Speakers:
Tian Yulong, chief engineer and spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)
Zhao Zhiguo, spokesperson of the MIIT and director general of the Bureau of Information and Communications Administration of the MIIT
Tao Qing, an official of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination of the MIIT
Chairperson:
Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
Jan. 18, 2023
Xing Huina:
Friends from the media, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we have invited Mr. Tian Yulong, chief engineer and spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Mr. Tian will brief you on the development of the industry and information technology sector in 2022 and take your questions. We are also joined by Mr. Zhao Zhiguo, spokesperson of the MIIT and director general of the Bureau of Information and Communications Administration of the MIIT, and Ms. Tao Qing, an official of the Bureau of Operation Monitoring and Coordination of the MIIT.
Now, I'll give the floor to Mr. Tian Yulong for a brief introduction.
Tian Yulong:
Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the media, good afternoon. As the new year begins and the Spring Festival approaches, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best Chinese New Year wishes to you in advance and wish you happiness and good luck in the upcoming Year of Rabbit. I'd also like to thank you for your continued interest in and support for the development of the industry and information technology sector. Now, I'll brief you on the sector's general situation in 2022.
The year 2022 was of crucial significance in history to both the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the nation. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the MIIT, together with all localities and government departments, has thoroughly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. It has acted in full accordance with the key requirements of ensuring effective COVID-19 containment, economic stability, and development security. It has also proactively responded to the shocks of unexpected factors. As a result, China's industry and information technology sector achieved generally stable growth while making further progress. Specifically, the industrial economy has resumed steady growth with a promising outlook; the information and communications technology (ICT) industry has posted a stable growth; and the industrial and supply chains has achieved unimpeded and stable operations. In addition, the industrial sector's contributions to the national economy have further increased; the nation's industrial development has shown greater resilience; and the specialized development of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been further accelerated. In general, the sector has the following four highlights.
First, the industrial economy has resumed its steady growth with a promising outlook, and its role as an anchor of the macro economy has become even more evident. Ensuring stable growth was high on the agenda last year. Given this, we took multiple measures to expand investment, boost spending, and stabilize foreign trade, and our efforts to ensure the unimpeded and stable operations of industrial and supply chains have paid off. In 2022, China's added value of industries above the designated size grew by 3.6% year on year, and that of the manufacturing industry increased 3% year on year. Investment in the manufacturing sector climbed 9.1% from a year earlier, and the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose 5.5% year on year. The industrial economy provided a strong support for stabilizing the macro economy. The industrial sector contributed to 36% of the nation's economic growth, a relatively high level compared to recent years. The industrial sector lifted the nation's economic growth by 1.1 percentage points, which included a boost of 0.8 percentage points from the manufacturing industry. The added value of the manufacturing industry accounted for 27.7% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), up 0.2 percentage points over the previous year.
Second, industrial restructuring, transformation, and upgrading have been thoroughly advanced, and industrial development has shown greater resilience. We have continued regarding high-quality development as our top priority and strived to promote industrial restructuring, transformation, and upgrading. As a result, the manufacturing sector has become higher-end, smarter, and more eco-friendly at an accelerated pace. A number of sci-tech innovation achievements have been made. For example, China's first self-developed C919 large passenger aircraft was delivered at the end of last year. Breakthroughs were also made in the whole machine and key spare parts of China's self-developed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which has been certified for marketing and put into use. A total 45 national-level advanced manufacturing clusters and another 100 SME clusters for distinctive local business were developed. The industrial internet has been used in 45 major categories of the national economy, and there has been more than 240 influential industrial internet platforms, injecting new impetus to industrial upgrading. Steady progress has been made in the eco-friendly and low-carbon transformation of industries. In the first 11 months of 2022, the energy consumption per unit of added value of industries above the designated size dropped 1.4% year on year. The added value of high-tech manufacturing industry grew by 7.4% year on year in 2022, 4.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate of the added value of the manufacturing sector as a whole. The production of new products maintained a high growth rate. In particular, the production of new energy vehicles has been ranking first globally for eight consecutive years, and their production and sales grew by 96.9% and 93.4% year on year, respectively. This speaks volumes for the resilience and stability of industrial development.
Third, the ICT industry posted a stable and continuous growth, and industrial integration further enabled the sector's development. We continued leveraging the leading role of new-generation information technologies, and ramped up efforts to develop new business forms and tech applications. In 2022, the revenue of China's telecommunication sector grew by 8%. Investment in the sector continued to expand, and infrastructure kept improving. China built 887,000 new 5G base stations in 2022, and the total number amounted to 2.312 million, accounting for over 60% of the global total. Among Chinese cities, 110 have reached the standard of building 1000M fiber optic networks. The number of mobile Internet of things (IoT) connections in China reached 1.84 billion, making China the first among major economies to have more IoT connections than internet users. The number of 5G users reached 561 million, accounting for one-third of all mobile phone users, 2.75 times that of the global average. Integration of tech applications were further accelerated. More than 50,000 5G applications have enabled multiple sectors such as industries and healthcare services. The management of mobile applications saw further progress in 2022, and users' rights and interests were effectively safeguarded. More efforts were made to strengthen the protection of critical information infrastructure and improve data security management in industry and information technology sector at an accelerated pace. The capacity to ensure emergency communications continued to strengthen, and the nation's basic telecommunication networks maintained their safe and stable operations. The ICT industry has effectively supported and guaranteed economic and social development and the construction of the digital economy.
Fourth, policy planning continued to take effect, which further boosted business confidence. We earnestly implemented the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, kept policy planning as our main focus in order to stabilize growth, and continued to unleash policy dividend and boost business confidence. We scaled up the efforts to carry out the policy package on stabilizing economy and its follow-up measures. We also worked with relevant government bodies to introduce a series of policy documents on further boosting the industrial economy and providing assistance to SMEs. We organized and rolled out 27 plans in the industry and information technology sector for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), in a bid to ensure the coordination and implementation of key industries, projects, and programs. The driving force of these policies and plans has translated into a strong momentum to restore the industrial economy and boosted business confidence and expectations. In 2022, China's tax and fee cuts, tax refunds, and tax and fee deferrals for all types of market entities topped 4 trillion yuan, about 40% of which were offered for micro and small businesses. This has created a solid guarantee to ease the difficulties of SMEs and enable their sound and stable development.
In 2023, the development of the industry and information technology sector still faces a severe and complicated domestic and overseas environment. In particular, the sector's stable operations in the first quarter requires arduous efforts. We believe that, with the optimization of COVID-19 response and the effect of both existing and new policies, we have the confidence, resolve, and ability to cope with various difficulties and challenges. Looking forward, we will fully carry out the guiding principles of 20th CPC National Congress and the decisions and plans of the Central Economic Work Conference. We will keep ensuring stable growth high on the agenda and strive to expand demand, foster market circulation, assist businesses, strengthen growth momentum, and stabilize expectations. We will see to it that the industry and information technology sector achieve new progress, expedite the development of new industrialization, and make new and greater contributions to building a modern socialist country in all respects.
That concludes my introduction. Next, my colleagues and I will take your questions. Thank you.
Xing Huina:
The floor is now open for questions. Please indicate the media organization you work for before raising questions.
