Manufacturing is the lifeblood of a country’s economy, as well as the cornerstone of a nation. China has formulated and advanced a national strategy of new-type industrialization and a three-step roadmap for boosting China’s strength in manufacturing. After a decade of endeavors, China has yielded historic achievements and fulfilled its set goals in the first step, and currently it has entered the second step. China’s manufacturing industry urgently needs to seize the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and adapt to the complex international environment. It should adopt the strategic directions and technological pathways of high-end, intelligent, green, and integrated development. With high-end development as the strategic goal, China should build a modern manufacturing industrial system, driving the overall manufacturing industry toward the mid-to-high end of the global industrial chain. Focusing on intelligent manufacturing, China should promote the digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of its manufacturing industry. Leveraging green energy as a strategic pillar, China should promote the development of green industries and the green transition of its traditional industries. By embracing integration as a strategic breakthrough, China should drive the upgrading and transformation of the industrial models and enterprise forms of its manufacturing industry. By 2035, China is expected to evolve into a world-leading manufacturing powerhouse, making a decisive contribution to the great cause of “building a strong nation and realizing national rejuvenation” through the development of its manufacturing industry.
A manufacturing powerhouse evaluation indicator system is a crucial tool for assessing China's progress in building the country into a manufacturing powerhouse. It is also an important basis for clarifying the development trends of the global manufacturing industry, and lays a significant theoretical foundation for China's three-step strategic deployment toward becoming a manufacturing powerhouse. This study establishes a manufacturing powerhouse evaluation indicator system, and evaluates the manufacturing development of nine major manufacturing countries from 2012 to 2024 using the proposed system, categorizing them into three tiers. Our research indicates that by 2024, the development of the manufacturing industry in these major countries exhibit both growth and decline, with a significant differentiation in the levels of manufacturing development among countries. The United States remains in the first tier, leading in the manufacturing powerhouse development index; Germany and Japan continue to occupy the second tier, while China has moved from the third to the second tier; the Republic of Korea, France, and the United Kingdom remain in the third tier, with some changes in their rankings within this tier; India's manufacturing sector shows a slow upward trend, while Brazil's manufacturing development has regressed instead of progressed. Specifically, China's manufacturing powerhouse development index has surpassed that of Japan for the first time, joining the ranks of manufacturing powerhouses in the second tier and achieving its first-step strategic goal for building a manufacturing powerhouse. Subsequently, the study summarizes the development and changes of China's manufacturing industry, including its significant advantages in scale development, remarkable achievements in quality and efficiency, continuous optimization of industrial structure, gradual improvement in innovation levels, and steady progress toward sustainable development. To accelerate the manufacturing powerhouse construction in China, it is recommended to maintain a reasonable proportion of the manufacturing sector; adhere to innovation as the fundamental driving force; highlight the strategic position of industrial foundation consolidation; promote the digital, networked, and intelligent development of the manufacturing industry; and build a green energy system and a green manufacturing system. By 2035, China aims to basically achieve new industrialization and rank among the forefront of world's manufacturing powerhouses.
The manufacturing industry is the pillar of a country. Strengthening advanced manufacturing, promoting new-type industrialization, and accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system anchored by advanced manufacturing are crucial for advancing Chinese-style modernization and fostering future strategic advantages. This study expounds on the core content and strategic values of the modern manufacturing industrial system. Based on understanding the new situation of global industrial transformation, it summarizes the progress and achievements of China's manufacturing industry in the past decade from three dimensions: industrial structure optimization, security and resilience guarantee, and coordinated regional development. In light of the practical conditions of the next stage in building a modern manufacturing industrial system, it proposes targeted key tasks, deployment directions, and development suggestions. To accelerate the construction of a modern manufacturing industrial system, actions can be taken in four aspects: (1) promoting industrial structure optimization, strengthening emerging industries, planning future industries, and fostering pillar industries; (2) enhancing security and resilience by utilizing the new national system to develop core technologies, forging advantageous industries, and cultivating first-class enterprises; (3) deepening regional coordination, building new industrial competitive advantages through cluster development, and gradually upgrading national advanced manufacturing clusters into world-class advanced manufacturing clusters; (4) promoting the upgrading of the industrial foundation and the modernization of the industrial chain to support the construction of a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone.
