Keyword 6: Scientific and Technological Innovation

In recent years, cutting-edge and disruptive technologies such as quantum technology, biomanufacturing, brain-computer interface, commercial aerospace, and embodied intelligence have become new growth points for the manufacturing sector, while providing broad application scenarios for the service industry.

By focusing on interdisciplinary fields that can define future industrial forms, whoever achieves technological breakthroughs will be able to foster new collaborative business formats and create new competitive advantages through technology.

Full Text

New spring brings new atmosphere; a new year opens new prospects.

On February 24, the first workday of the Bingwu Year of the Horse in the lunar calendar, Guangdong held the provincial High-Quality Development Conference for the fourth consecutive year. The conference further discussed advancing high-quality development at a higher level, to better support a good start for Guangdong’s 15th Five-Year Plan period.

This year’s theme focuses on the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries. Attendees, based on the realities of their respective regions, departments and industries, jointly explored a new path for Guangdong’s high-quality development. Consensus has been further consolidated:“Leverage the strength of manufacturing to lead the excellence of services, and use the excellence of services to strengthen manufacturing; create new advantages and achieve new breakthroughs through the coordinated development of the two sectors.”

How to accurately understand Guangdong’s “First Conference of the Spring Festival”? These seven keywords are the key to decoding it.

Keyword 1: Inevitable Path

Promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is the inevitable path to follow the laws of industrial evolution and achieve industrial upgrading.

Why is it an inevitable path?From the perspective of industrial evolution, the trend of coordinated development between the two sectors has become increasingly evident. Notably, service-oriented elements are increasingly integrated into the production and circulation of manufacturing. Meanwhile, through vertical expansion and horizontal extension of industrial chains, the service industry has also been deeply integrated with manufacturing. Coordinated development has greatly improved production efficiency and boosted productivity.

Especially in the information age, the continuous emergence of cutting-edge technologies and the rapid rise of new business forms have created unprecedented favorable conditions for the integration, coordination and transformation of the two sectors.

On the one hand, producer services empower advanced manufacturing in an all-round way. For example, Huawei QIANKUN drives the intelligentization of new energy vehicles through “hardware + software”: from daily use by millions of users to “same intelligence for fuel and electric vehicles”, and to the launch of L3 high-speed navigation assisted driving. Intelligent driving is no longer a concept; Huawei QIANKUN enables vehicle models of different brands and price ranges to be equipped with a “smart brain”.

On the other hand, the real economy and digital economy are deeply integrated. For instance, Xiyin’s “small-batch quick-response” flexible supply chain connects production and demand. With data as a link, enterprises transform fragmented demand into production instructions, while deeply integrating cross-border logistics with manufacturing, realizing real-time market data-driven factory capacity adjustment and improving the efficiency of the entire industrial chain.

Against the backdrop of profound changes in the global industrial landscape, the coordinated development of the two sectors has promoted the two-way expansion of manufacturing servitization and service industrialization, driving the continuous upgrading of the industrial system and becoming a decisive force for economic growth.

As a major manufacturing and service province, Guangdong has formed a modern industrial system with a solid foundation and complete categories. In manufacturing, Guangdong has all 31 major manufacturing categories, with its industrial scale accounting for about one-eighth of the national total. The operating income of industrial enterprises above designated size has ranked first nationwide for consecutive years, with the output of about 160 industrial products ranking first in China.In services, the scale remains leading and the structure continues to optimize. In 2025, the added value of the service industry accounted for 10.5% of the national total, ranking first in China for 41 consecutive years, and 58.3% of Guangdong’s GDP, serving as a main engine of economic development.

At the same time, Guangdong’s manufacturing sector still faces the challenge of “being large but not strong”, with the traditional scale-expansion model hitting bottlenecks. The empowerment capacity and depth of the service industry for manufacturing are insufficient, and there are shortcomings in the supply capacity and quality of high-end services.

For Guangdong, it is imperative to follow the trend and break through upward. Based on its industrial foundation and advantages, while facing shortcomings and weaknesses, Guangdong aims to realize the leap from large to strong in industrial development through the coordination of the two sectors, and build a modern industrial system featuring integration, mutual growth and coupling.

Keyword 2: Crucial Move

Promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is a crucial move to embrace the wave of technology and gain the initiative for the future.

How to understand this crucial move?Throughout the history of industrial development, the continuous deepening of industrial division has separated manufacturing and services. For a long time, manufacturing enterprises were mainly responsible for “manufacturing products” and “maintaining product status”, while service enterprises focused on “providing services”.

With the accelerated breakthrough of the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, especially the cluster breakthrough and multi-field integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing and quantum communication, manufacturing and service industries have also embarked on a fast track of coordinated development.

