(Yicai) Sept. 16 -- China’s electronic information manufacturing industry should target combined revenue of more than CNY30 trillion (USD4.47 trillion) among enterprises above a designated size by 2030, according to a development plan issued yesterday for the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan period, which runs from 2026 to 2030. 

The plan, released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission, aims to develop a range of competitive technologies and products in areas such as integrated circuits, advanced computing, consumer electronics, basic electronics and energy electronics. 

This plan identifies integrated circuits, electronic components, electronic materials, smart sensors and specialized electronic equipment as important areas for development. It calls for stronger research and development of key technologies and enhanced capabilities across industrial supply chains. 

China will also advance next-generation computing technologies, including quantum computing, optical computing, brain-inspired computing and space-based computing, while supporting the development of artificial intelligence computing clusters with hundreds of thousands of graphic processing units.

Consumer electronics is another key focus area. The plan calls for the intelligent upgrading of products such as smartphones, personal computers, VR/AR devices and wearables. It also supports the development of domestic operating systems like Huawei Technologies’ open-source HarmonyOS and technologies based on the RISC-V architecture.

In emerging growth areas, China will continue to expand the energy electronics industry by promoting the industrialization of high-efficiency photovoltaic cells and perovskite tandem cells. It will also advance the application of technologies such as solid-state, sodium-ion and flow batteries. The plan proposes developing satellite internet and direct-to-device satellite connectivity, while strengthening the integration of AI chips, on-device large language models and AI agents with end-user products.

The plan also calls for stronger industry governance, including coordinating capacity planning in certain sub-sectors and curbing involution-style competition, or excessive and self-defeating competition. It also proposes improving the accounting for a product’s carbon footprint, recycling lithium batteries and solar panels as well as expanding exports of high-end products.

Electronic information manufacturing is a major component of China's industrial economy. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, which ran from 2021 to 2025, this industry ranked first in terms of operating revenue among 41 major industrial categories for 13 consecutive years. In the past five years, significant progress has been made in sectors such as integrated circuits, servers and new displays, while applications of AI-powered devices and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System have also expanded.

Editor: Kim Taylor