The industrial foundation strengthening project is an important component of the strategy for boosting China's strength in manufacturing development, serving as a crucial strategic endeavor to promote the high-quality development of China's manufacturing sector. The project has been implemented for a decade since 2015, initially mitigating the issue of China's weak industrial foundation capabilities and accumulating significant experiences. This study outlines the evolvement of the industrial foundation strengthening concept, elucidates its pivotal role in strengthening the manufacturing sector of the country, and reviews the decade-long development of the project. Subsequently, it summarizes the achievements and insights gained in industrial foundation development, and projects the visions for industrial foundation development over the next five and ten years. It is proposed that advancing the high-end development of industrial foundations is a long-term, strategic, and systematic project that requires sustained efforts. The study is expected to provide a reference for promoting industrial foundation innovation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and advancing the strategy of boosting China's strength in manufacturing development by 2035.
Intelligent manufacturing is the main direction for boosting China's strength in manufacturing development, and it serves as the primary pathway to promote the intelligent, green, and integrated development of the manufacturing industry, thereby developing new-quality productive forces. The advancement of next-generation artificial intelligence technologies and their deep integration with the manufacturing sector are accelerating the transition of intelligent manufacturing toward a new generation. This study reviews the developmental background and policy practices of intelligent manufacturing in China, summarizes the achievements in areas such as smart factories, new models and formats, equipment technology innovation, digital transformation, and standards system development, and analyzes experiences including maintaining strategic focuses, innovating theoretical systems, emphasizing the construction of the information technology infrastructure, deepening international cooperation, and focusing on professional talent cultivation. Research indicates that the new generation of intelligent manufacturing is evolving rapidly in aspects such as manufacturing product design, intelligent manufacturing equipment, factory operating systems, industrial software, agent technology, system integration technology, and industrial competition models. Over the next decade, it is necessary to strengthen strategic guidance, enhance breakthroughs in key core technologies, develop intelligent manufacturing equipment, promote new formats and models, and optimize the development ecosystem, thus to continue advancing the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse and achieve the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry in China.
Green manufacturing, at the macro level, aims for the green development of China's manufacturing sector. At the micro level, it focuses on minimizing environmental impact and enhancing resource efficiency throughout a product's entire life cycle. Green manufacturing can enable enterprises to achieve a win-win outcome encompassing economic, environmental, and social benefits. Over the past decade, the manufacturing industry of China has fully embraced the principle that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and achieved positive outcomes. This study reviews the key actions and achievements of green manufacturing in China over the past decade, demonstrates the inevitability of employing green energy as the crucial engine in the future, and proposes key supporting paths for the next decade. The study finds that, by adhering to the mainline of greening traditional sectors and expanding green industries, China has achieved significant milestones in coordinating the modernization of the industrial system, low-carbon restructuring of the energy mix, efficiency-enhancing circular utilization of resources, digital-intelligent empowerment of manufacturing processes, clean transformation of production procedures, and systematic improvement of the policy system. By doing so, new technologies and industries have been substantially developed, such as green energy, green transportation equipment, energy conservation and environmental protection, remanufacturing, and carbon management. As a result, the competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry has been consolidated from the perspective of the global supply chain. In the future, China should unswervingly persist in developing clean energy by strengthening the competitive edge of green energy, optimizing the paradigm of green electricity utilization, building up a new electricity system, promoting the low-carbon restructuring of the industrial production system, and strengthening the guarantee of key policies.
High-quality manufacturing serves as the strategic core and foundational driver of new industrialization. Amid a complex and volatile international environment, building an effective high-quality manufacturing system has become crucial for China's industrial advancement. This study sorts out the ten-year conceptual evolution and development pathway of high-quality manufacturing in China, covering national planning, strategic research, and technological upgrading. It highlights progress over the past decade in product quality, branding, quality infrastructure, and industrial chain coordination. Meanwhile, it identifies ongoing challenges such as quality benefits lagging behind scale growth, limited international influence in quality technology, and insufficient global brand impact. Looking ahead to 2035, the study proposes future directions and four key priorities: enhancing quality collaboration across industrial chains, strengthening quality foundational capacity, advancing systematic brand development, and fostering societal engagement in quality governance. The findings offer guidance for promoting high-quality manufacturing and supporting China's goals of becoming a leading manufacturing and quality-driven nation.
