China's industrial growth will increasingly rely on "value creation" and "winning through quality", with key sectors — including integrated circuits, new materials, aerospace, and artificial intelligence — set to be the focus of policy support this year, the nation's top industry regulator said.

"This year, policy efforts will concentrate on areas such as integrated circuits, new materials, aerospace, biomanufacturing, embodied AI, and 6G," Li Lecheng, minister of industry and information technology, said in an interview with China Central Television.

To bolster innovation at the grassroots level, a new round of central fiscal policies will be unveiled to support the high-quality development of specialized and sophisticated small and medium enterprises. These measures aim to encourage firms to increase investment into research and development, and unleash their intrinsic vitality.

Highlighting China's competitive advantages, particularly in scaling technology applications, Li pointed to the country's vast landscape for innovation. "Our talent advantage is very evident, especially our strength in scenario applications — there are so many innovative activities," he said.

Li singled out artificial intelligence as a critical area for rapid advancement. "We must swiftly leverage our strengths in application scenarios, foundational resources, talent, and even our institutional mechanisms to push AI development forward," Li added.