China unveils measures to promote industrial equipment upgrades

This photo taken on March 25, 2024 shows assembly lines at a plant of Xiaomi in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)

The Chinese government has published specific goals and measures for industrial equipment upgrades in the latest effort to expand effective investment and develop new quality productive forces.

According to an action plan jointly published by seven government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the country will boost industrial equipment investment by more than 25 percent for the period 2023-2027.

By 2027, the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools in major enterprises will exceed 90 percent, and over 75 percent of their key production processes will be numerically controlled.

The manufacturing sector will make progress in high-end, intelligent and green development, and the building of a modern industrial system will be accelerated, said the document.

Specifically, the elimination of backward equipment will be expedited in sectors including agricultural and construction machinery and electric bicycles. High-tech enterprises in aviation, photovoltaic technology, power batteries and biological fermentation will be encouraged to update more advanced equipment with high efficiency and reliability.

In terms of digital transformation, the equipment upgrades in sectors such as numerical control machine tools, industrial robots and intelligent logistics will be promoted. Intelligent factories will see faster development, with deep application of new technologies including artificial intelligence, 5G and edge computing.

The green upgrades will be pushed forward in the production of steel, construction materials, non-ferrous metal and home appliances. Updated equipment will have higher energy efficiency, and there will be more widespread use of solid waste treatment and water-saving equipment.

The government has pledged greater fiscal and financial support for the industrial equipment upgrades.

There will be stronger preferential tax policies for equipment for energy and water conservation, environmental protection and production safety, as well as digital and intelligent transformation.

Special re-lending programs will be set up for technological innovation and upgrades, and financial institutions will be guided to strengthen credit support.