Upgrading gives strong impetus to nation's manufacturing industry

China's high-end manufacturing investment has enjoyed a sound development momentum this year, with investment in high-tech manufacturing and technological transformation becoming the primary drivers of growth in manufacturing investment, said the country's top economic regulator.

The nation's high-end manufacturing investment surged 10. 2 percent year-on-year in the first five months of this year, 7.5 percentage points faster than the growth in total manufacturing investment, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday.

According to the NDRC, investment in technological transformation in the manufacturing sector increased by 15 percent from January to May. Manufacturing investment grew by 2.7 percent during the same period, 0.2 percentage point faster than in the first four months.

NDRC spokeswoman Meng Wei said that China's fixed asset investment has kept on growing this year.

"Compared with the previous years, we have seen investment growth slow in manufacturing due to many factors," Meng said.

"In the context of today's new development forms and new organizational modes, we are more inclined to see small batches, personalized and R&D-focused investment instead of simply pursuing scale. And it will still take some time to shift from old drivers of manufacturing growth to new ones."

According to the NDRC spokeswoman, there is a significant dip in investment in agricultural food processing, nonferrous metals and metal products, transportation equipment and the automobile sector.

Meng highlighted the important role manufacturing plays in creating value and jobs, saying the NDRC will make a big push to foster the sustainable and healthy development of the manufacturing sector.

More efforts are needed to enhance the core competitiveness of the industrial chain, accelerate the construction of major technological infrastructure, cultivate world-leading manufacturing clusters, provide preferential fiscal, tax and financial policies, create an environment conductive to innovation and entrepreneurship, and reduce industrial overcapacity, Meng added.

The NDRC said it approved 20 fixed-asset investment projects worth 51.6 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) in May, mainly in the hightech and transportation sectors.

According to a recent NDRC report on the country's fixed asset investment development trends, China's fixed-asset investment is set to stabilize this year, as middle and high-end manufacturing, mining and other fields are likely to be popular investment targets.

A report from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that China's fixed asset investment will see steady growth this year. It said that the continued advancement of supply-side structural reform will help optimize the industrial structure and provide a new impetus for future development.

China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected 6.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, remaining at the top end of the government's projected growth range for the full year of 6 to 6.5 percent, official data show.