China's centrally administered SOEs accelerate investment in emerging industries in 2021-2025 period: regulator

China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have stepped up their investment in emerging industries during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with the overall progress of the campaign to deepen and upgrade the reform of SOEs in line with expectations, according to the state assets regulator on Wednesday.

Data released at a press conference on China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council showed that centrally administered SOEs have invested a total of 8.6 trillion yuan (about 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars) since the start of the 14th five-Year Plan period, with rapid growth seen in such emerging industries as integrated circuits, biotechnology, and new energy vehicles. Breakthroughs have also been made in cutting-edge emerging industries, including humanoid robots and superconducting quantum computing.

"Since 2023, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council has launched the industrial renewal action and the future industry navigation action for centrally administered SOEs, and has continuously strengthened guidance through performance assessments and policy support. In 2024, investment by centrally administered SOEs in strategic emerging industries accounted for more than 40 percent of their total investment for the first time, while their revenue from these sectors approached 30 percent [of the total]," said Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

According to the data, the revenue of centrally administered SOEs from strategic emerging industries surpassed 11 trillion yuan (about 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2024, with each of the five key sectors, including new-generation information technology and high-end equipment, generating over 1 trillion yuan (about 140.7 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue.

In addition, the state assets regulator said the power generation from cumulative installed capacity of the renewable energy by centrally administered SOEs has accounted for approximately half of the national total, and their share of the industrial software market has exceeded 20 percent.

"Efforts will be made in enhancing the strategic function of the state-owned sector, as new results have been achieved in promoting the rational flow and optimized allocation of state capital. At present, the revenue of centrally administered SOEs from sectors concerning national security, the national economic lifeline, and people's livelihoods accounts for over 70 percent of their total revenue," said Li Zhen, vice chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

China's centrally administered SOEs accelerate investment in emerging industries in 2021-2025 period: regulator

A wildfire that engulfed part of a forest in Shantou City of south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday has been extinguished after 17 hours of concerted efforts by multiple departments including emergency response, firefighting and public security units.

Villagers living at the foot of Xianglu Mountain were the first to notice the fire erupting on its slopes.

"It looked far away and I thought it was just someone burning garbage," recalled one villager.

Upon discovering the fire, local authorities immediately organized personnel to combat the flames, with mobilization of over 200 rescuers from surrounding areas to assist in the firefighting efforts.

"We were divided into two to three groups, with one conducting regular firefighting and another using water pumps to extinguish the fire," said one rescuer.

Given the rapid spread of the fire, local officials also called in aerial support with helicopters to aid in extinguishing the blaze. Furthermore, many personnel organized by local grassroots departments were actively involved in the firefighting efforts.

By 06:00 on Monday, the wildfire was finally extinguished without causing any casualties. The dry climate in winter increases the risk of forest fire in the region. However, the cause of the forest fire is still under investigation.

Wildfire extinguished in south China's Guangdong after 17 hours of efforts