General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The transformation and upgrading of traditional industries can also develop new quality productivity." In recent years, our country's traditional industries have explored new models of development and innovative paths for transformation and upgrading, achieving significant results. Further promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries is of great significance for cultivating and developing new quality productivity, building a modern economic system, and ensuring the safety of our country's industries and national security.

　　The transformation and upgrading of traditional industries have achieved remarkable results.

　　Our country's traditional industries play an important role in the national economic system. In recent years, with the accelerated innovation of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, as well as the expansion of the coverage of new infrastructure and the reduction of usage costs, many cutting-edge technologies have widely penetrated traditional industries such as textiles, clothing, chemicals, and building materials, deeply integrating with them. This has promoted comprehensive transformation in product design, production processes, and business models of traditional industries, achieving significant results in transformation and upgrading, and becoming an important engine for cultivating and developing new momentum and advantages.

　　The innovation capability of industries continues to improve, becoming a "cradle" for cultivating new quality productivity. In recent years, our country's traditional industries have continuously strengthened the construction of innovation platforms, and the innovation capability of industries has been continuously enhanced. Especially through the extensive use of new generation information technologies and intelligent manufacturing technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing, industrial robots and automated assembly lines have rapidly become popular, creating production models such as smart factories and "dark factories," becoming an important force in cultivating and accumulating new momentum for economic development, providing a broad scene for the development of new quality productivity. For example, some steel companies have achieved real-time data collection and analysis of production through digital transformation, optimizing production processes, significantly reducing energy consumption and operating costs; their subsidiary engaged in information construction has gradually formed a full-process digital solution in the process of promoting the digital transformation of steel production, gradually transforming from a traditional steel enterprise to a leading digital enterprise. Similarly, some building materials companies have applied artificial intelligence and big data, not only increasing labor productivity by more than 50%, but also greatly improving product quality.

　　The acceleration of green transformation and development actively contributes to energy conservation, emission reduction, and sustainable development. In recent years, green development has become a strategic choice for traditional industries to enhance competitiveness, build new advantages, and cultivate new momentum. Energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies and equipment have been widely applied, the proportion of new clean energy and renewable energy in energy consumption has increased, and green manufacturing has become a new model for the development of traditional manufacturing. For example, hydrogen is an important by-product of crude oil processing, with advantages such as zero emissions at the end and wide applications. Some petrochemical companies are vigorously exploring the collection, purification, compression, and transportation of surplus hydrogen resources, achieving carbon reduction in the refining process and enhancing the economic value of the refining industry chain. Additionally, one of the reasons for the high carbon emissions in the textile industry is the close connection between traditional textile raw materials and petrochemicals, leading to high energy consumption in the production process. Some textile companies have developed biodegradable acetate fabrics using new technologies, while also promoting the transformation of dyeing and finishing processes with digital technology, achieving both energy conservation and emission reduction goals, as well as enhancing the added value of the industry.

　　The rapid development of clustering and platforming has become an important support for improving industrial efficiency and safety. The clustering development of industries in geographical space and the platforming development in cyberspace have improved the aggregation and intensive utilization levels of various factors, promoted collaborative cooperation and ecological construction among enterprises, and enhanced the safety and innovative development levels of industries. First, traditional industries have transformed and grown into advanced manufacturing clusters, with the rapid development of characteristic industrial clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises. In the two batches of 200 characteristic industrial clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a large number of advantageous industrial clusters have emerged based on local resource endowments and traditional industrial foundations. Second, industrial internet and commercial internet platforms have become new paradigms for the transformation of traditional industries. Some traditional manufacturing industries have built industrial internet platforms, significantly promoting the digital and intelligent transformation of traditional manufacturing enterprises; some commercial internet platforms have attracted a large number of traditional manufacturing enterprises to settle in, and these enterprises are actively exploring the digital transformation of traditional manufacturing driven by sales digitization. Third, a number of leading enterprises and chain-leading enterprises have emerged, effectively driving the transformation and development of traditional industries as well as the safe and innovative development of important industrial chains. Especially in traditional industries such as grain, energy, chemicals, and machinery equipment, central enterprises with advantages have taken the lead in the industrial chain, improving the supporting level of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain through demand traction, innovative supply, and other means, making the transformation efficiency of traditional industrial chains evident, and actively integrating digital intelligence technology and green technology in industrial competition, promoting the overall transformation and upgrading of the entire industrial chain.

　　Effective paths for transforming and upgrading traditional industries.

　　The effective paths for transforming and upgrading traditional industries can be roughly summarized into three types.

　　First, achieve the leap of traditional industries by developing high-tech and high-end products. The technical content and added value of products in traditional industries are often low, but the innovative application of new technologies and the continuous upgrading of market demand structures promote traditional industries to shift from producing low-tech, low-added-value products to producing high-tech, high-added-value products, thus achieving transformation and upgrading. Taking the steel industry as an example, "hand-torn steel" (steel thickness controlled below 0.025 mm, can be easily torn by hand) is a microcosm of China's manufacturing moving towards mid-to-high-end. A few years ago, our country's steel enterprises established an innovation and research team for "hand-torn steel," overcoming hundreds of technical challenges related to rolling mill equipment and rolling methods, and successively developed "hand-torn steel" with thicknesses of 0.02 mm, 0.015 mm, and 0.012 mm, not only breaking the world record for "hand-torn steel," meeting the production needs of foldable mobile phones, but also becoming an indispensable material in fields such as national defense technology, aerospace, and precision instruments. It is precisely in the process of technological advancement and product innovation that relevant enterprises have achieved the transformation from traditional steel enterprises to advanced manufacturing enterprises. In addition, new plastics in the chemical field and smart home appliances in the home appliance field are vivid examples of traditional industries launching new products through technological innovation, ultimately forming new quality productivity.

