On September 5, the "Action Plan for Steady Growth in the Electronic Information Manufacturing Industry for 2023-2024" was released to the public. With this, all ten key industry action plans—covering steel, petrochemicals, machinery, automobiles, light industry, and other sectors—that have been jointly formulated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology together with relevant departments have now been issued and implemented.
　　Reporters from the Economic Reference News learned at a press conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that, in the next step, relevant departments will accelerate the implementation of the work plan for stabilizing growth in ten key industries and continue to build up policy reserves. At the same time, they will speed up the restoration and expansion of demand, systematically promote the development of emerging industries such as 5G, intelligent connected vehicles, and new materials, proactively plan for future industries, and continuously enhance growth momentum.
　　Since the beginning of this year, China’s industrial economy has generally maintained a recovery and improvement trend. In the first seven months, the value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 3.8% year-on-year, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.2 percentage points compared to the whole of last year and by 0.8 percentage points compared to the first quarter. Fixed-asset investment in the industrial sector rose by 8.5% year-on-year, continuing its steady expansion. Exports of “new three” products—such as new-energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells—were robust, with export values increasing by 52.3% year-on-year.
　　“Overall, China’s industrial economy is in a phase of consolidating its foundations and nurturing its strengths following the pandemic. Although there have been some twists and turns in the production recovery process, China still remains among the world’s leading major economies, and the trend of continued recovery in the industrial economy remains unchanged,” said Tao Qing, Director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
　　To promote the sustained recovery of the industrial economy, key industries play a crucial role in driving growth. “We’ve selected major manufacturing sectors—such as iron and steel, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, building materials, machinery, automobiles, power equipment, light industry, and electronic information manufacturing—that are large-scale, highly influential, and closely interconnected. The combined value-added of these sectors accounts for roughly 70% of the value-added generated by industrial enterprises above a designated size,” said Tao Qing. “By stabilizing these key industries, we can essentially stabilize the entire industrial economy.”
　　The reporter noted that, on the one hand, relevant measures are focused on restoring and expanding demand in key sectors, thereby boosting investment, consumption, and exports in a coordinated manner. Among these, more than 70% of the demand in the machinery industry stems from investments in new or upgraded equipment for infrastructure construction and other industries—making it a major battleground for stabilizing exports. Wang Weiming, Director-General of the First Division of Equipment Industry at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that it is essential to step up policy support, including credit incentives, establish high-level platforms for matching supply and demand, and promote quality improvement and efficiency enhancement in foreign trade exports. We should also coordinate efforts to tackle critical technologies in smart manufacturing, innovate business models, and accelerate the promotion and application of these innovations, speeding up the digital and intelligent transformation of the manufacturing sector and fully unleashing the demand for new or upgraded equipment investments.
　　The automotive industry boasts a long industrial chain, wide-ranging involvement, and strong driving effects. The “Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Automotive Industry (2023–2024)” aims to achieve annual automobile sales of approximately 27 million vehicles in 2023, representing an increase of about 3% over the previous year, including around 9 million new-energy vehicle sales, up roughly 30% year-on-year. Wang Weiming stated that they will effectively implement preferential policies such as reduced taxes on new-energy vehicles and ships, as well as vehicle purchase tax reductions, and organize pilot programs for comprehensive electrification of vehicles in public sectors, along with initiatives to bring new-energy vehicles to rural areas, thereby further expanding consumption of these vehicles. They will also encourage automakers to accelerate research and development and production of automotive products tailored for international markets, fostering competitive advantages in auto exports.
　　On the other hand, a series of measures are focused on building a high-quality supply system—stabilizing industries, nurturing enterprises, and establishing standards—to stimulate the intrinsic driving force behind industrial growth. For example, in response to challenges such as weak demand, declining expectations, and slowing growth in the electronic information manufacturing sector, Yang Xudong, Deputy Director of the Electronic Information Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the department will remain committed to innovation-led development, accelerate breakthroughs in key materials, equipment, and weak links in manufacturing processes, and ensure a steady supply of high-quality products. Facing challenges such as lingering shortcomings in certain critical components of the power equipment industry and overcapacity in some specific areas, Yuan Xintao, First-Level Inspector of the Second Division of Equipment Industry at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that the department will leverage the role of “chain-leading” enterprises to strengthen the industry’s strengths, address its weaknesses, and consolidate its foundations; speed up integration with next-generation information technologies; and promote the development of advanced manufacturing clusters in the power equipment sector.
　　“Relevant policy measures are focused on targeted strategies for key industries, leveraging coordinated efforts from both the supply and demand sides. This will further harness China’s developmental advantages—stemming from its complete industrial system and its ultra-large market scale—to promote steady growth in key industries and facilitate structural optimization and upgrading,” said Zhu Keli, Executive Director of the China Information Association and Founding Dean of the National Research Institute for New Economy, to a reporter from Economic Reference News.
　　Tao Qing stated that the next step will be to strengthen the coordinated implementation of policies, accelerate the execution of the work plan for stabilizing growth in the ten key industries, and continuously enhance policy research and preparation. We will focus on enterprise needs to improve the precision and effectiveness of our policies.