MIIT Outlines 15th Five-Year Industrial Plan and Strategic Technology Goals

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has outlined its strategic roadmap for the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period. Officials highlighted major milestones from the previous five-year cycle, including total manufacturing value-added reaching 34.7 trillion yuan and annual industrial robot production reaching 773,000 sets. For the next phase, the ministry will target breakthroughs in key foundational technologies such as high-end training chips, industrial software, and 6G, while introducing measures to curb destructive market competition and advance the integration of artificial intelligence across the manufacturing sector.

The transition from the 14th to the 15th Five-Year Plan signals a strategic shift in Chinese industrial policy from pure capacity expansion toward high-value manufacturing and technological self-reliance. By setting explicit targets for artificial intelligence integration, future industries like embodied AI and 6G, and addressing domestic price wars, Beijing is positioning its industrial base to withstand external tech restrictions and maintain manufacturing stability.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has detailed its strategic roadmap for the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period, focusing on technological upgrading, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and industrial stability. Speaking at a State Council Information Office briefing, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin reviewed the country's industrial performance over the 14th Five-Year Plan period. According to Xin, the value-added output of industrial enterprises above designated size grew at an annual average rate of 5.9 percent. Overall manufacturing value-added increased from 26.5 trillion yuan in 2020 to 34.7 trillion yuan, maintaining a stable share of approximately 25 percent of national gross domestic product. During the same timeframe, annual domestic production of industrial robots grew from 218,000 sets to 773,000 sets, and 504 advanced-level smart factories were established. Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan, Xin outlined several core priorities. The ministry plans to advance traditional industry upgrades while accelerating the growth of emerging pillar sectors, including integrated circuits, aerospace, biomedicine, the low-altitude economy, novel energy storage, and intelligent robotics. MIIT also identified priority frontier fields for long-term growth, including quantum technology, biomanufacturing, brain-computer interfaces, embodied artificial intelligence, and sixth-generation (6G) telecommunications. Addressing operational challenges in the industrial ecosystem, Xin emphasized that regulators will step up efforts to address excessive, cutthroat domestic competition—often described as 'involution'—to foster a stable and rules-based market environment. Artificial intelligence will serve as a primary operational focus through a structured 'AI + Manufacturing' initiative. The plan will target four areas: supply capabilities, industrial applications, ecosystem construction, and system security. Key technical objectives include developing high-end training chips, brain-inspired computing, and world models, alongside establishing cybersecurity vulnerability repositories for artificial intelligence products. Planning Department Director Yao Jun noted that the ministry will push for decisive breakthroughs across foundational components, including industrial machine tools, precision instruments, basic and industrial software, and advanced materials. Long-term goals target the cultivation of roughly 100 benchmark industrial parks and 1,000 leading innovative demonstration enterprises by 2035.