​Chinese manufacturing must improve its 'soft power': Xiaomi founder

Lei Jun, founder of Chinese technology company Xiaomi, called for improvement on the "soft power" of Chinese manufacturing in his address on Monday at a panel discussion of the Beijing delegation during the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) held in Beijing.

"The 'hard power' of China's manufacturing has been remarkably increased in the past two decades, and now we should attach more importance to its 'soft power,' which mainly encompasses design and user experience," said Lei, also a deputy to the 13th NPC.

He suggested that establishing awards for manufacturing design with global influence would be an effective way to improve the soft power of the country's manufacturing.

"Currently, America, Japan and Germany all have their own globally prestigious awards for manufacturing design. As a rising manufacturing power, China also needs to launch such an award to encourage more excellent designs and express China's voice in this regard," Lei said.

The tech mogul also called on the government to strengthen support for cultivating more professionals in manufacturing design.

He also stressed the importance of the quality of Chinese-made products, saying that quality determines how long a brand can enjoy popularity.

Last year, the Chinese entrepreneur's eight-year-old company won the Top Ten Quality Honor Award at the "Made in China 2025" award ceremony hosted by CCTV and The Economic Observer, a weekly economics-focused newspaper.

Lei's suggestions echoed this year's government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening meeting of the ongoing NPC session, which said the central government would "encourage the spirit of workmanship, ignite a revolution in the quality of Chinese-made goods and step up work to build China into a leader in manufacturing."