Foshan eyes new steps to enhance its manufacturing and trade prowess

Foshan, a traditional manufacturing and trade hub in Guangdong province, will continue to implement strategic measures to optimize and upgrade traditional sectors, develop emerging industries, and plan future sectors in the next five years, according to the city's Party chief.

"We will implement measures including intelligent and digital transformation, product innovation, brand enhancement, market expansion, and service improvement to advance the value chain of traditional industries," said Tang Yifeng, Party chief of Foshan.

An initiative integrating artificial intelligence and manufacturing will be carried out during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2025-30), according to Tang.

"The integration of manufacturing and AI will help promote the advancement of traditional industries up the value chain to mid-to-high-end levels," said Tang.

Tang made the remarks during a group discussion of the local annual legislative meeting of Guangdong, which opened in Guangzhou, the provincial capital city, on Monday.

Foshan's economy grew from 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) to 1.3 trillion yuan over the past five years. The city's Shishan and Beijiao townships have already become two of six townships in China with GDP exceeding 100 billion yuan.

Development of emerging industries, including new electricity system equipment, robotics, semiconductor chips, advanced materials, and healthcare, would be highlighted, said Tang.

Importance will also be attached to frontier fields like green hydrogen, embodied intelligence, and biomanufacturing during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

With its diverse application scenarios, strong industrial ecosystem, and efficient commercialization of innovations, Foshan will adopt an application-oriented approach to technological advancement.

"We will allocate more industrial and innovation resources for business expansion and accelerate the clustering of emerging industries in the years to come," said Tang.

Yuan Yuting contributed to this story.