Economy

Environmental Protection Equipment Output to Hit RMB 1 Trillion by 2020

China aims to boost its output of environmental protection equipment manufacturing to RMB 1 trillion （about US $151 billion） by 2020， according to a guideline issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology （MIIT） at the end of October.

The guideline expects the industry to establish an innovation-driven development system by 2020， by making breakthroughs in key technologies and enhancing its supply efficiency. Major fields covered by the guideline include air and water pollution control and treatment， as well as treatment for soil contamination and solid waste.

The guideline encouraged manufacturers to accelerate technological research to develop key pollution control equipment and materials， boosting their application in such sectors as steel， chemical， non-ferrous metal， and construction materials.

The guideline pointed out that the manufacturing process should be smarter and greener， with the Internet of Things， robots， and automation equipment widely applied in the environmental protection equipment industry.

The guideline also encouraged manufacturers to further improve their products and strengthen branding to bring higher added value to domestic equipment of environmental protection. Industrial clusters with both leading companies and small businesses will be established. The industry also seeks integrated development with the Internet， the service sector， and the financial industry.

The guideline highlighted fiscal and financial support for the sector， including financing instruments such as green credit and green bonds.

In 2016， the output value of Chinese environmental protection equipment manufacturing doubled to RMB 620 billion， compared with 2011， MIIT data showed.

Timeline Set to Develop Industrial Internet

China has set a clear timetable to integrate industry with the Internet， or the “industrial Internet，” according to Chen Zhaoxiong， vice minister of MIIT， who elaborated on a guideline to develop the industrial Internet at a news conference in early November.

According to the guideline， by 2025， construction of the industrial Internet infrastructure network covering all regions and sectors will be basically completed. By 2035， China will lead the world in key sectors of the industrial Internet.

By the middle of the century， China should be among the top countries in terms of overall strength of industrial Internet.endprint

A State Council executive meeting held at the end of October approved the guideline， promising a favorable environment for the development of industrial Internet with relevant fiscal support.

The guideline pointed out that enterprises must improve security levels， while network security systems for key manufacturing sectors such as automobiles， energy， and aviation & aerospace will be put in place.

The industrial Internet will support the “Made in China 2025” strategy， a blueprint for upgrading the countrys manufacturing sector. China will step up financial support for major projects of the strategy. The total funding is likely to exceed RMB 10 billion during the 2016-2020 period， according to relevant experts.

Trade between China & Belt and Road Countries up 15 Percent

Trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road amounted to US $785.9 billion in the first three quarters of this year， representing a 15 percent increase from the same period last year， said Ministry of Commerce （MOC） spokesman Gao Feng at a news conference in early November.

According to Gao， from January to September， Chinese businesses directly invested US $9.6 billion in countries along the Belt and Road. The newly signed contracts between China and those countries had a combined value of US $96.72 billion.

Chinese businesses have helped the building of 75 trade and economic cooperation zones in 24 countries along the Belt and Road， generating US $2.21 billion in taxes and creating over 209，000 jobs in host countries， according to statistics from the MOC.

Gao said that several key cooperative projects have been accelerated. For example， construction of the China-Laos Railway and Lahore-Karachi Motorway has already begun. In addition， Kenyas Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is now in operation.

The Belt and Road Initiative trade and infrastructure projects connect Asia with Europe and Africa. It is expected to make a significant and positive impact on the economic development of China， countries along the routes， and even the entire world.

The Music Industry Booms

The value of Chinas music industry exceeded RMB 325 billion （US $49 billion） in 2016， with an annual growth of 7.79 percent， according to an industry report released in early November by China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association.

Seen as a new growth engine for the music industry， the digital music business chalked up a value of nearly RMB 53 billion， up 6.2 percent year on year. The value of digital music available on PCs and mobile devices surged by nearly 39.36 percent， hitting RMB 14.3 billion， thanks to the rapid growth of paying users. The number of paying users of online music has more than doubled compared with that of 2012.

The output value of related industries， such as the musical instrument industry and hi-fi system industry， reached RMB 161.2 billion， a year-on-year growth of 10.72 percent. The extended industries of the music industry， such as online Karaoke and brickand-mortar mini Karaoke booths， mostly seen in shopping malls， enjoy a huge market potential， with their output hitting RMB 93.7 billion， increased by 4.5 percent over 2016.

In May， the central government listed the development of the music industry as a major cultural project in a national plan for cultural development and reforms in the period from 2016 to 2020.endprint