MANUFACTURING
China will further open up its massive manufacturing sector to foreign investors and favorable policies under the country’s ambitious “Made in China 2025” initiative will also apply to foreign companies operating in China, the industry and information technology minister said on Monday.
The comments came amid rising trade tensions between China and the US, with the latter having announced a slew of measures against Chinese technology products and consumer electronics, reportedly trying to counter the “Made in China 2025” plan. Some foreign officials and companies have also raised concerns that the industrial upgrade plan could favor Chinese firms over their foreign competitors.
“All the policies and measures that support ‘Made in China 2025’ will be applicable to all types of enterprises in China, and domestic and foreign companies will be treated equally,” Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a panel at the China Development Forum on Monday in Beijing. “We will further open up the manufacturing industry and offer foreign firms more investment opportunities.”
Launched in 2015, “Made in China 2025” is a policy initiative that aims to spearhead the upgrading and modernization of China’s manufacturing sector and help the country to become a global manufacturing powerhouse.