China to expand high-end equipment manufacturing sector

China is looking to expand the sales revenue of its high-end equipment manufacturing sector to six trillion yuan ($951 billion) by 2015, according to the industry’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) published on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Sales of high-end equipment will account for 15 percent of the overall revenue of equipment manufacturing industry, and help generate 28 percent of industrial added value, together with a larger share of the global market, according to the plan on the ministry’s website.

By 2020, the proportion of revenue will expand to 25 percent, while the industrial added value part will grow another two percentage points, which will make high-end equipment manufacturing a pillar industry of the world’s second-largest economy.

High-end equipment mainly refers to aviation equipment, satellite and applications, railway transportation equipment, marine engineering equipment, and intelligent manufacturing equipment.

In 2010, the sales income of high-end equipment in China was 1.6 trillion yuan, which accounted for 8 percent of the total revenue of the equipment manufacturing industry.

The boom in the sector was attributed to China’s fast-growing industrial economy, which had the top position worldwide for two years in a row since 2009, according to the ministry.

Aircraft manufacturing will be one of the key growth areas, as the plan vowed to launch a new regional aircraft research project, while seeking an annual sales volume of 100 planes in the next three years by accelerating the innovation and promotion of existing models such as ARJ-21 and MA 60.

Meanwhile, China will continue its investment in high-speed railway innovation and the exploration of global markets, in order to establish its railway transportation industry as the world leader.

Supportive policies such as tax cuts on imports of raw materials and vital spare parts will be issued, and more financial resources will be directed to high-end equipment manufacturers to facilitate their development, according to the plan.