Since the beginning of this year, various regions in China have accelerated the construction of distinctive industrial clusters based on their own resource endowments and industrial foundations, through various measures such as industry university research cooperation and policy support, injecting strong momentum into high-quality economic development. Data shows that in the first half of this year, China has built 33 national level manufacturing innovation centers, cultivated a total of 80 national level advanced manufacturing clusters, 300 national level small and medium-sized enterprise characteristic industrial clusters, and over 1000 provincial-level characteristic industrial clusters. Characteristic industrial clusters have become the core carrier of high-quality regional economic development in China, presenting significant characteristics such as large scale and quantity, complete hierarchical structure, and wide range of industrial fields. The manufacturing cluster covers strategic emerging industries such as new generation information technology, high-end equipment, new materials, and biomedicine, promoting the optimization and upgrading of economic structure. Another characteristic is regional coordinated development, presenting a pattern of "eastern leadership, central rise, and western catch-up". Specifically, the eastern coast has become the core highland of industrial clusters, leading the high-end value chain; The Midwest is accelerating its pursuit. According to relevant research reports, the distribution of national level clusters in the eastern, central, and western regions is 161, 70, and 69, respectively; The number of clusters in provinces such as Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, and Jiangsu ranks among the top in the country. In addition, the coordinated development of urban agglomerations has a significant agglomeration effect. For example, the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region has a dual core of Beijing artificial intelligence and Tianjin energy and mineral equipment,? The Greater Bay Area gathers industrial clusters such as the Shenzhen Guangzhou high-end medical equipment cluster and the Guangzhou Shenzhen Foshan Dongguan intelligent equipment cluster. The economic benefits of China's characteristic industrial clusters are significant, and the pace of industrial upgrading is fast, effectively enhancing regional competitiveness and global influence. The Shanghai Zhangjiang Biomedical Industry Cluster focuses on biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, creating an international research and development hub; The Hangzhou visual intelligence industry cluster gathers over ten thousand enterprises, achieving a 50% reduction in hardware iteration cycle; The output value of Wuhan Optics Valley Optoelectronic Information Industry Cluster exceeds 600 billion yuan, and its fiber optic cable production ranks first in the world, strengthening the advantages of the optoelectronic industry chain; The high-end bearing industry cluster in Luoyang monopolizes the high-speed rail bearing market, promoting the localization and safety control of the industrial chain. The formation and development of characteristic industrial clusters are the result of the joint efforts of multiple parties, relying on policy support and guidance, market demand and resource advantages, technological innovation and talent aggregation, as well as upstream and downstream coordination of the industrial chain. Currently, the paradigm of industrial competition is upgrading from product competition and individual competition to competition in industrial chain clusters and industrial ecosystems. As a key driving force for cluster formation, the importance of upstream and downstream collaboration in the industrial chain is increasingly prominent. Firstly, what,? The collaborative mechanism optimizes the entire chain operation from upstream raw material supply to downstream sales services, reduces logistics and transaction costs, improves resource allocation efficiency, and accelerates enterprise agglomeration. Secondly, what,? Close cooperation between upstream and downstream enterprises promotes knowledge sharing and research and development cooperation, shortens the technology iteration cycle, and strengthens innovation diffusion and technology spillover. In addition, leading enterprises drive small and medium-sized enterprises to integrate into the industrial innovation network, forming a symbiotic model that is conducive to fully leveraging their traction and economies of scale. For example, the new energy vehicle industry in Zhejiang has developed rapidly in recent years, forming a trillion yuan industrial cluster by 2024. The complete industrial chain and the "chain owner full chain" symbiotic model have played an important role in it. The core of promoting the formation and development of characteristic industrial clusters through industrial chains lies in "integrating circles and building chains"?. Accurately locate the core links, clarify the core links of the industrial chain by analyzing industry development trends and local resource advantages, attract upstream and downstream enterprises to gather around this link, improve supporting systems, and build a complete industrial chain from raw material supply to after-sales service. At the same time, we will strengthen the infrastructure construction of the park and create specialized industrial spaces. Strengthen the driving force of leading enterprises, cultivate industry leaders, guide affiliated enterprises to gather towards leading enterprises, and form a cluster ecology with large enterprises as the core and small and medium-sized enterprises cooperating. Strengthen innovation drive and talent support, build a technology innovation platform, focus on talent cultivation and introduction, and provide intellectual support for cluster development. It is worth pointing out that the construction of regional characteristic industrial clusters focuses on the word "characteristic". Each region should focus on leveraging comparative advantages, adapting to local conditions for development, and creating competitive advantages in segmented fields. Scientifically coordinate the layout, form more specialized, differentiated, and characteristic industrial clusters nationwide, help promote high-quality regional economic development, and accelerate the high-end, intelligent, and green development of China's industrial system. Author: Song Huasheng (Professor at the School of Economics, Zhejiang University, and Deputy Director of the Central Economic Commission of the 93 Society)