Shanghai unveils ambitious plans for industrial Internet platforms

Shanghai aims to achieve a transaction volume of over 3.3 trillion yuan (US$460 billion) on its industrial Internet platforms by 2025, according to the newly published "Action Plan for Promoting the High-Quality Development of Industrial Internet Platforms (2023-2025)."

The action plan was formulated to promote the high-quality development of the city's productive Internet service platforms and put the spotlight on the development demands of key industries.

It also expects to nurture over 100 industrial Internet platform companies in Shanghai as of 2025, including more than 30 leading platforms.

Ge Dongbo, chief engineer of the Shanghai Economic and Informatization Commission, stated that the development of Shanghai's productive Internet service platforms has formed a trillion-yuan industry with diverse fields.

According to the plan, to promote the growth and strength of industrial Internet platform clusters, the city will focus on constructing six types of platforms:

• Building key industry vertical service platforms in fields like electronic information, biomedicine, high-end equipment, automobile, advanced materials and fashion consumer goods.
  
• Establishing a number of industrial product digital service platforms which ensure services are easily searchable and products traceable across the Internet.
  
• Strengthening industrial Internet platforms and creating innovative products and manufacturing models which integrate industrial and consumer Internet.
  
• Enhancing professional service platforms to increase the application of major category models and other technologies on them.
  
• Setting up a comprehensive platform for "trading + consulting + supply chain financing" services for industrial raw materials.
  
• Constructing a cross-border industrial digital service platform to open up procurement channels for core components and spare parts and provide services for firms to go global.

In terms of improving the factors needed for platform development, multiple aspects will be continuously addressed, which include:

• Organizing the creation of industrial Internet platform headquarters bases.
  
• Exploring inclusive and prudent institutional supply in areas such as tax-enterprise direct connections and import and export customs clearance.
  
• Increasing support for talent through special talent projects for key industries and high-level talent projects for industry elites.
  

To strengthen the platforms' service capabilities for the industrial chain, the next step will focus on building three types of application scenarios:

• Guiding large manufacturing companies to jointly create digital procurement and other application scenarios with platforms.
  
• Providing a batch of production management service scenarios for small and medium-sized enterprises.
  
• Supporting platform construction for application scenarios extending to high-end value chains.
  

On creating a collaborative industrial ecology, meanwhile, the city will make efforts to enhance three types of services:

• Improving the influence of the China (Shanghai) Industrial Products Online Trading Festival and planning to hold over 100 specific activities.
  
• Establishing a collaborative innovation system and building a platform for industry-university-research cooperation.
  
• Organizing the release of industry white papers, conducting platform maturity assessments, and serving the development of the industry.