As a strategic technology propelling the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally re-configuring manufacturing models and corporate architectures. Analyzing the evolutionary mechanisms of these transformations is crucial for promoting the development of industries and enterprises to a higher level. This study explores the evolution of industrial revolutions and manufacturing models from two perspectives: market demand-driven forces and intelligent manufacturing technologies. It summarizes China's decade-long innovations in manufacturing models and corporate structures, including the shift from mass production to customized manufacturing, the transition from competition and monopoly to collaborative and shared frameworks, and the evolution from production-oriented to service-oriented manufacturing. In the next decade, the focus should be on service-oriented manufacturing reforms, along with brand building, utilization of AI-powered technologies, and establishment of standards systems. These innovations in manufacturing models and corporate structures will serve as the foundation for the development of a manufacturing powerhouse.
The manufacturing innovation system serves as a systematic guarantee for enhancing the core competitiveness of the manufacturing industry and achieving high-level self-reliance and self-improvement in science and technology. Building an independent, efficient, and collaborative manufacturing innovation system is crucial for advancing new industrialization and strengthening the manufacturing sector of China. This study reviews the development process and achievements of China's manufacturing innovation system from 2015 to 2025. Research indicates that over the past decade, China's manufacturing innovation system has undergone a systematic evolution from a theoretical blueprint to practical construction. The innovation pathway is transitioning from "introduction, digestion, absorption, and re-innovation" to "independent innovation," shifting from "following" to "running in parallel," with some areas having entered a "leading" stage. Significant achievements have been made in enhancing comprehensive strength, strengthening the dominant role of enterprises, constructing networked platforms, and optimizing the systemic environment. Simultaneously, this study analyzes the historic opportunities and severe challenges facing the development of China's manufacturing innovation system in the next decade (2026—2035). The developmental opportunities arise from the convergence of disruptive technological transformations and China's systemic advantages, while challenges stem from external technological containment and internal transformation bottlenecks. Looking ahead, the study proposes that future manufacturing innovation systems will evolve toward a modern paradigm characterized by "data-driven development, network-based collaboration, ecosystem symbiosis, and people-centric development." Furthermore, pathways for constructing China's manufacturing innovation system are proposed, focusing on consolidating foundational sources, activating core entities, optimizing platform networks, strengthening factor support, and transforming innovation models. This study aims to provide theoretical references for advancing new industrialization and strengthening the manufacturing sector of China.
Enterprises are the mainstay of both the market economy and technological innovation, as well as a critical carrier for promoting the high-quality development of manufacturing. Advanced manufacturing clusters are industrial ecosystems featuring enterprise agglomeration and coordinated development. Strengthening the principal role of enterprises and fostering world-class advanced manufacturing clusters provides key support for advancing the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse. From three perspectives, namely leading enterprises, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and advanced manufacturing clusters, this study reviews and analyzes the major achievements in advancing the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse with enterprises as the main body, and discusses the key development tasks of leading enterprises, SMEs, and world-class advanced manufacturing clusters. In the process of building a manufacturing powerhouse, the overall strength of the enterprise system in China has been continuously enhanced. The leading manufacturing enterprises have seen a significant improvement in their scale, strength, and international competitiveness, playing a leading role in achieving breakthroughs in key core technologies and the organization of industrial chains. The gradient cultivation system for SMEs has gradually improved, and SMEs represented by specialized and sophisticated "small giant" enterprises and single-item champion enterprises in the manufacturing sector have markedly strengthened their professional capabilities in segmented fields and key links. With accelerated layout, national advanced manufacturing clusters and characteristic industrial clusters for SMEs have become an important spatial carrier for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Looking ahead, it is suggested to concentrate factor resources to support the capacity building of enterprises as the main body, cultivate leading enterprises with control over the global industrial chain, promote the integrated development of large, medium, and small enterprises, accelerate the digital transformation of SMEs and the cultivation of "AI+" application scenarios, and continuously enhance the competitiveness of national advanced manufacturing clusters, thereby consolidating a solid micro-level foundation and meso-level support for building a manufacturing powerhouse.
Manufacturing is the foundation of a country. Made in China 2025 has identified ten key areas as the core engine for the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry. This study reviews the background against which the ten key areas were proposed, elaborates on the criteria for selecting these ten areas, and sorts out international evaluations on the research outcomes concerning the ten key areas. The study adopts an organizational model of "academician-led, expert-coordinated, and field-based in-depth research" and employs a comprehensive evaluation system that "integrates quantitative and qualitative methods, and complements horizontal and vertical analyses". It summarizes and evaluates the breakthrough development effectiveness of 16 subsectors across the ten key areas from three dimensions: market influence, technological competitiveness, and security and controllability. The findings show that remarkable progress has been achieved in the ten key areas of China's manufacturing industry: five sectors have exceeded expectations and reached world-leading levels; two sectors have fully accomplished their tasks and attained world-advanced levels; eight sectors have basically completed their objectives but still lag behind the world's advanced level to a certain extent; and one sector has failed to meet its expected targets with a considerable gap from the world's advanced level. Looking ahead, efforts should be made to dynamically optimize development priorities to accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, focus on key core technologies to break bottleneck constraints in the industry, optimize and upgrade traditional industries to consolidate the foundation for developing new quality productive forces, and deploy future industries in advance to build new advantages for China's manufacturing industry, thereby providing solid support for enhancing the competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry, securely seizing the initiative in global industrial development, and achieving the goal of upgrading China from a manufacturer of quantity to one of quality.
