Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on China to develop a much bigger and stronger advanced manufacturing sector and tighten control when it comes to major industrial supply chains, official news agency Xinhua said on September 17, 2026.
Xi’s comments come in the face of increasing concerns, especially in Europe, over surging exports of electric vehicles and various other green-tech products from China, raising fears of a new wave of competitive pressure described as China Shock 2.0.
At the National Advanced Manufacturing Conference in Beijing this week, Xi said China will keep producing advanced manufacturing that is bigger and stronger, enhancing the autonomy and regulation of industrial chains.
He also called for speeding up the development of a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing sector as the backbone.
China has made great progress in becoming a manufacturing giant, with its high-end manufacturing sector experiencing growing innovation, competitiveness, and robustness, Xi said.
Beijing has redirected credit and resources away from property to more sophisticated manufacturing so as to encourage technological self-dependence and expansion, but the high-tech surge has not yet fed through to higher household incomes and consumer spending.
China ought to concentrate on next-generation intelligent manufacturing, speed up industrial improvements propelled by digital and AI and ramp up its enthusiasm for domestic high-end technologies, Premier Li Qiang said.