China launches state-backed guidance fund to support emerging, future industries

China on Friday launched the national venture capital guidance fund, in order to mobilize more patient capital for the country's emerging and future industries.

The fund was jointly initiated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF), with three regional funds set up in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

At a press conference in Beijing, officials from NDRC introduced the relevant efforts, emphasizing that the guidance fund will set up a national comprehensive service platform where value-added services will be provided.

"The guidance fund, together with the fund management institution, will focus on regions active in innovation and entrepreneurship, increasing investment in early-stage projects and seed enterprises in fields such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, aerospace, low-altitude economy, bio-manufacturing, and future energy. Efforts will be made to attract joint investment from various financial institutions and private capital. The guidance fund will also establish a high-quality, wide-coverage, and comprehensive venture investment service system. Such a national integrated service platform aims to provide portfolio companies with value-added services in corporate governance, strategic planning, human resources, and industrial cooperation, accompanying them in their pursuit of long-term growth," said Bai Jingyu, director of the NDRC Department of Innovation and High-Tech Development.

In addition, the guidance fund will also be used to support a series of key generic technology achievement transformation projects, along with some enterprises that undertake national missions or those that have made major breakthroughs.

Meanwhile, the guidance fund will take seed-stage and start-up enterprises as their main targets, with investment in such firms accounting for no less than 70 percent of the total fund size.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China's film market has sustained strong growth in 2025, with domestic and animated films leading the chart. The box office earnings have so far reached 51.2 billion yuan (about 7.2 billion U.S. dollars), with 1.22 billion tickets sold throughout the year, according to a report by China Media Group (CMG) on Friday. Domestic productions took center stage, grossing more than 42 billion yuan (about 5.98 billion U.S. dollars) and claiming nine spots in the annual top 10 box office ranking. Animated films also had a stellar year, amassing over 25 billion yuan (about 3.56 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, which accounted for almost half of the total market earnings.