On January 21, 2025, the State Council Information Office of China held a press conference as part of the "China’s High-Quality Economic Development Achievements" series. In 2024, China’s industrial added value above designated size grew by 5.8% year-on-year, up 1.2 percentage points from 2023. China’s manufacturing sector has maintained the world’s largest overall scale for 15 consecutive years, and the industrial and information sectors contributed 40% to economic growth, effectively playing the role of a "stabilizer."
Zhang Yunming, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said at the conference that in 2024, China’s industrial economy overcame external pressures and internal difficulties, maintaining overall stability and steady progress. The sector displayed three key characteristics.
On one hand, the foundation of "stability" continued to strengthen. Zhang mentioned that among the 41 major industrial categories, 39 maintained growth, with key sectors like electronics, non-ferrous metals, chemicals, and automobiles contributing over 40% to industrial production growth. Regionally, 29 of the 31 provinces achieved year-on-year growth, with a growth coverage of 93.5%.
On the other hand, the momentum for "progress" continued to strengthen. This was mainly reflected in the fact that the added value of large-scale equipment manufacturing grew by 7.7% year-on-year, 1.9 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of all industries above designated size, contributing 46.2% to the total growth of the sector. High-tech manufacturing’s added value grew by 8.9%, and its share of the total industrial output above designated size increased by 0.6 percentage points compared to 2023.
Additionally, positive factors that have been continuously accumulating also contributed to the positive trend. In particular, under the influence of the "two new" policies (large-scale equipment upgrades and the replacement of consumer goods with old-for-new programs), investment in the purchase of industrial equipment and tools increased by 15.7% year-on-year, driving total investment growth by 2.2 percentage points. Currently, the number of industrial enterprises above designated size in China stands at 512,000, a 6.1% increase from the end of 2023.
"The achievements have not been easy, and more effort is needed for the future. China's industrial foundation is solid, its industries are resilient, and the development potential is huge. We are confident in driving the continued recovery and improvement of the industrial economy this year," Zhang Yunming stated. Moving forward, the MIIT will focus on implementing both existing and new policies, promoting continuous and stable growth in the industrial economy. Specifically, the Ministry will launch new action plans for stabilizing growth in the top ten key industries, with increased support for industrial provinces and cities. It will also research and establish plans to maintain a reasonable proportion of investment in the manufacturing sector, boost large-scale equipment upgrades, and support old-for-new programs in consumer goods. A national special action will be implemented to reduce the burden on enterprises, and measures will be taken to promote the construction of a unified national market, aiming to reasonably reduce the comprehensive costs of manufacturing and tax burdens.