The new-generation information technology industry is a strategic, foundational, and pioneering sector of the national economy, serving as a crucial pillar for building a strong manufacturing nation and achieving high-quality development. Based on comprehensive data, this study reviews the overall progress and achievements of China's new-generation information technology industry from 2015 to 2025, focusing on four dimensions: industrial scale, industrial structure, innovation capacity, and integrated application. Meanwhile, aligning with the key development areas identified in the national strategy for strengthening the manufacturing sector, the study offers a detailed analysis of China's concrete practices in accelerating the development of the new-generation information technology industry through application-driven approaches and industrial collaboration. Special attention is given to addressing shortcomings such as insufficient self-sufficiency in core components, lagging processes of advanced integrated circuits, and dependence on foreign high-end software. Looking ahead to the next decade, China's new-generation information technology industry will center on supporting new-type industrialization, focusing on four key directions: innovation leadership, supply chain resilience, comprehensive penetration, and open cooperation. Through major strategic initiatives and multi-pronged measures, efforts will be made to achieve breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies such as 6G, artificial intelligence, and quantum information; overcome critical constraints in high-end chips, core software, and key equipment; accelerate the widespread integration of new-generation information technologies across all sectors of the economy and society; and deepen the convergence of the digital and real economies, thereby providing robust momentum for Chinese modernization.
High-end computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools and robots, as fundamental, strategic, and enabling industries, are among the ten key areas proposed in the strategy for boosting China's strength in manufacturing development. To better understand the current development status of and outline development paths for China's high-end CNC machine tool and robot industries in the new era, this study reviews the achievements of the industries over the past decade. It is believed that since the proposal of the strategy for boosting China's strength in manufacturing development, the high-end CNC machine tool and robot industries of the country have achieved leapfrog development, with their comprehensive strength ranking among the top of the second echelon globally, and their competitiveness and influence in the global market have been continuously enhanced. Looking forward to the new opportunities and challenges faced by the development of high-end CNC machine tools and robots in the future, it is proposed that we should actively explore unconventional measures in areas such as scientific innovation, technological breakthroughs, scenario integration, and ecosystem construction, to accelerate the innovative breakthrough, integrated development, and integrated application of high-end CNC machine tools and robots. This will ensure that by 2035, China's machine tool industry as a whole will enter world's advanced ranks and its robot industry will enter world's leading ranks, thereby laying a solid foundation for the realization of new industrialization and the strengthening of China's manufacturing sector.
Aeronautical and astronautical engineering exemplifies national strategic emerging industries. Its system development builds upon industrial foundations to propel the comprehensive upgrade of the technological and manufacturing ecosystem. This study reviews the representative achievements in China's aeronautical and astronautical engineering over the past decade, evaluates the industrial landscape and technological evolution, and proposes strategic measures for high-quality development. Progress is highlighted in two main sectors. In the aeronautical sector, highlights include the generational upgrade and systematic exploration of military aircraft, the independent development and commercial operation of civil aircraft, the core technology breakthroughs and support capability construction of propulsion, and the development and intelligent evolution of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems. In the astronautical sector, achievements include the world-renowned feats of major engineering projects, launch vehicle capabilities leaping to the global forefront, satellite and application systems reaching international advanced levels, and the development of commercial spaceflight. Future development directions include: efficiency enhancement and configuration diversification of aircraft; high-efficiency, low-carbon, and multi-mode fusion of propulsion; intelligent connectivity, electrification, and integration of airborne systems; material innovation, intelligent manufacturing, and software ecosystem development in industrial technologies; all-domain perception, ubiquitous interconnection, and artificial intelligence (AI) empowerment in advanced enabling technologies; along with airline-like space access, cloud‒network-based space utilization, and all-domain space exploration. Finally, strategic actions are suggested in the following areas: constructing digital-empowered forward design capabilities; establishing a flexible, high-efficiency, and intelligent manufacturing system; developing resilient industrial clusters; improving regulatory frameworks adapted to new business formats and participating in international standards formulation; and strengthening engineering-oriented research.
