According to the website of the State Council Information Office, a press conference was held at 10 a.m. on the 30th. Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister, and Zhang Feng, Chief Engineer, introduced the development of the industrial and communications sectors in 2017 and answered questions from reporters.

MIIT | Top-level design of "Made in China 2025" completed

Miao Wei pointed out that since the launch and implementation of "Made in China 2025" more than two years ago, under the leadership of the National Leading Group for Building a Manufacturing Power, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has earnestly implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's strategic thinking on building a manufacturing power. It should be said that the top-level design of "Made in China 2025" has been completed. Over the past two years and more, the MIIT has also formed a working mechanism of vertical linkage and horizontal coordination. The five major projects are being steadily advanced. The creation of national-level demonstration zones will be launched in the near future. A number of major landmark projects and engineering projects have been implemented one after another, and the building of a manufacturing power has reached a new level.

Miao Wei introduced that, judging from the implementation of the five major projects, in terms of building national manufacturing innovation centers, including the three newly approved last year, there are now a total of five national-level manufacturing innovation centers. At the same time, we have also cultivated 48 provincial-level manufacturing innovation centers, forming a manufacturing innovation system with national innovation centers as core nodes and provincial manufacturing innovation centers as important supplements. In addition, positive results have been achieved in key areas such as large aircraft, integrated circuits, new materials, aircraft engines and gas turbines, 5G, and new energy vehicles.

In terms of the industrial foundation strengthening project, the MIIT supported 331 key projects last year. Problems described as "bottlenecks" in key areas such as high-speed train gear transmission systems and pump seals used in nuclear power generation systems have been initially resolved. In terms of the intelligent manufacturing project, 428 comprehensive standardization and new model application projects for intelligent manufacturing have made positive progress, 206 projects have been piloted and demonstrated, 22 national standards for intelligent manufacturing have been issued, and a number of digital workshops and smart factories have been initially built.

In terms of the green development project, the MIIT supported 225 major green manufacturing projects and built a green manufacturing system centered on green standards, green factories, green products, green parks, and green supply chains. In terms of the high-end equipment innovation project, major technological achievements were made last year. For example, the C919 large passenger aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight, and the CPC Central Committee and the State Council sent a congratulatory message, with important instructions from Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council. The AG600 amphibious aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight at the end of last year, and the CPC Central Committee and the State Council also sent a congratulatory message. In addition, a number of high-end innovation achievements, such as Chinese-standard EMU trains with speeds exceeding 350 kilometers per hour and the "Blue Whale No. 1," have continued to emerge.

Miao Wei stated that "Made in China 2025" has become a signature symbol of the MIIT's deep participation in bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the new round of global technological revolution and industrial transformation. In particular, it should be emphasized that "Made in China 2025" is an open and inclusive system. The MIIT has carried out extensive cooperation and exchanges with relevant countries and regions in areas such as strategy, standards, technology, talent, and high-end manufacturing equipment. For example, the MIIT established the Sino-German Working Group on Standardization for Intelligent Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, conducted exchanges between "Made in China 2025" and the U.S. National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, and established working groups with Europe, France, and Italy on industrial energy efficiency cooperation and green manufacturing. It is particularly worth mentioning that on January 9 this year, when President Xi Jinping held talks with French President Macron, he emphasized continuing to promote all-round alignment between "Made in China 2025" and France's future industry plan.

Miao Wei emphasized that in 2018 the MIIT will deeply implement "Made in China 2025," focusing on the following aspects: first, continue to deeply implement the five major projects; second, create national-level demonstration zones for "Made in China 2025"; third, cultivate a number of world-class advanced manufacturing clusters; fourth, promote the integrated development of manufacturing and the internet, and organize projects such as the cultivation of industrial internet platforms and the "cloud adoption" of one million industrial enterprises; fifth, improve the quality of the manufacturing supply system, implement this year's task of reducing steel overcapacity, and implement a new round of major technological transformation and upgrading projects; sixth, optimize the development environment for manufacturing, especially deepening the reform of "streamlining administration, delegating power, improving regulation, and upgrading services," and reducing institutional transaction costs.