China to promote high-quality growth of light industry

BEIJING -- China has issued a guideline on advancing high-quality development in the light industry, vowing to significantly improve its competence and stabilize its share in economic growth by 2025.

Development of the sector will be ramped up to increase domestic demand and boost consumption, said the guideline jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and four other government agencies.

It has outlined six growth targets related to stabilizing business operations, science and technology innovation, industrial structure upgrades, branding, industrial chain improvements and green development.

The guideline has stressed efforts to significantly increase major firms' valid patents and research and development spending in key areas, while forming a batch of competitive industrial chains and demonstration factories for intelligent manufacturing.

"We will work with industry associations, research institutions and key companies to form industrial chain system for the subsectors of home appliance, plastic, cosmetics and dairy products," said He Yaqiong, an official with the ministry.

The ministry will also support the development of high-quality raw material bases for the dairy, canned food, brewery, grain and cooking oil sectors, and upgrade the whole industrial chain for bulk food, He added.