Ship and ocean engineering equipment is the foundation for ocean transportation, resource development, scientific research, rights protection, and other activities, which is crucial for boosting China's strength in manufacturing and marine development. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize the development achievements and plan the future layout of China's ship and ocean engineering equipment industry, thus to consolidate the advantages and promote the high-quality development of the industry. This study sorts out the current development status of China's ship and ocean engineering equipment from aspects including overall progress, development of key ship and ocean engineering equipment, and development experience. Based on the analysis of the development environment, the study clarifies the development trends of the industry, such as emphasis on environmental protection and high efficiency; digitalized, intelligent, and unmanned development; as well as diversified and integrated development of deep-sea resources. Toward the future, efforts could be focused on developing ocean-going transport ships, green and intelligent inland river ships, deep-sea oil and gas resource development equipment, new marine resources development equipment, general equipment for deep-sea exploration and operations, and comprehensive support equipment for deep-dea and far-sea areas. Common and key technologies are suggested, such as energy conservation and environmental protection, digitalization and intelligence, power and energy, test verification, key materials, and intelligent manufacturing. Meanwhile, cutting-edge technologies represented by intelligent design and optimization, autonomous navigation transport ships, and unmanned workshops/shipyards are proposed. The above-mentioned development recommendations aim to promote the research and development of high-end ship and ocean engineering equipment, drive the engineering application of key system equipment, and solve the problem of weak capabilities in basic and frontier technologies.
Advanced rail transit equipment is crucial for boosting China's strength in manufacturing and transportation development. Considering global technological evolution directions of rail transit equipment and based on the landscape and high-quality development needs of the industry in China, this study summarizes the major achievements made in China in this field from 2015 to 2025, including major engineering and technological breakthroughs, consolidation of core basic capabilities, coordinated construction of the industrial chain, and expansion of its international layout. It explores the development experiences including top-level policy guidance, independent innovation, establishment of an industry‒university‒research‒application integrated ecosystem, and maintaining an open and cooperative global perspective. Moreover, the study clarifies the industry's development trend of being "faster, smarter, greener, safer, and more integrated." In the next decade, development directions of the rail transit industry include developing forward-looking technologies, deepening intelligent and green transformations, enhancing the resilience of the industrial and supply chains by strengthening the industrial foundation, and optimizing the standards system of rail transit equipment, thereby providing theoretical support and practical guidance for the development of advanced rail transit equipment in China.
Energy-saving and new-energy vehicles have become the common choice of countries around the world to address climate change and achieve the green and low-carbon development in road mobility. The energy-saving and new-energy vehicle industry of China has achieved historic achievements over the past decade. In the next decade, it is necessary to consistently promote high-quality industrial development, consolidate and expand the leading advantages of the industry, and move faster to boost China's strength in automobile development. This study summarizes the major achievements and experiences of China's energy-saving and new-energy vehicle industry over the past decade in terms of industrial scale, technological breakthroughs, industrial chain construction, enterprise cultivation, and globalization. It analyzes the opportunities and challenges faced by the industry in the next decade, and identifies the constraints existing in key technologies, industrial structure, and basic support. Moreover, the study proposes an overall thinking and key measures for promoting the high-quality development of China's energy-saving and new-energy vehicle industry in the next decade, providing theoretical support and practical references. In the next decade, the energy-saving and new-energy vehicle industry of China should adhere to the integrated development of technological and industrial innovation, thus to build a global hub for automotive technology innovation in China; promote the full implementation of new technologies, models, and business models; accelerate the intelligent transformation of the entire industry; innovate industrial management models and operation methods; and achieve international development under a new type of competition-cooperation relationship.
Since Made in China 2025 listed power equipment as one of the ten key development areas in 2015, the power equipment manufacturing industry of China has achieved a historic leap, becoming a significant leader in the global industrial landscape. This study evaluates the development achievements of China’s power equipment manufacturing industry from 2015 to 2025, focusing on three major fields: power generation equipment, power transmission and transformation equipment, and energy saving and storage equipment. The analysis is conducted from four dimensions: technological level, industrial scale, market structure, and global influence. The study reveals that the added value of China’s power equipment industry has grown at an average annual rate of over 9%, with over 30 000 large-scale enterprises by 2024, and a localization rate of over 90% across the entire industrial chain. By constructing an analytical framework of “policy guidance ‒ innovation-driven development ‒ market driving ‒ ecological synergy,” this study identifies rapid technological iteration, cluster-based industrial development, and major engineering demonstration as the core pathways for China’s power equipment to transition from following to leading. Looking toward the 2035 goal of building a new power system, future efforts must focus on continuous breakthroughs in high-end materials, core components, and digital integration to propel the industry toward the higher end of the value chain.
