China has maintained its position as the world’s largest manufacturing hub for 11 straight years, accounting for nearly 30% of global manufacturing output, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). In the past five years, the value-added industrial output in China has increased from CNY23.5 trillion to CNY31.3 trillion, Xiao Yaqing, Minister of MIIT, said. During the 13^th Five Year Plan (2016-20) period, the average growth rate of the value-added output from China’s high-tech manufacturing sector reached 10.4%, up 4.9 percentage points from that of the overall industrial output, MIIT data showed. Software and information services have seen remarkable progress during the period. Their value-added industrial output surged from CNY1.8 trillion to CNY3.8 trillion with the proportion in the gross domestic product (GDP) growing from 2.5% to 3.7%. China supports the development of 5G, new-energy cars and chip industries to boost innovations and economic transformation, Minister Xiao said. 

By the end of 2020, household penetration of fixed broadband in China reached 96%, while the mobile broadband penetration rate was 108%. In terms of 5G development, the country had built a total of 718,000 5G base stations by the end of last year, with the number of mobile terminals connected to the network exceeding 200 million, according to the MIIT. China’s integrated circuit sales are estimated to reach CNY884.8 billion in 2020, up 20% year-on-year, said Tian Yulong, Chief Engineer at MIIT. China will further boost international cooperation to achieve the healthy development of the integrated circuit sector, he said. In July 2020, China rolled out a set of policies to support the high-quality development of the IC sector, covering tax incentives, financial support, research, market application and international cooperation, the Shanghai Daily reports.