In recent years, the coordination of the two sectors has driven manufacturing capacity and service efficiency to grow exponentially, greatly promoting the development of new quality productive forces. For example, the transformation from traditional factories to smart and unmanned factories is inseparable from the support of scientific and technological services; artificial intelligence’s in-depth application in disease screening and new drug R&D highlights the technological accumulation of manufacturing and the scenario extension of services; robots are playing an increasingly active role in industrial production lines and household life, representing cross-border achievements fostered by the coordination of the two sectors.

Meanwhile, the coordination of the two sectors has profoundly reshaped the global competition paradigm. In the past, competition was mainly based on individual products or services; now it has gradually shifted to complex and comprehensive competition based on industrial ecosystems. Under such a paradigm, whether new technologies can empower the coordination of the two sectors and trigger a fusion effect directly determines whether a modern industrial system with characteristics of the 21st century can be built, and whether strategic initiative can be gained in future development and fierce international competition.

Can Guangdong win this competition?Guangdong boasts leading digital and intelligent technologies. In 2025, the scale of the core artificial intelligence industry is expected to exceed 300 billion yuan, achieving a high growth rate of over 40%, accounting for a quarter of the national total. It has massive data resources and ranks first in China in digital industry scale. It not only leads in industrial volume, but also achieves structural breakthroughs in key fields such as open-source ecology and new infrastructure. It has rich application scenarios, with a batch of new business forms and models emerging in recent years, including smart factories, industrial internet, smart supply chains, shared production platforms, general contracting and total integration, full life cycle management, flexible customization, and service-derived manufacturing.

For Guangdong, it is essential to seize opportunities and leverage its strengths, achieve “key breakthroughs” with “crucial moves”, lead the industrial development through the coordination of the two sectors, and build a modern industrial system that leads the times and stands at the forefront.

Keyword 3: Strategic Need

Promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is a strategic need to unblock economic circulation and enrich people’s lives.

What is a strategic need?Supply and demand are two fundamental aspects of the market economy. Without demand, supply cannot be realized; new demand can foster new supply. Without supply, demand cannot be met; new supply can create new demand.

Facing the severe and complex situation at home and abroad, it is urgent to promote the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries, both to unblock economic circulation and enrich people’s lives. Through coordinated development, producers can efficiently reach consumers, the supply side can accurately match the demand side, and all links of production, distribution, circulation and consumption can be organically connected, so as to better protect and improve people’s well-being in development and expand development space by meeting people’s needs.

On the supply side, the coordinated development of the two sectors can better provide supply based on new changes, forms and trends of consumption.

With a complete industrial system and strong supply capacity, Guangdong is well-positioned to promote the in-depth coordination of the two sectors, balance the deepening of supply-side structural reform and the implementation of the expansion of domestic demand strategy, promote positive interaction between supply and demand, and better serve and integrate into the new development pattern.Guangzhou has promoted the precise embedding of digital technology, brand overseas expansion and other professional services into the manufacturing chains of characteristic industries such as cosmetics, leather goods and jewelry; Shenzhen has accelerated the digital and intelligent transformation of key fields such as commerce and circulation, medical and health care, logistics and supply chain, and convenient living services; Foshan has promoted industrial design to extend to functional innovation, user experience and brand building.In practice, many areas in Guangdong have formed replicable experiences, demonstrating the positive role of the coordinated development of the two sectors in breaking blockages and bottlenecks and promoting efficient interaction between supply and demand.

On the consumption side, the coordinated development of the two sectors can better meet consumers’ new demands for diversification, personalization and high quality.

Guangdong has a permanent population of 129 million, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area serves as a strategic pillar of the new development pattern, enjoying favorable timing, geographical location and human support. Nowadays, “self-pleasing economy” and “emotional value” are increasingly popular, reflecting consumers’ expectations for more sophisticated products and higher-quality services.From flexible manufacturing, agile manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing that make products more “user-friendly”, to personalized, customized and differentiated services that create smoother experiences, the coordinated development of the two sectors aims not only at “material abundance” but also at “human development”, meaning better consumption experiences and greater market space. This is also a vivid embodiment of “investing in people”.

For Guangdong, it is necessary to shoulder responsibilities and take the initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of industrial development through the coordination of the two sectors, thus promoting positive interaction between supply and demand, and building a modern industrial system that balances supply and demand and benefits the people.

Keyword 4: Industrial System

How important are manufacturing and service industries? If the modern industrial system is compared to a tree, then manufacturing and service industries are like the trunk and branches of the tree.

