China to reduce govt intervention in industrial sector

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Mar 26, 2019 06:00 am

BEIJING China will reduce direct government intervention in its vast industrial sector, the Industry Minister said yesterday, as Beijing seeks to ease concerns about its industrial policy, core to Washington's complaints in the Sino-US trade war.

The government's pledge to reduce its influence over matters in the manufacturing sector follows an apparent toning down of its high-tech industrial push, which has long annoyed the US.

"We will gradually reduce the government's micro-management and direct intervention, to allow the market to effectively decide resource allocation and support the development of the manufacturing industry," Mr Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said at the China Development Forum.

But China will continue to encourage higher-value production, he said. Local governments have been told to pursue new engines of industrial growth by developing innovative technologies such as new energy vehicles.

In his speech, Mr Miao did not touch on the so-called "Made in China 2025" plan, an initiative intended to help China catch up with global rivals in sophisticated technologies such as semiconductors, robotics, aerospace and artificial intelligence.

The industrial policy has provoked alarm in the West, due to China's open efforts to deploy state subsidies.