China has its eyes set on a new trillion RMB industry with strong international competitiveness, after boosting its environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry.

　　That's according to a guideline jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the State Administration for Market Regulation.

　　Environmental protection equipment is a key component of China's green industry. Developing this industry will help support the green transformation of traditional manufacturing, and advance strategic emerging industries, according to MIIT.

　　The industry has shown steady growth over the past decade. "Industry data indicates that the total output value has grown at an average annual rate of nearly six percent since China's 13th Five-Year Plan period, reaching 920 billion RMB in 2024. China's environmental technologies now generally keep pace with international standards, and in some areas, are taking the lead. Equipment systems have largely met domestic needs for pollution control," said MIIT.

　　The guideline sets development targets for 2027 and 2030. By 2027, China plans to expand the market share of advanced environmental technologies, address weak links in the industrial supply chain, and build a strong domestic position while expanding internationally. By 2030, the country aims to have full control over core technologies, stronger advantages in high-end equipment, and shift from traditional pollution control to green, low-carbon and circular development.

　　To achieve these goals, the plan focuses on four main actions.

　　Advancing research on key technologies

　　-Overcoming bottlenecks in industrial and supply chains;

-Launching a three-year program to upgrade major environmental technologies and equipment;

　　-Supporting partnerships between companies, universities and research institutes to build innovation centers and pilot platforms.

　　Promoting the use of advanced equipment

　　-Developing a recommended list of top-performing environmental equipment;

　　-Strengthening supply and demand links to increase the use of high-quality equipment.

　　Fostering new drivers for industry development

　　-Helping equipment enterprises offer combined pollution and carbon reduction solutions;

　　-Promoting the transformation of equipment enterprises to achieve coordinated pollution and carbon reduction with improved efficiency;

　　-Upgrading traditional equipment to be high-end, intelligent, and green.

　　Improving the industry environment

　　-Enhancing policies for talent, tax and financial support;

　　-Strengthening industry standards and regulations to encourage fair competition.

　　MIIT will collaborate with related departments to guide companies in improving technical processes and increasing market share, fostering a group of enterprises that meet industry standards, including specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprises (SMEs that boast cutting-edge technologies and specialize in niche sectors), and manufacturing single-item champion enterprises.

　　Next-generation information technologies like 5G and AI will be promoted in equipment design, pollution control and environmental monitoring, driving the industry's digital and intelligent transformation, said MIIT.

　　Efforts will also be made to speed up the commercialization of research results, targeting key links in the industrial chain, and promoting the application of innovative products in key industries, leading enterprises and major projects, according to MIIT.