Science and Technology Daily:

As new sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation advance rapidly, they pose both a challenge and an opportunity for China's industrial development. In terms of promoting industrial transformation and upgrading as well as planning emerging industries, what have SOEs done, and can you share with us the results? Thanks.

Peng Huagang:

Thank you for your questions. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, according to the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee, SOEs have actively grasped the opportunities brought by new sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, deepened supply-side structural reforms as the main task, and made reforms and innovation the primary driving force in our endeavor to step up the transformation of traditional industries and the development of new emerging industries. A lot of work has been done in this regard, with focus on ensuring strategic security, promoting industry leaders, bolstering the national economy, raising people's living standards, and improving public services.

On the one hand, we have continued to deepen the transformation of traditional industries, mainly to ensure the "priorities" in the following aspects. First, priority was given to supply in technology innovation. We expanded investment in equipment upgrading, intensified technical reform, and comprehensively improved technological skills, product quality, and safety levels so as to promote advanced technologies and high-end products in traditional industries. Second, priority was given to efficiency in employing digital and smart technologies. With focus on smart manufacturing, we launched an action plan for the digital transformation of SOEs. More than 70% of centrally administered SOEs have established high-level industrial internet platforms, and over 40% have set up AI technology R&D institutions to accelerate an advanced production model, including flexible production and real-time manufacturing. Third, priority was given to ecological conservation in green transformation. We vigorously promoted the energy conservation and carbon reduction of enterprises in the steel, non-ferrous metal, building materials, petrochemical, and other industries. As leaders of green and low-carbon transformation, power grid enterprises carried out pilot green power trading, electric power enterprises actively participated in the building of a mechanism for the carbon emission reduction market, and building material enterprises created a zero-emissions demonstration line for glass production.

On the other hand, we have continued to expand the layout of emerging industries, mainly to ensure "fast speed." First, investment grew fast in emerging industries. We gave full play to the role of the state-owned enterprises restructuring fund, and continued to increase investment in emerging industries. The investment exceeded 1.3 trillion yuan in 2021 from less than 700 billion yuan in 2017, with an average annual increase of over 20%. Second, coordinated development platforms were built fast. We have promoted the building of a number of digital innovation platforms in fields of new energy vehicles, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, e-commerce, and blockchain, established collaborative innovation platforms concerning logistics big data and marine equipment, and created the independent and controllable Tianyi cloud, thus giving full play to their leading role in industrial development. Third, the layout of the new infrastructure was fast. More than 700 subsidiaries of nearly 70 centrally administered SOEs have increased investment in new infrastructure, with more than 400 billion yuan in 2021. And over 1,300 projects are scheduled to launch during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with a forecasted total investment of over 10 trillion yuan.

As you mentioned just now, new sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation are advancing rapidly, and they pose both a challenge and an opportunity for the country's industrial development. We believe that SOEs, including central SOEs, will surely seize the opportunity to accelerate the development of new growth drivers and shape new advantages so as to provide strong support for the building of a modern industrial system.