The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has released the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Environmental Protection Equipment Manufacturing Industry." By 2020, China plans to nurture ten leading environmental protection equipment manufacturing companies with an output value of over 10 billion yuan each, and the industry’s total output value will reach 1 trillion yuan. Under this goal, the manufacturing of pollution control equipment for air, water, soil, and other fields is expected to see significant development opportunities.
The Spring of the Environmental Protection Equipment Manufacturing Industry is Coming
On October 24, the MIIT announced the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Environmental Protection Equipment Manufacturing Industry" (referred to as "the Opinions"), which propose that by 2020, China will support a number of exemplary enterprises in key sectors, cultivate ten leading companies with annual output value of over 10 billion yuan, and achieve an industry output value of 1 trillion yuan.
Li Boyang, deputy director of the Industrial Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Research Institute of the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID), who participated in the early discussions of the "Opinions," stated that the driving force from policies, technological breakthroughs, domestic industrial transformation, and international development needs have opened up vast market potential for China’s environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry. In recent years, the industry has developed rapidly and has already begun to form several leading companies and industrial clusters.
Building a Trillion-Yuan Industry Cluster
According to officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the focus in the current and coming period will be on improving environmental quality, implementing the strictest environmental protection systems, which will bring vast market opportunities for the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry. Growing the green manufacturing sector and nurturing new economic growth points have introduced higher demands for the development of the environmental protection equipment industry.
To this end, the "Opinions" propose the following work targets for the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry: By 2020, China aims to significantly enhance innovation capabilities in the sector, achieve breakthroughs in key core technologies, and establish an innovation-driven industry development system. The effective supply capacity of advanced environmental protection equipment will be significantly improved, with a substantial increase in market share.
Key technological equipment will reach internationally advanced levels, with enhanced international competitiveness. The industrial structure will be continuously optimized, and a number of exemplary enterprises in each key sector will be supported. The goal is to nurture ten leading companies with annual revenues of over 10 billion yuan, build 1,000 “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” small and medium-sized enterprises, and form several industrial clusters with strong driving effects and distinct characteristics. The output value of the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry is expected to reach 1 trillion yuan.
The environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry is a vital part of the energy-saving and environmental protection sector, providing the technological and material foundation for environmental protection. The development of this industry is a crucial measure for preventing and controlling environmental pollution and promoting the green development of industry.
The MIIT also noted that in recent years, the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry has expanded rapidly in scale, continually innovated its development model, expanded its service areas, and significantly improved its technological capabilities. Some equipment has reached internationally leading levels. In 2016, the industry achieved an output value of 620 billion yuan, doubling from 2011. (Source: China Environmental Sciences Society website)