China will take forceful measures to support the development of high-end manufacturing, President Xi Jinping said in first comments at the closely watched National People’s Congress.
The manufacturing industry must always be a pillar of strength for China, Xi told delegates from Jiangsu province. The country must ensure its self-reliance in technology, foster small and medium-sized enterprises and build global centers for innovation, state-run CCTV cited Xi as saying on Sunday. The commentary, also conveyed in a Xinhua report Monday, comes against a backdrop of accelerating shifts of production capacity from China to neighboring nations like India and Vietnam.
Big electronics assemblers from Foxconn Technology Group to GoerTek are responding to demand from their customers for a diversified supply chain and setting up more facilities outside China. That’s in addition to crippling U.S. trade sanctions on China that are challenging the world’s second-biggest economy’s plans for growth and development. Xi, however, sounded a resolute note about China’s role as the world’s factory.