On the one hand, only with deep roots and a strong trunk can the branches flourish.Manufacturing is the foundation of Guangdong’s development and strengthening. For example, without automobile manufacturing, automotive finance, maintenance and other services would be out of the question. The development of the service industry always needs strong manufacturing support. To strengthen the “trunk”, we must unswervingly take the real economy as the foundation and manufacturing as the priority, simultaneously upgrading traditional industries, fostering new industries, pursuing high-end development and strengthening competitiveness. We will promote the stable scale, improved quality and increased efficiency of traditional advantageous industries, develop and expand emerging and future industries, build new industrial pillars through “cluster and chain integration”, and foster more trillion-yuan and 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters.

On the other hand, flourishing branches can nourish the roots and trunk.The service industry is the source of vitality and a key to upgrading for Guangdong. For example, competition among smart terminals such as smartphones is no longer just about which single product is more “hardcore”, but about whose ecosystem and services are more complete. To grow dense “branches”, we will promote the high-quality and efficient development of the service industry, enhance the core competitiveness of manufacturing through scientific and technological services, inject impetus into the real economy through financial services, provide market access for industrial products through commercial services, and fully tap and release the superimposed effects of the service industry in technology diffusion, chain extension and value creation.

Modern services, characterized by high technology, high human capital and high added value, are playing an increasingly important driving role in the formation and development of new quality productive forces. By embedding professional services into all links of the industrial chain, they promote the deepening of industrial division of labor, effective cost reduction, substantial improvement of production efficiency and the upgrading of the value chain to the high end.Especially with the extensive integration of artificial intelligence into all sectors, driven by the internet of everything, platform empowerment, data-driven and software-defined models, production methods and service models are undergoing revolutionary changes, and the great scientific and technological revolution is bringing great opportunities for industrial development.

Whether manufacturing or service industries, embracing the arrival of the intelligent era, improving the coordinated development of the two sectors based on artificial intelligence technology, and jointly shaping the overall advantage of “advanced manufacturing + modern services” to build a new form of intelligent economy — the big tree of Guangdong’s modern industrial system will surely become more prosperous, bringing great vitality to high-quality development.

Keyword 5: Market Entities

Enterprises are the cellular units of the industrial system. Only when cells are vibrant and functional can the industrial tree renew and grow faster. The key to promoting the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries is to activate the micro cells of market entities.

Currently, the global economy is undergoing in-depth transformation toward digitalization, networking and intelligence, and the boundary between manufacturing and service industries is gradually blurring. Coordinated development is not only a physical division of labor and cooperation, but a deeper-level “photosynthesis”, nurturing an “industrial rainforest” through multi-dimensional linkage.

Enterprises vary in size, and they first need to identify their development directions.

Leading enterprises are often described as “elephants dancing” — “elephant” represents hard power and “dancing” represents soft power, which also correspond to the “hard” manufacturing and “soft” service industries.“Elephants dancing” should not only produce high-quality products, but also form ecological dominance in rule-making, industrial driving and solution output. These are ecologically leading “head goose” enterprises, which should follow the trend of specialized division of labor and social collaboration, connect upstream and downstream, link large, medium and small enterprises, move from manufacturing to services and from services to manufacturing, and strive to become all-round champions providing integrated “manufacturing + service” solutions.

Today, industrial competition is no longer about resources or scale, but about value co-creation. Focusing on niche segments, specializing in core businesses, and growing into specialized and sophisticated “little giant” enterprises, single champions in manufacturing and benchmark enterprises in services will also enjoy broad market prospects and great promise. These are “vanguard” enterprises deeply engaged in main businesses. Large enterprises shoulder great responsibilities, and small ones have unique advantages. Vigorously fostering “vanguard” enterprises will create a dynamic landscape of flourishing industries.

Another type is hub-type “platform” enterprises, which have strong capabilities in resource allocation, channel control and production coordination. They efficiently link thousands of manufacturing entities and diverse service institutions, break information asymmetry in the industry, rationally match and share idle equipment, technology, talent and other resources, form an effective resource sharing mechanism, and improve capacity matching efficiency. Carefully fostering “platform” enterprises is increasingly important to catalyze the coordinated development of the two sectors in a wider range and at a deeper level.

The coordinated development of the two sectors is not only the agglomeration and coexistence of market entities, but also their integration and catalysis. By the end of December last year, the total number of market entities in Guangdong exceeded 20 million, ranking first in China. With manufacturing and service industries as “partners” and large and small enterprises working hand in hand, the construction of Guangdong’s modern industrial system is more confident and promising.

