A strong industrial foundation is crucial for developing new-quality productive forces and strengthening the manufacturing sector in China. It also serves as an industrial cornerstone for establishing self-reliant industrial and supply chains. Strategizing for industrial foundation enhancement will exert profound impact on the high-quality development of China’s manufacturing industry. This study assesses the significance of industrial foundation enhancement, identifies the progress and challenges in its advancement, and elaborates that its essence lies in achieving industrial infrastructure upgrading aligned with new-quality productive forces. Moreover, it proposes a fundamental principle of "structural optimization, innovation-driven growth, and quality-first development,” and clarifies the core mission of improving the innovation capacity of the industrial infrastructure. Additionally, the study specifies the strategic deployment of advancing the industrial foundation re-engineering project and winning the campaign for industrial foundation upgrading. Recommendations include positioning industrial foundation enhancement at a more prominent strategic level, leveraging both the decisive role of the market and the significant functions of the government, and promoting deep integration among industrial, innovation, financial, and talent chains.