Industrial growth fastest since 2010
China’s industrial output is expected to rise by around 6.5 percent this year, marking the best performance since 2010, as the Made in China 2025 strategy helps to boost productivity and revenue growth.
The increase is 0.5 percentage points higher than the targeted growth, partly driven by strong efforts to boost the use of new technology at traditional enterprises, Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, said on Monday.
“The country’s industrial economy has maintained steady and sound growth thanks to the implementation of the Made in China 2025 strategy. It effectively promoted the integration of manufacturing and new technologies such as the internet, big data and cloud computing,” Miao added.
The ministry also predicted that the country’s industrial output is likely to grow by around 6 percent next year, with revenue from the telecommunications, internet, and software and information technology service sectors increasing by 50 percent, 30 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Wang Peng, deputy director of the China Center for Information Industry Development, said: “The expected strong momentum comes mainly from the supply-side structural reform in the industrial sector, such as cutting overcapacity, which propelled the vitality of the whole industry and improved economic quality.”
In 2017, China has met the goal of reducing steel capacity by more than 50 million metric tons, and cutting overproduction in other industries such as cement, as the country deepens industrial restructuring.
According to Miao, the country will also publish guidelines on promoting the development of digital economy. Official data show that the country’s digital economy amounted to 22.58 trillion yuan ($3.43 trillion) last year, ranking second globally and accounting for around 30 percent of national GDP.