　　Second, achieve industrial transformation by integrating and innovating traditional technologies and emerging technologies, and reconstructing traditional industrial production processes and technical processes. One important reason why traditional industries are "traditional" is that their production technologies and processes are outdated, leading to low production efficiency. However, by applying new technologies, promoting the iteration of traditional technologies, and facilitating the integration and innovation of new and traditional technologies, traditional industries can achieve transformation and upgrading. Taking the coal industry as an example, the application of new technologies such as gigabit optical networks and fifth-generation fixed networks has promoted the transformation and upgrading of the network infrastructure of the coal industry; the widespread application of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, smart cameras, intelligent measurement, and big data has enabled many coal enterprises to achieve intelligence in various links from exploration, mining to washing, transportation, and safety assurance. The dirty, hard, dangerous, and tiring underground work can now be completed in a bright dispatch command center, improving the working environment and conditions for miners. As of June 2023, the National Energy Administration has released 80 typical cases of intelligent construction in coal mines, showcasing the vivid picture of the deep transformation and development of the coal industry.

　　Third, achieve industrial upgrading through business model innovation and the service-oriented transformation of traditional manufacturing. For a long time, most of our country's traditional industries have been at the bottom of the "smile curve" in the production and manufacturing link. With the application of new technologies, many traditional manufacturing industries in our country have successfully transformed through business model reconstruction, achieving an ascent to the mid-to-high end of the industrial chain value chain. Taking the engineering machinery industry as an example, many enterprises use industrial internet, 5G, and radio frequency identification technologies to connect various equipment, obtaining real-time online data, and providing value-added services such as equipment health management, operation mode assessment and optimization, and engineering construction information services through network collaboration and data intelligence. This not only effectively shortens the response time of engineers and improves service efficiency but also promotes many enterprises to transform from selling products to selling services, becoming typical examples of the integrated development of manufacturing and service industries.

　　Accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries with a focus on developing new quality productivity.

　　The transformation and upgrading of traditional industries is a systematic project. While we see significant achievements in the transformation and upgrading of our traditional industries, we should also recognize that there is still a certain gap compared to the goals of high-quality development and the requirements for developing new productive forces. To further promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, we must fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development concept, adhere to a combination of goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches, fully leverage our institutional advantages, stimulate the endogenous motivation of industries, focus on technological innovation, address the shortcomings in the supply chain, innovation chain, and industrial chain of traditional industries, establish a new integrated organizational model of mutual integration, cooperation, and shared benefits among upstream, midstream, and downstream, promote the coordinated transformation of traditional industry technology paradigms and economic paradigms according to local conditions, and accelerate the development of new productive forces.

　　Further deepen understanding and promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of traditional industries. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "All regions should adhere to the principle of starting from reality, first establish and then break, adapt to local conditions, and provide classified guidance, promoting the development of new industries, new models, and new driving forces based on local resource endowments, industrial foundations, and research conditions." We must abandon the erroneous perception that traditional industries are backward, "two high" industries, and low value-added industries, and take high-end, intelligent, and green development as the direction for transforming and upgrading traditional industries. Promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries should be regarded as an important support for adjusting the economic structure, building a modern industrial system, and promoting high-quality development. We encourage all regions and various enterprises to aim for the development of new productive forces, explore new models for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, promote the digital and intelligent transformation of traditional industry clusters, and encourage leading enterprises and digital service companies to create industrial internet and intelligent manufacturing service platforms to provide services for the transformation and upgrading of enterprises within the industry.

　　Coordinate and promote deep reforms to provide a good environment for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Further deepen reforms and strengthen the systematic and integrated nature of policies for industrial transformation and development. Eliminate various restrictive policies that apply a one-size-fits-all approach to traditional industries, and encourage localities to adapt to local conditions to transform and upgrade traditional industries. In terms of industrial policy, strengthen the policy orientation that encourages innovation and optimize the policy for additional deductions of R&D expenses. Actively create common technology platforms and transformation and upgrading platforms for traditional industries to lead and drive the transformation and upgrading of the entire industry. Further create a good market environment for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, encouraging localities to accelerate the upgrading and development of traditional industry clusters and industrial parks. Support the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries during the process of domestic gradient transfer, and support international capacity cooperation with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

　　Strengthen the application and diffusion of new technologies in traditional industries, and expand the paths for transforming and upgrading traditional industries. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We should promptly apply the achievements of technological innovation to specific industries and industrial chains to transform and enhance traditional industries." Transform and upgrade traditional industries through the deep integration of innovation chains, industrial chains, capital chains, and talent chains, encouraging traditional industries to increase innovation investment based on the actual transformation and upgrading and technological change trends, starting from addressing shortcomings and breaking bottlenecks, and strengthening the promotion and application of new technologies in traditional industries to solve the "bottleneck" problems in transformation and upgrading. Encourage leading enterprises in the chain to play a role in technology supply and industrial chain collaboration, driving the transformation and upgrading of the entire industry through the deep transformation and upgrading of leading enterprises. Encourage traditional industries to actively utilize advanced technologies to enhance their innovation capabilities and overall safety levels. Vigorously cultivate specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises in traditional industries, build new driving forces for development, and achieve an overall improvement in industrial competitiveness.

　　(The author is a researcher at the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)