Keyword 6: Scientific and Technological Innovation

The coordinated development of the two sectors originates and thrives on scientific and technological innovation. Seizing scientific and technological innovation means securing rich nourishment and strong momentum.

Just as a big tree of modern industrial system needs “balanced water and fertilizer” and “balanced nutrition”, driving industrial innovation through scientific and technological innovation to achieve the coordinated development of the two sectors should also follow the laws of scientific and technological innovation, clarify investment directions and accumulate energy.

• Provide sufficient main nutrients: Deploy and promote the R&D of generic technologies and innovation in organizational models.Focus on basic and universal needs, vigorously develop artificial intelligence; accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing and the digitalization of services, and actively expand application scenarios of the digital economy... Integrate resources, strengthen collaboration, connect the innovative ideas of scientists, the investment of entrepreneurs and the expertise of engineers, so that scientific and technological innovation can infiltrate every industry and enterprise, thus better promoting the coordinated development of the two sectors.

• Supplement trace elements: Remove bottlenecks restricting the coordinated integration of industries.From tiny “China chips” to powerful engines, continuously break through “bottleneck” problems; achieve “curve overtaking” in lithium battery technology and “100% localization” in UHV equipment, turning technological breakthroughs into competitive advantages; emerging new materials support flexible customization models... Aiming at technical shortcomings in cross-industry and cross-sector coordination, leverage the institutional advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks, and focus on tackling key problems in key materials, components, equipment and basic software to fill shortcomings.

• Master exclusive strengths: Forward-looking layout of strategic and tractional technological research.In recent years, cutting-edge and disruptive technologies such as quantum technology, biomanufacturing, brain-computer interface, commercial aerospace, and embodied intelligence have become new growth points for the manufacturing sector, while providing broad application scenarios for the service industry. Focusing on interdisciplinary fields that can define future industrial forms, whoever achieves technological breakthroughs will be able to foster new collaborative business formats and create new competitive advantages through technology.

• Solidify the talent foundation: Further implement the “Million Talents Gathering in Southern Guangdong” initiative.Talents are precious resources for scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation. Last year, the “Million Talents Gathering in Southern Guangdong” initiative attracted more than 1.1 million college graduates to work and start businesses in Guangdong. The target for this year remains above 1 million.If every year 1 million high-quality talents flow into Guangdong, using incremental growth to drive stock optimization, the overall upgrading of population structure, social structure and economic structure will be gradually realized, continuously consolidating the high-level talent hub of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The future development of Guangdong will be greatly promoted.

Keyword 7: Business Environment

The coordinated development of the two sectors will inevitably be accompanied by the continuous emergence of new products, business forms and models, which urgently requires an open, inclusive and stable business environment to nurture the growth of new things.

A sound business environment is like sunshine and rain, indispensable to the big tree of the modern industrial system. In recent years, Guangdong has made every effort to build a first-class market-oriented, law-based and international business environment, striving to achieve “the fewest approval and filing items, the fastest government services, and the best industrial ecological environment”, so as to promote economic stability and development through an “excellent” environment.

The business environment is never perfect; it can only be better.

On the one hand, we will deepen reform to strengthen institutional supply for new tracks and fields, strive to solve the problem of “old rules governing new quality productive forces”, maximize deregulation for technological innovation and market exploration, so that low-altitude economy can “take off”, autonomous driving can “run” and embodied intelligence can be “applied”, ensuring both “vitality” and “effective regulation”.On the other hand, we will take the lead in the coordinated development of the two sectors through opening-up, deeply integrate into the global industrial division network, accelerate the gathering of global manufacturing and service resources, and polish the dual brands of “Guangdong Manufacturing” and “Guangdong Services” through high-level “introduction” and high-quality “going global”.

A good business environment is also the way to “win over businesses”.

Enterprise satisfaction is the criterion for judging a sound ecosystem and environment. To attract more enterprises to choose and take root in Guangdong, Party committees and governments at all levels must consistently make sincere friends with enterprises, listen to their opinions on site, provide targeted policies based on their concerns, and strive to build a province with the best government services. The high efficiency of Party committees and governments will promote the efficiency and benefits of enterprises.Focusing on the business environment means focusing on development, and development requires a sound business environment. Continuously providing sunshine and rain for the business environment will better support the coordinated development of the two sectors and the continuous upgrading of industries.

A surging tide opens a new chapter; a thousand sails compete to create brilliance.

Guangdong’s “First Conference of the Spring Festival” has sounded the drum for the coordinated development of manufacturing and service industries, sending a strong signal of striving for the first place. On a new starting point, Guangdong is striving to compose a new chapter of “Chinese modernization: see Guangdong”.

Source: Nanfang Plus Client