China to plow big money into emerging industries

BEIJING - China is set to boost investment in emerging sectors ranging from artificial intelligence to biopharmaceuticals as it seeks fresh growth impetus in the new industrial revolution.

A number of local authorities, including Ningxia, Guangxi and Shandong, have rolled out support policies and detailed investment plans, eyeing a bigger proportion of such industries in the broader economy, according to the Economic Information Daily.

The government of Ningxia Hui autonomous region announced 20 million yuan ($3 million) of subsidies for 13 high-tech projects this year and hopes to attract investment totaling 3.65 billion yuan.

Partly due to a boost from robust emerging industries, the northwestern region posted stellar year-on-year GDP increase of 8.6 percent in the first half of the year, outpacing the country's 6.9 percent. The biopharma industry boomed more than 30 percent from a year ago in the region.

With similar plans, northern China's Shanxi province said it would strengthen efforts to promote innovation in emerging sectors.

From artificial intelligence and robots to drones and new energy vehicles, emerging sectors developed fast across China. The emerging and equipment manufacturing sectors lead the country's industrial growth in H1, with year-on-year output increases of 13.1 percent and 11.5 percent respectively.

The next five to 10 years are a crucial period for technological and industrial revolution, and innovation-driven emerging sectors will grow as a major driver for global economic recovery and growth, said Fei Zhirong, deputy secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

A month earlier, the NDRC inked an agreement with the China Development Bank, securing no less than 1.5 trillion yuan of loans from the policy bank to the sectors by the end of 2020.

The government expects the combined output of emerging sectors to account for 15 percent of GDP by 2020.

Each of the five new pillar industries, information technology, bio-industry, green and low-carbon industry, high-end manufacturing, and digital and creative industry, will see output of 10 trillion yuan by then.