People's Daily Online:

According to this year's Government Work Report, we will foster new growth drivers at a faster pace and introduce an upgraded 5G Plus Industrial Internet Initiative. What is the current progress of the large-scale promotion of typical application scenarios of 5G Plus Industrial Internet? On which aspects will the MIIT focus to promote breakthroughs in the upgraded 5G Plus Industrial Internet Initiative? Thank you.

Zhang Yunming:

Thank you for your questions. I would like to invite Mr. Xie to answer them.

Xie Cun:

Thank you for your questions. This year's Government Work Report proposed the introduction of an upgraded 5G Plus Industrial Internet Initiative. We have earnestly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, continuously promoted the large-scale development of 5G Plus Industrial Internet, and fully achieved the goals of the "Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Action Plan" for 5G factories: building 100 benchmark-level 5G factories that are technologically advanced and serve as leading examples in key industries; promoting the construction of over 1,000 projects included in the 5G Factory Directory, characterized by broad coverage and distinctive features, thereby forming a tiered industry structure; guiding and encouraging industrial enterprises to upgrade their internal networks with 5G technology, with the ultimate goal of covering tens of thousands of 5G application projects, achieving large-scale adoption and popularization. We have encouraged basic telecommunications enterprises to utilize technologies such as cloud slicing and software-defined networking (SDN) to build and improve private network services for industrial enterprises. More than 25,000 5G Plus Industrial Internet projects have been built, 1,260 classified and graded 5G factories with distinct characteristics have been established, and 100 technologically advanced and benchmark-leading 5G factories have been created. On average, product quality has improved 20.5%, operating costs have decreased 18.4%, and average production capacity has increased 24.7%. Industrial-grade 5G gateways, routers and other products account for nearly 50% of the global market. The world's first international standard for 5G Plus Industrial Internet has been released and breakthroughs have been achieved in a series of software-hardware decoupled industrial control systems as well as universally integrated smart terminals.

Next, we will focus on introducing the upgraded 5G Plus Industrial Internet Initiative, promoting a comprehensive improvement in its capabilities across network infrastructure, technology products, integrated applications, industrial ecosystem and public services. We will accelerate the integration of information technology (IT), communication technology (CT), operational technology (OT) and data technology (DT), build a new type of industrial network represented by 5G, and accelerate the widespread integration of 5G Plus Industrial Internet into key sectors of the real economy, thereby providing solid support for the intelligent, green and integrated development of the manufacturing industry.

First, we will strengthen the guarantee of the factors of production. We will accelerate the introduction of the opinions on promoting the high-quality development of the industrial Internet"; coordinate the construction of five major functions: network, identification, platform, data and security; and focus on improving the development of five major systems: policy, infrastructure, technology, application and ecosystem. We will also speed up the formulation and release of a set of standards covering basic commonalities, key technologies and typical applications.

Second, we will deepen coordinated innovation. We will organize pilot programs for dedicated industrial 5G private networks in sectors such as raw materials, equipment manufacturing and consumer goods. We will regularly release catalogs of new industrial network products, encourage enterprises to adopt technologies such as Time-Sensitive Networking and information models to carry out network-based transformation, and implement initiatives to promote both the scale and quality improvement of 5G-enabled factories.

Third, we will expand large-scale application. We will formulate a number of guidelines on the integrated application of the industrial internet with key industries, and promote its large-scale adoption across sectors through a scenario-driven approach. We will implement initiatives to empower the integration of the industrial internet and AI. We will accelerate the upgrading of industrial internet infrastructure, optimize its capabilities, and foster application innovation so as to provide a critical foundation for the furtherance and implementation of AI in the industrial sector.

Fourth, we will improve the industrial ecosystem. We will organize activities that promote the integrated adoption of the industrial internet solutions in industrial parks across cities, facilitating the entry of policies, infrastructure, technologies, standards, applications, enterprises and services into industrial parks, clusters and bases. We will launch the second batch of "5G Plus Industrial Internet" integrated application pilot cities to foster leading and innovative high-level industrial clusters. Thank you.