China’s “little giant” manufacturers have been put under a big spotlight at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, with the government work report and lawmakers discussing more support amid an intensifying tech war with the United States and China’s rapid advancement in artificial intelligence (AI).
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In the work report he delivered to the legislature on Wednesday, Premier Li Qiang vowed to nurture more innovative manufacturing champions, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) occupying technological niches in the global supply chain for specialised products.
“We will promote the growth of SMEs that use specialised, sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, and support the development of unicorn and gazelle companies,” Li said. “These efforts will enable more enterprises to surge ahead in new areas and arenas.”
Unicorns are start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion, while gazelles – a term coined by American economist David Birch in 1987 – are small start-ups that see annual sales growth of at least 20 per cent in their first four years of operation.
Beijing wants China’s little giants and its potential unicorns and gazelles to help move the country’s manufacturing sector up the value chain, rekindle private sector growth and spawn more innovations.
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Most little giants excel in advanced materials, biotechnology, automation, robotics or AI – fields deemed by Beijing as critical for winning the tech war with the US and modernising China’s traditional industries.