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Read in Chinese

Speakers:

Tian Yulong, spokesperson and chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)

Tao Qing, a person in charge of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination, MIIT

Wang Peng, a person in charge of the Bureau of Information and Communications Administration, MIIT

Chairperson:

Xing Huina, deputy head of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and SCIO spokesperson

Date:

July 19, 2022

Xing Huina:

Friends from the media, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the SCIO. This is a regular briefing on China's economic data. Today, we are joined by Mr. Tian Yulong, spokesperson and chief engineer of MIIT; Ms. Tao Qing, a person in charge of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination of MIIT; and Mr. Wang Peng, a person in charge of the Bureau of Information and Communications Administration of MIIT, to brief you on the development of China's industry and information technology in the first half of 2022, and to take your questions.

Now, let's give the floor to Mr. Tian for his introduction.

Tian Yulong:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good morning. I'd like to begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to you for your interest in and support for the development of industry and information technology. Next, I'll brief you on the developments in the first half of 2022. 

In the first half of the year, MIIT consistently upheld Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implemented the guiding principles of the Central Economic Work Conference and the arrangements in the Government Work Report, and followed the overall requirements set by the central authorities to "contain the pandemic, stabilize the economy, and ensure safe development." We effectively coordinated pandemic prevention and control with economic development, responded to new risks and challenges brought about by changes in both the domestic and international landscapes, and successfully reversed the declining trend in industrial economic indicators. The industrial economy stabilized and rebounded, showing a recovery momentum and giving full play to its role as ballast for the economy.

First, we made every effort to stabilize the industrial economy and restore its growth. In the first half of this year, we resolutely implemented a package of policies and measures introduced by the central authorities to firmly stabilize the economy, and worked with other parties to produce results at a faster pace. There were four highlights among the main economic indicators. First, industrial production stabilized and recovered quite visibly. From January to June, the added value of industries above designated size grew by 3.4% year on year. Growth registered 0.7% in May after dropping to -2.9% in April, and rose quickly to 3.9% in June, showing a V-shaped trend. Second, the manufacturing sector's share in GDP increased significantly. The added value of manufacturing above designated size grew by 2.8% year on year, accounting for 28.8% of GDP, 1.4 percentage points higher than in 2021. Third, exports played a bigger role in driving growth. The export delivery value of industrial enterprises rose by 10.8% in the first six months of the year. Specifically, growth was 11.1% in May and 15.1% in June after falling to 1.9% in April. Fourth, manufacturing investment maintained a high growth rate. Investment in manufacturing increased by 10.4% year on year, with 7.4% coming in the second quarter, 3.2 percentage points higher than the growth rate of fixed asset investment.

Second, we worked hard to keep key industrial and supply chains smooth. Industrial and supply chains are the lifeblood of industrial economy. The new round of COVID-19 outbreaks had a significant impact on industry and supply chains. In the first half of this year, we took effective measures, and promptly established and implemented a nationwide white list system for enterprises centered on key areas, key industries, key companies and key areas of people's livelihoods while also considering anti-pandemic medical supplies, key supplies for strategic industries and other resources, which helped realize cross-departmental and cross-regional linkage and coordination. By encouraging enterprises on key nodes along the chains to resume work and production, and promoting smooth operation of the industrial economy through nodes driving chains and overall development, we solved more than 54,000 problems through the system and achieved remarkable achievements. At present, China's industrial enterprises above designated size, including 22,500 enterprises on the white list, have achieved stable production, strongly supporting the steady growth of the industrial economy.

Third, the resilience of industrial development continued to grow. In the first half of this year, the added value of high-tech manufacturing rose by 9.6% year on year, demonstrating strong resilience and serving as an important engine for high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Emerging industries have become an important new driving force for promoting transformation and upgrading as well as strengthening industrial resilience. First of all, we vigorously fostered advanced manufacturing clusters and sped up the development of emerging industries including new-type displays, intelligent photovoltaics and new materials. In addition, we encouraged the introduction of three-year action plans for digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, implemented smart manufacturing projects, and accelerated the development of industrial and supply chains for major equipment. Furthermore, we drew up low-carbon technology roadmaps for key industries and carried out green and low-carbon technology transformation. Also, we organized a nationwide campaign to increase the variety and quality of products and nurture domestic brands, and continued to promote a new round of activities encouraging the use of new energy vehicles and green building materials in the countryside, so as to improve supply and stimulate the vitality and potential of consumption.

Fourth, we redoubled efforts to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) ease difficulties and stabilize operation. Developing SMEs is an important foundation for stabilizing employment and promoting growth, and a vital task for ensuring market entities. In collaboration with relevant departments, we introduced a series of policies and measures to accelerate the implementation of a package of tax and fee reduction policies. In the first half of the year, nearly 1.8 trillion yuan in additional tax and fee cuts, tax refunds, and postponed tax payments were delivered to SMEs. We took solid and special actions to provide services for SMEs, guarded against and cleared arrears owned to them, and promoted integrated innovation among large, medium and small-sized enterprises, among others. To expedite the step-by-step development of high-quality SMEs, we will strive this year to foster around 3,000 "little giants" (specialized and sophisticated SMEs producing new and unique products) and a group of distinctive SMEs industrial clusters. We will organize comprehensive inspections to reduce the burden on enterprises and promote the development of SMEs. We will not only help SMEs ease difficulties and stabilize operation, but also contribute to their steady and sustained development. In general, the added value of SMEs above designated size grew by 3.7% year on year in the first half of this year, faster than the overall industrial growth rate.

Fifth, we have strongly promoted the integrated and innovative development of information and communications. We have stepped up the development of the information and communications industry, and promoted the deep integration of the new generation of information technology with the real economy. In the first half of the year, the information and communications industry developed steadily. The revenue of the telecommunications industry increased by 8.3%. The revenue of the software and information technology service industry is expected to maintain double-digit growth. Investment in fixed assets of telecommunications grew by 24.6% year on year. We have continued to improve the information infrastructure. More than 1.85 million 5G base stations have been built and put into use. We have accelerated the promotion of integrated applications, advancing the construction of fully connected 5G factories. The industrial internet has been widely applied in various fields of the manufacturing industry. We have launched actions to improve information and communications services, further promoted improvements to internet applications for the convenience of senior citizens and made barrier-free facilities available, so as to improve the well-being of all people, including senior citizens and people with disabilities. We have continued to consolidate the foundation of cybersecurity, making more efforts to prevent and address telecommunications and internet fraud, and maintaining the safe and stable operation of the basic telecommunications network.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the first half of the year, China's industrial economy showed strong resilience and development momentum with enterprise vitality being unleashed, which fully proves that the series of economic policies are paying off under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. We are confident about and capable of dealing with various difficult challenges, and consolidating and maintaining continuous improvements to the overall industrial economy. Next, we will thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, make stability our top priority, pursue progress while ensuring stability, promote the high-quality development of industry and information technology, and set the stage for the 20th CPC National Congress with concrete actions.

That is all for my introduction. My colleagues and I are now happy to answer your questions.