Improving the Industrial Internet functional system for deep integration of digital and industrial sectors

An important path for high-quality development of the manufacturing industry is to develop the Industrial Internet. It is necessary to build a functional system covering networks, platforms, data, and security to further support its development.

High-quality development of the manufacturing industry hinges on advancing digital and intelligent transformation. Among the key paths is the development of the Industrial Internet, which serves as the convergence point of new-generation information technology and deep integration with the manufacturing industry. In recent years, the digital economy has undergone rapid transformation, with consumer internet evolving toward industrial internet. The Industrial Internet is now becoming a vital engine for the digital and intelligent transformation of manufacturing. Overall, the supply side of the Industrial Internet is accelerating digital industrialization, while the demand side is accelerating industrial digitalization. Currently, China is building a new landscape for global industrial chains and reshaping new competitive advantages in industry, a process that is also driving the development of the Industrial Internet.

The Industrial Internet is an application built on infrastructure such as communications, sensing, data, and computing power, and it demands higher network stability, quality, and latency. Its platform development requires high investment and long cycles, making it both a long-term process of development and accumulation and a process of continuous iteration. At present, China's Industrial Internet is still in its early development stage, with the unknown far outweighing the known. It is essential to maintain strategic focus, adhere to a problem-oriented and goal-oriented approach, deepen understanding through ongoing practice, and promote practice through full comprehension of underlying patterns. Overall, to further support the development of the Industrial Internet, it is necessary to accelerate the construction of a functional system covering networks, platforms, data, and security.

Strengthening network infrastructure and interconnection

Currently, there are still many "dumb devices" on industrial sites, with a low device networking rate. This limits the aggregation and completeness of industrial data and has become a key bottleneck for the development of the Industrial Internet. To further strengthen network infrastructure, efforts should be made to accelerate the network-enabled transformation of industrial equipment, support enterprises in upgrading the networking capability of "dumb devices" so they can "speak up," and encourage basic telecommunications enterprises to provide high-performance, high-reliability, high-flexibility, and high-security network services. Industrial enterprises should also be supported in applying new network technologies and advanced applicable technologies to upgrade their internal networks, promoting the integration of IT networks with production control networks. Efforts should be deepened in "5G + Industrial Internet," supporting industrial enterprises in building 5G fully connected factories and exploring the construction and operation of 5G private networks. Public service capabilities for the Industrial Internet should be established covering all cities and key industrial sectors nationwide, creating a panoramic view of its construction, operation, and application.

Promoting platform cloud adoption and application

The soul of the Industrial Internet lies in its applications, and the mainstay of applications lies in various platforms. At present, three types of platforms should be prioritized. First, industry-specific platforms should be built focusing on key industries with strong digital foundations and significant spillover effects. Second, "block economy" platforms should be developed in regions with high concentration of manufacturing resources and urgent needs for industrial transformation. Third, technology-specialized platforms should be established targeting specific industrial scenarios and cutting-edge information technologies. Moving platforms to the cloud is an important lever for platform growth and expansion. Efforts should be made to accelerate the migration of industrial equipment and business systems to the cloud and platforms, formulate implementation guidelines for industrial equipment cloud migration and data dictionaries for industrial equipment, cultivate public service platforms for equipment cloud migration, and promote the cloud-based transformation of core business systems of leading enterprises, driving the cloud migration of business systems of SMEs across the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Promoting data aggregation and empowerment

Data is one of the five factors of production and serves as the "food supply" for the development of the Industrial Internet. The latest round of reforms to Party and state institutions explicitly provides for the establishment of the National Data Bureau, offering strong support for the development and application of data elements. In the coming period, efforts should be accelerated to build the Industrial Internet big data center along with regional and industry sub-centers, enhancing capabilities in data aggregation, analysis, and application. Services should be provided to governments for industrial operation monitoring, command, and emergency warning and coordination; to industries for data management and solution promotion; and to enterprises for cloud migration of equipment and business systems as well as supply-demand matching. A mutual recognition mechanism for platform data dictionaries should be established, unified call interfaces for industrial data, algorithm models, and microservices should be developed, and a collaborative, multi-level, and systematic platform system should be built. At the same time, mechanisms for determining data ownership, value assessment, resource exchange, and benefit sharing in the Industrial Internet should be studied to promote the efficient circulation of data resources.

Strengthening network security assurance

Network security is the bottom-line issue for the development of the Industrial Internet. Collaborative innovation should be strengthened, and enterprises should be encouraged to jointly tackle key core areas such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and remote information processors, developing equipment products with built-in security functions. For key industries such as equipment manufacturing and electronic information, support should be given to building a number of security public service platforms with broad influence. The growth of the network security industry should be promoted, with a number of leading security enterprises cultivated and a batch of "high-precision and advanced" specialized security enterprises incubated in segments such as intelligent manufacturing and the Internet of Vehicles. Technical support capabilities for network security should be strengthened, with support for key enterprises in building centralized security situational awareness and comprehensive protection systems to enhance network and data security technical capabilities.