Minister prioritizes stable growth for industrial development

BEIJING -- China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has stated that stabilizing industrial growth in 2022 is its top priority, and it has urged efforts to promote the upgrading of manufacturing and facilitate digital and green transformations.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Xiao Yaqing, minister of industry and information technology, said that ensuring stable industrial growth, particularly a good start in the first quarter of next year, should be set as the most important task at present, citing high commodity prices and supply chain challenges.

According to Xiao, the ministry will roll out multiple measures to boost the development of the industrial sector, which is the "ballast stone" of the macroeconomic market.

Xiao called for efforts to guarantee smooth supply channels for key products and relieve the chip shortage in the automobile sector and elsewhere.

Financial institutions will be encouraged to enhance support for enterprises' digital upgrade and low-carbon development, and foreign-funded firms will be supported in participating in China's industrial and supply chain construction, according to Xiao.

The minister also pledged measures to promote the consumption of new-energy vehicles (NEVs), low-carbon and intelligent home appliances, and cultivate sectors such as intelligent connected vehicles and winter sports equipment that not only lead to sci-tech development but also improve people's livelihoods.

To boost the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, Xiao said the ministry aims to incubate about 3,000 "little giant" firms next year, referring to small enterprises in their early stage of development and focusing on high-end technologies.

He also noted that China has made great progress in advancing the digital upgrade and green growth of the industrial sector.

Currently, China boasts nearly 1.4 million 5G base stations and over 150 large industrial internet platforms. China's production capacity of crude steel has been cut by over 150 million tonnes in recent years.

Looking forward, Xiao called for promoting the application of "5G plus industrial internet" in more scenarios and improving companies' capabilities in using digital technologies.

Efforts should also be made to improve green and low-carbon transformation activity in the manufacturing industry, and prevent the disorderly expansion of high-emission sectors, according to Xiao.