Agricultural equipment is a crucial support for ensuring food security and strengthening the agricultural sector of a country. Focusing on the strategic position, industrial strength, innovation capability, and support capability of agriculture, this study summarizes the main achievements of the agricultural machinery industry of China since 2015. It also reviews the development experiences from four perspectives: scientific and technological innovation, industrial ecology, industrial policies, and international development. In response to major demands for ensuring national food security and building a strong agricultural nation in the new era, and in line with the development trends of agricultural machinery toward high efficiency, intelligence, networking, greenness, and robotization, the study proposes that the agricultural machinery industry of China should adhere to a Chinese-style path of mechanized and intelligent development over the next decade. Centered on the general direction of "strengthening foundations, increasing varieties, enhancing levels, improving functions, expanding fields, and extending chains," the study emphasizes focusing on the development of agricultural machinery that is high-end, intelligent, low-carbon, and applicable for hilly and mountainous areas, thereby promoting the intelligent manufacturing, quality improvement, application promotion, and thus full-process upgrading of agricultural machinery.
New materials serve as the material foundation for China's efforts to boost its strength in manufacturing development and achieve high-quality development. The level of their research, development, and industrialization is a crucial indicator of a country's socioeconomic progress, technological advancement, and defense capabilities. This study analyzes the significant achievements in the innovative development of new materials in China over the past decade since the implementation of the strategy of building China into a strong manufacturing nation. It reviews landmark achievements and proposes key directions for the development of the new materials sector in China by 2035, along with pathways to accelerate innovation-driven growth. The study concludes that China's new materials industry has continuously expanded in scale, enhanced its technological competitiveness, significantly improved its capacity for independent supply, strengthened its innovation capabilities, and accelerated industrial transformation and upgrading. The industry has transitioned from a phase of scale expansion "primarily focused on solving the problem of availability" to a high-quality development stage aimed at meeting major strategic needs of the country and enhancing international competitiveness. Looking ahead, there is an urgent need to align with the strategic demands of major application scenarios for material development. Priority should be given to developing materials for the next-generation information technology, new energy materials, materials for high-end manufacturing and major projects, as well as next-generation biomedical materials. Additionally, it is essential to accelerate the establishment of a new paradigm for new materials research and development based on artificial intelligence, thereby enhancing China's original innovation capability in new materials.
As a fundamental and strategic industry that safeguards people’s life and health, the pharmaceutical industry plays an irreplaceable role in building a strong public health security barrier, enhancing the core competitiveness of national industries, and strengthening the self-reliance and controllability of the innovation chain, industrial chain, and supply chain of a country. Against the background of accelerating the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse and Healthy China, together with the transformation of China’s pharmaceutical industry from scale-led development to innovation-driven growth, it is urgent to summarize the innovative development achievements of China’s pharmaceutical industry and forecast its future development layout. Over the past decade, the scale of China’s pharmaceutical industry has first expanded and then stabilized, its profitability resilience and export delivery value have continued to improve, internationalization has become increasingly diversified, and institutional mechanisms and policy systems have continuously improved. Cutting-edge technologies of China’s pharmaceutical industry have developed rapidly with accelerated innovative application and iterative upgrading, driving the industry’s development model to shift from scale expansion and generic follow-up to quality leadership and global innovation. A full industrial chain layout of the industry has been formed, the international competitiveness of leading enterprises in the industry has been significantly enhanced, and regional innovation has achieved differentiated development. Focusing on industrial scale, innovation chain, and industrial chain, this study analyzes the development trend of China’s pharmaceutical industry, and discusses its development opportunities and challenges as well as the 2035 development vision. Furthermore, future layout directions of China’s pharmaceutical industry are analyzed, including an innovation chain layout centered on cutting-edge technologies and key industrialization technologies in the pharmaceutical industry; an industrial chain layout focused on addressing shortcomings in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors and constructing regional innovation centers; a digital chain layout dominated by the promotion of cutting-edge technologies and the construction of pharmaceutical industry data platforms; and a policy layout with institutional innovation and the improvement of policy support systems as the core.