First "Committee Member Channel"! Smart manufacturing, quantum technology, intelligent agents, and more become trending topics

On the afternoon of March 4th, the first “Member Passage” group interview activity of the Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference was held at the Great Hall of the People. Participants included Huang Sanwen, member of the CPPCC, President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Zeng Yuhui, member of the CPPCC and Chairman of CATL; Pan Jianwei, member of the CPPCC, Vice Chairman of the Jiu San Society Central Committee, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li Ying, member of the CPPCC and Professor at the Maritime College of Dalian Maritime University; and Yang Jie, member of the CPPCC and former Chairman of China Mobile Group. They discussed industry development trends, shared achievements, and offered suggestions on industry upgrades in core areas such as agricultural technology, intelligent manufacturing, quantum technology, maritime development, and information communication.

Huang Sanwen: Technology has contributed over 64% to agricultural yield increases

Huang Sanwen stated that by 2025, China’s grain output will reach 1.43 trillion jin, an increase of 90.75 billion jin over five years ago. It is estimated that the contribution of yield per unit area to overall production increase exceeds 90%. The key to China’s high-level bumper harvests is agricultural technology.

The Party Central Committee has always prioritized solving the food security of 1.4 billion Chinese as the top priority of governance. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, major scientific and technological initiatives such as seed industry revitalization and agricultural machinery equipment to fill gaps are accelerating. Significant breakthroughs have been achieved in basic theories, key technologies have been successfully developed, and advanced applicable technologies have been implemented in the fields. Technology has contributed over 64% to agricultural yield increases.

Currently, over 95% of crop varieties are independently cultivated. The market share of domestically sourced seeds for vegetables, livestock, poultry, and aquaculture has reached 91%, 80%, and 86%, respectively. Chinese grains, vegetables, and meats mainly use Chinese seeds.

Additionally, the comprehensive mechanization rate for planting, sowing, and harvesting crops has reached 76.7%. Drones have become new farming tools, making planting more efficient and easier for farmers.

Zeng Yuhui: Increase R&D investment around intelligent manufacturing

Zeng Yuhui said that the country continues to encourage the development of renewable energy. Over more than 20 years, this strategic determination has provided industry players and practitioners with a “compass.” From mining to materials, batteries, and recycling, a very strong industrial and ecological chain has formed.

“The most important thing is our坚持自主创新. CATL has invested over 80 billion yuan in R&D, with annual investments exceeding 20 billion yuan in recent years,” Zeng Yuhui said. The company employs more than 21,000 people in R&D, with over 50,000 patents accumulated. This enables CATL’s products to be used in dozens of countries and regions worldwide, powering over 20 million vehicles and 3,000 energy storage stations.

“In recent years, the company has established a very resilient and robust supply chain and ecological system. Looking ahead, we will continue to increase R&D investment, especially applying more artificial intelligence to enhance innovation. Focus areas include new materials, new chemical systems, new structural systems, new energy systems, and new manufacturing systems—namely, intelligent manufacturing,” Zeng Yuhui said.

Pan Jianwei: Make quantum technology better serve the cultivation of new productive forces

Pan Jianwei stated that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, China vigorously promoted quantum technology development. Quantum communication remains internationally leading, quantum computing ranks among the top globally, and multiple directions in quantum precision measurement have made significant progress internationally.

“As long as we maintain confidence, pursue自主创新, and leverage the advantages of the new national system, we can turn bottlenecks into growth points,” Pan Jianwei said. Through major national scientific research projects, the R&D teams have become younger, interdisciplinary, and capable of both frontier exploration and engineering breakthroughs, with a strong sense of mission, capable of tackling tough problems, providing solid support for continuous breakthroughs in China’s quantum technology.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan, Pan Jianwei said that efforts will be made to strengthen original innovation, promote deep integration of industry, academia, and research, accelerate成果转化, and enable quantum technology to better serve the cultivation of new productive forces, empowering high-quality economic and social development.

Li Ying: Focus on three major directions to strengthen maritime development foundation

Li Ying said that maritime transportation dominates international trade, accounting for 80% of global cargo volume. For economic development and national strength, transportation, especially maritime shipping, must first become stronger. To strengthen maritime shipping, efforts should focus on becoming larger, smarter, and greener.

Li Ying noted that China has the world’s largest maritime fleet. Currently, ultra-large container ships nearly 400 meters long are in operation on deep-sea routes, and China’s first domestically built large cruise ship, the Aida Mordu, has been completed. This marks a successful breakthrough in high-end shipbuilding, achieving comprehensive progress in the fields of aircraft carriers, large LNG carriers, and large cruise ships.

From a “smarter” perspective, China is actively promoting intelligent upgrades in navigation support by deploying sensing devices and collaborative management systems, giving ships “eyes” and “brains.” With eyes, ships can see weather and other vessels; with brains, they can accurately calculate routes and arrival times. For seafarers, real-time ship-to-shore information linkage and one-click route recommendations make deep-sea navigation more confident.

Regarding greener shipping, China is accelerating the construction of green ports and ships, with pilot projects at eight near-zero carbon ports including Tianjin and Qingdao. Ports that previously relied on oil are now powered by green electricity. Orders for new green ships account for 70% of the international market share. Methanol dual-fuel ships are in operation, and ammonia-fueled and pure electric ships are also under construction. In the future, more scientific research成果 will be applied to routes and ports, with digital empowerment ensuring safe operation of shipping channels.

Yang Jie: Vigorously develop silicon-based labor forces and silicon-based productivity such as intelligent agents and embodied intelligence

Yang Jie said that the development of China’s information communication industry is a vivid practice of building a modern industrial system. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, China has built the world’s largest 5G network and gigabit optical networks, with 60% of global 5G base stations. The nationwide integrated computing power network is accelerating deployment, forming a new type of information infrastructure of “network + computing power + data.” Major breakthroughs have been made in key core technologies, and the controllability of产业链 and供应链 has been continuously enhanced. In recent years, integration of digital and real industries has made great progress, with digital intelligence empowering thousands of industries and serving millions of households.

Yang Jie believes that while industry develops itself, the information communication industry also plays a “shoulder pole” effect, driving investment on one end and promoting consumption on the other. Looking toward the 15th Five-Year Plan, building a modern industrial system requires precise and coordinated efforts.

First, to build intelligent, integrated information infrastructure, promoting the evolution and upgrade of information infrastructure into land, sea, air, and space integration, creating a solid and secure digital foundation for China’s modernization.

Second, to strengthen emerging and未来产业, continuously fostering new industries, new formats, and new models.

Third, to deepen digital technology’s empowerment of traditional industries, promoting high-end, green, and intelligent upgrades.

Fourth, to advance the “AI+” initiative, vigorously developing intelligent agents, embodied intelligence, and other silicon-based labor forces and productivity, creating new demographic and talent dividends.

Fifth, to promote deep integration of科技创新 and产业创新, moving more科技成果 from bookshelves to shelves. Supporting科技创新 with完善的政策, attracting top global talent and capital to drive high-quality economic development in China.

(From China Securities Journal)