KPMG: "The 15th Five-Year Plan" outlines the development pattern for industrial tiered growth

Shanghai Securities News China Securities Network (Reporter Wang Wenyan) Recently, KPMG released the report “Racing Towards Mountains and Seas — Industry Impact Outlook of the 14th Five-Year Plan” (hereinafter referred to as “the report”), focusing on key industries such as finance, technology, industrial manufacturing, automotive, healthcare and life sciences, energy, consumption, real estate, and transportation. The report systematically analyzes the opportunities and challenges faced by each industry and looks ahead to the development prospects during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. KPMG experts stated that from an industrial perspective, the tiered development pattern outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan is releasing vast market opportunities across various sectors.

The report believes that the 14th Five-Year Plan views the construction of a modern industrial system as the material and technological foundation for Chinese-style modernization. It has established a tiered development pattern at the industrial level of “quality enhancement of traditional industries + expansion of emerging industries + cultivation of future industries,” aiming to build a safe, efficient, and internationally competitive modern industrial system through deep integration of technological innovation and the real economy.

In terms of solidifying foundations and promoting the “re-industrialization” and digital intelligence upgrade of traditional industries, the report notes that the 14th Five-Year Plan clearly insists on focusing economic development efforts on the real economy, maintaining a reasonable proportion of manufacturing. For traditional pillar industries such as mining, metallurgy, chemicals, and machinery, it is not simply about “reducing capacity” but emphasizes “optimizing and enhancing.” Through technological transformation, digital intelligence transformation, and green manufacturing, it aims to strengthen their position in global division of labor. This strategic shift is expected to release about 10 trillion yuan of market space, indicating that traditional manufacturing will usher in a wave of equipment updates and technological iterations characterized by intelligence and greenness, with service-oriented manufacturing becoming the key to value chain ascension.

In terms of forward-looking layout and creating a “new quality engine” for emerging and future industries, the report believes that the 14th Five-Year Plan has a highly forward-looking approach to industrial layout, dedicated to cultivating new pillars. On one hand, it accelerates the growth of strategic emerging industries such as new energy, robotics, and aerospace; on the other hand, it aims to seize the commanding heights of future industries like quantum technology, biomanufacturing, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G. These fields are not only the core carriers of new quality productive forces but are also expected to “rebuild a high-tech industry in China.” This indicates that national resources will tilt towards “hard technology” fields that are high-tech, high value-added, and high growth, leading to a qualitative leap in industrial structure.

In terms of innovation-driven efforts to strengthen “AI+” and empower industries with key core technologies, the report asserts that the 14th Five-Year Plan deeply integrates technological self-reliance and industrial development. In fields such as integrated circuits, industrial mother machines, and basic software, breakthroughs across the entire chain are achieved through a new type of national system, addressing shortfalls in the industrial chain. At the same time, the comprehensive implementation of the “Artificial Intelligence +” initiative will deeply embed AI technology into industrial development, which represents not only a change in research paradigms but also a reshaping of industrial production methods. The status of enterprises as innovation subjects will be further strengthened, and innovation resources will accelerate their concentration towards enterprises.

Cai Wei, director of KPMG China Economic Research Institute, stated that the 14th Five-Year period is a critical time for the deep restructuring of China’s economy and industrial structure, with the deep integration of technological innovation and the real economy as the core thread. On one hand, the “re-industrialization” of traditional industries will effectively support the macroeconomic foundation; on the other hand, the accelerated cultivation of new quality productive forces and the “Artificial Intelligence +” initiative are reshaping production paradigms with disruptive power, significantly enhancing the security and resilience of China’s industrial chain.