Editor's note:

China is advancing its deep integration of the modern services industry and the advanced manufacturing industry. The industrial services industry is considered to be of great importance to enhancing the core competitiveness of overall industry – promoting the new type of industrialization and nurturing new quality productive forces.

Therefore, the Shanghai municipal government has promulgated an action plan made up of 17 detailed measures to facilitate the development of industry-facing service industry (2024-27).

In an attempt to seize the new opportunities in the global market, the industry-facing services industry is projected to better serve industries, especially the core links of the manufacturing industry. The city's manufacturing competitiveness and economic capacity will thereby be improved.

- Focuses

1. Better serving the real economy

(1) Advances the high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry

(2) Covers the entire production chain including research and design, production and management

2. Nurturing industry leaders

(1) To nurture 50 platform companies with respective annual sales revenue of 1 billion yuan ($140 million), with at least five being internationally influential industry unicorns

(2) To nurture at least 100 service platforms helping with SME digitalization and intelligent transformation

(3) To nurture at least 100 nationally influential industrial internet service providers

(4) To attract at least 100 AI large language model or foundation model companies

(5) To nurture five or so digital supply chain key companies

(6) To introduce and nurture more than 10 internationally recognized low carbon service providers

(7) To nurture 10 innovative industrial design centers

(8) To nurture five inspection and testing institutions with a global service capacity

(9) To accommodate at least 10 international intellectual property rights service providers and legal service institutions

3. Creating special industry clusters

(1) Pudong: high-end integrated circuits service clusters

(2) Jiading: an innovative highland for smart connected cars

- Highlights

1. Key industries to implement the new action plan

- nuclear power equipment

- civil aviation

- integrated circuits

- shipping

- fashion

2. Improve levels of intelligence of industries

- artificial intelligence

- nurture AI-powered solution providers

- advance the development of foundation models and large language models

- explore production scenarios using humanoid robots

- industrial networks

- support platform companies to come up with digital systems

- industrial internet

- build industry-level industrial internet platforms among chipmaking and automotive companies

3. Optimize, upgrade industry supply chains

- nurture a batch of professional services providers specializing in carbon accounting, carbon certification and ESG consulting

- advance the application of smart logistics devices such as autopilot cars and humanoid robots

- develop the low-altitude economy

4. Build a new "made-in-Shanghai" service ecosystem

- support inspections and testing institutions to improve their services to international clients

- encourage intellectual property rights service institutions,  legal services providers and standard certification service institutions to provide international consultations

- help the Shanghai Institute for Food and Drug Control to shoulder China's innovative drugs tests

- advance the application of spatial computing, digital twin and mixed reality in manufacturing designs

5. Build special industrial clusters

- Pudong: high-end integrated circuits service clusters

- Jiading: an innovative highland for smart connected cars