The plan calls for accelerating breakthroughs in key technologies, like in semiconductors, advanced computing, optical communications and display technologies, as well as backing emerging sectors such as AI, quantum information, brain-computer interfaces and low-altitude aviation. The plan also emphasizes the need for cultivating world-class clusters in electronics and equipment manufacturing.

Behind these broad ambitions is a simple calculation: China's next growth cycle will depend on whether traditional manufacturing belts can absorb frontier technologies fast enough to produce globally competitive products at scale.

The fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China also reinforced this direction, calling for a modern industrial system anchored in advanced manufacturing, greener supply chains and upgraded infrastructure.

But the message resonating most in places like Kunshan is less ideological and more operational: keep the real economy strong, scale up what works and bring emerging technologies out of the lab and onto factory floors.