(Yicai Global) March 6 -- China is expected to further increase investment in the manufacturing sector as the industrial economy will likely bounce back this year, according to the head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The MIIT will create guidelines to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, Jin Zhuanglong said yesterday on the first day of the Two Sessions, the country's annual policy-setting meetings. The general direction is to focus on high-end, intelligent, and green industries, transforming traditional low-end industries into a middle- and high-end ones, he noted.

China's added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased 3.6 percent to exceed CNY40 trillion (USD5.8 trillion) for the first time last year from 2021, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The manufacturing sector's output reached CNY33.5 trillion, ranking first globally for the 13th consecutive year and accounting for 27.7 percent of the gross domestic product.

Regarding investment in and construction of new infrastructures, Jin pointed out that China has built over 2.3 million fifth-generation base stations, with users exceeding 575 million. The country will build 600,000 new 5G base stations this year.

The MIIT has supported the industry to form a sixth-generation promotion group to strengthen international cooperation and accelerate 6G research and development, Jin added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev