Hong Kong Economic Herald:
It's very nice to see you again, Mr. Xiao. The last time I interviewed you was in 2019, when ministers took questions from the media during the "two sessions." My question this year is about advanced manufacturing. Feb. 26 marks the eighth anniversary of General Secretary Xi Jinping's proposal on the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. What's the MIIT's take on narrowing down the gap between north and south China in developing advanced manufacturing, especially supporting Tianjin to further build itself into an R&D center for advanced manufacturing? Thank you.
Xiao Yaqing:
The manufacturing gap between the north and south is your personal opinion. China has a full-fledged industrial system. Industries classified into 41 divisions, 207 groups, and 666 classes are well allocated across China. China is the only country in the world to obtain all the divisions of industrial classification. The complete industrial system has made significant contributions to the growth of the national economy and meeting people's everyday needs.
With the development of the market economy, there are some regional differences due to the varied rates of growth and marketization. This is a common phenomenon of development. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have introduced many measures to advance coordinated regional development. The implementation of these measures provides key guiding principles and fundamental support for the sustainable and sound development, and more effort should be made in the implementation process.
In the meantime, we also need to know that, as a business environment that is based on market principles, governed by law, and up to international standards gradually takes shape in China, more opportunities have been offered to more enterprises, especially those with industrial foundation and advantages. As China continues to deepen reform, the leading enterprises in different industries and advantageous enterprises will emerge with renewed vitality and provide sound support to the development of these industries and enhance their core competitiveness.
We believe that, with the further implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and China's regional development strategies, practitioners of China's industrial sector will keep striving to improve, and the sector will see new and more promising prospects. Thank you.
