; support enterprises in transforming from single product providers to "product + service" total solution providers; drive the leap from "Made in China" to "Created in China" and "Intelligently Made in China"; and achieve the symbiotic co-prosperity of "manufacturing" and "services" on the foundation of the real economy.

三是促进产业协同，以现代服务业赋能延伸价值链能级。产业协同强调不同产业门类通过深度交融产生乘数效应，现代服务业与先进制造业的深度融合是产业体系高级化的核心表征。生产性服务业通过增加知识、技术、信息等中间要素投入，有效降低了实体经济的运行成本，提升了制造环节的显性知识密度，是协同创新的“润滑剂”与价值增值的“放大器”。为进一步增强服务业支撑能力，强化产业协同，可从以下两个方面发力。其一，做强高能级生产性服务业。重点发展研发设计、供应链管理、检验检测认证等服务环节，依托先进制造业集群布局一批共性技术平台、中试验证平台，培育智慧供应链网络、共享制造平台、产业数据空间等新业态。其二，深化“两业”深度融合。推动服务业高端要素深度嵌入制造业全流程，支持企业从单一产品提供商向“产品+服务”整体解决方案商转变，推动“中国制造”向“中国创造”“中国智造”跃升，在实体经济的根基上实现“制造”与“服务”的共生共荣。

(The author is Vice President of Jinan University and a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics.)

（作者系暨南大学副校长、产业经济研究院研究员）