Chinese officials, enterprises vow strong support for expanding advanced manufacturing

Chinese officials, state enterprises, and financial institutions have voiced strong support for President Xi Jinping's latest call to expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing, pledging concrete actions to support the Chinese modernization drive.

Xi made the remarks at a national conference on advanced manufacturing held in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday.

China's advanced manufacturing industry has continued to grow and expand, and the country's innovation, competitiveness, and overall strength have significantly improved, Xi said, adding that solid steps have been made in building a manufacturing powerhouse.

Officials responded to Xi's call, vowing more measures to drive the development of advanced manufacturing.

"[We will] promote the upgrades of key industries to move them toward the medium- and high-end of the value chain, accelerate the transition between old and new growth drivers, and take multi-pronged measures to vigorously develop advanced manufacturing, so as to provide robust support for advancing Chinese modernization," said Shao Ji, deputy director of the industry development department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

"We will strive to fulfill the objective of achieving new industrialization, deepen the integration of technological and industrial innovation, step up efforts for breakthroughs in critical core technologies, deepen the application of scientific and technological advances, and continuously expand and strengthen advanced manufacturing," said Yao Jun, head of the planning department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Efforts should be made to ensure both high-quality development and greater security, pursue smart, green and integrated development, and make the country's industrial chains more self-supporting and risk-resilient, Xi stressed.

He emphasized the need to accelerate the development of a modernized industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone, and reinforce the foundations of the real economy.

Officials and industry leaders echoed these sentiments, vowing to drive breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields and improve manufacturing capabilities to support the development of advanced manufacturing.

"Manufacturing is the foundation of the nation and the bedrock of its strength. It is the lifeblood of the national economy. Grounded in our responsibilities in public finance, we will further leverage the guiding role of fiscal policy to support the development of advanced manufacturing to enable it to grow better and faster," said Fang Xing, deputy director of the Department of Economic Construction of the Ministry of Finance.

"As a central state-owned enterprise in the high-end equipment sector, we deeply recognize that this represents both a major strategic opportunity and a weighty mission. Bearing in mind the country's most fundamental interests, we will continue to drive breakthroughs in critical core technologies, strengthen our advanced aviation manufacturing capabilities, and contribute to the building of a manufacturing powerhouse through tangible results in achieving self-reliance and control in aviation equipment," said Guo Shengjie, deputy general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

Officials and representatives from major state-owned enterprises also vowed to fully implement policies for key areas to continuously boost the innovation capacity, competitiveness, and overall strength of advanced manufacturing.

"Centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the backbone of China's advanced manufacturing. We will step up our innovation capabilities and explore new pathways for manufacturing transformation. We will also advance the 'chain leader' initiative for modern industrial chains among central SOEs, and boost the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains," said Shang Peng, deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

"We will focus on mastering critical technologies in fields such as major equipment, agricultural machinery, and high-end instruments, nurture clusters for specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products and move our industrial and value chains further up the ladder," said Zhang Daliang, director of the Strategic Development Department of China National Machinery Industry Corporation, or Sinomach.

"With next-generation communication networks, the national integrated computing network, and artificial intelligence infrastructure, we undertake the tasks of the 'six-network' initiative, build a 5G industrial private network, and create a new type of infrastructure combining terrestrial and satellite systems," said Liu Gang, general manager of the government affairs department of China Mobile.

"Currently, the balance of manufacturing loans at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has surpassed 5.8 trillion yuan (about 864.7 billion U.S. dollars). We will continue to align with national strategic priorities, precisely channeling financial resources into the real economy. Through tangible financial support, we aim to safeguard the security and stability of industrial and supply chains and contribute to the development of a modern industrial system," said Zhang Feng, general manager of the CBC financial service department.

Chinese officials, enterprises vow strong support for expanding advanced manufacturing

China will further improve its inspection, testing and certification system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) by boosting the sector's credibility and strengthening its support for industry, a government official said on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference on the new five-year plan, Shu Wei, deputy administrator of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), outlined a series of measures to tighten oversight of the sector.

On the credibility front, authorities will deepen reform of the qualification approval system for inspection and testing institutions by introducing a "one list, one database" management approach to strictly control the market entry, Shu said.

Long-term mechanisms will be established to combat fake certification and the buying and selling of certificates, with severe penalties for issuing false reports or conducting tests beyond approved scopes, Shu said.

A traceability and verification system for inspection and testing reports will also be built with unified coding, allowing reports to be looked up with a single code and traced through a single number, he said.

In terms of industrial support, certification will be promoted in key sectors such as Beidou navigation and integrated circuits, alongside the development of national-level quality inspection public service platforms, the official said.

Testing capabilities will be upgraded in areas including core basic components and other foundational industrial equipment, Shu said.

During the five-year period, China plans to build no fewer than 30 national quality inspection centers and no less than 300 public service platforms for inspection and testing, he said.

The official said the reforms are also aimed at facilitating China's trade with the rest of the world.

"Inspection, testing, certification and accreditation can help enterprises and products enter international markets smoothly, which is why they are known as the 'passport' for international trade. We will strengthen the international alignment of testing and certification results, so that one evaluation can gain recognition from multiple countries, helping Chinese products go global," he said.

China to further improve inspection, testing, certification system during 15th Five-Year Plan Period: official