Visitors check out sportswear at an innovation exhibition facility of Anta in Jinjiang, Fujian province. WEI PEIQUAN/XINHUA
Ding Shizhong, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has emphasized the importance of revitalizing traditional industries to boost domestic consumption in a bid to drive the country's economic growth.
Ding, also chairman of the board of directors of Chinese sportswear brand Anta and vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, made the remarks in an interview with reporters.
He said that traditional industries still account for over 80 percent of China's manufacturing sector, making them a critical component of the country's modern industrial system.
Ding called for traditional industries to learn from the "Jinjiang Experience", taking innovative measures to foster new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, while leveraging local resources and industrial foundations to maximize potential and achieve differentiated development.
The Jinjiang Experience refers to the transformation of Jinjiang, which used to be a poor county with a large population and little land in Fujian province, into an economic powerhouse with a well-developed economy.
President Xi Jinping once summarized and promoted the Jinjiang Experience in 2002 when he was serving as the governor of Fujian. On many occasions since, he has encouraged local enterprises to be market-oriented and do a good job in market innovation.
Ding expressed the hope that government authorities could unveil policies to support collaborations between AI companies and enterprises engaging in traditional industries to help the latter develop tailored AI solutions.
The role of leading enterprises in driving the coordinated transformation and upgrading of industrial chains should be leveraged, he said.
Ding underscored the importance of integrating industry, academia and research to promote innovation and accelerate the transformation of scientific achievements into industrial applications.
He also highlighted the importance of strengthening domestic consumption through high-quality domestic brands.
While emphasizing that domestic brands should focus on producing high-quality products to meet the evolving demands of consumers, he called on policymakers to unveil policies to empower domestic brands to enable them to enhance their competitiveness and appeal among consumers.
Market supervision, particularly on online platforms, should be strengthened, he said, urging efforts to protect intellectual property rights as well as consumer's rights and interests.
Efforts should also be made to increase household incomes and improve social security to boost consumer confidence, Ding said.
He underlined the need to hold high-level international sports events to boost consumption and stimulate economic growth.
By converting the continuously growing public attention to sports competitions into incremental economic values, these initiatives have the potential to impact various sectors of the economy, he said.
