Abstract: During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s machinery industry has achieved leapfrog development by overcoming numerous challenges. The industry’s scale has grown steadily, its innovation capabilities have continuously improved, its industrial foundation has been steadily strengthened, and the resilience of its industrial and supply chains has continued to enhance. The pace of industrial upgrading has accelerated, marking a pivotal shift from being a “manufacturing giant” to becoming a “manufacturing powerhouse.” During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the machinery industry will focus on two core objectives—“leading with new quality” and “ensuring security and controllability”—and implement a series of key tasks that are comprehensive, forward-looking, and strategic. This effort aims to build a modern industrial system that is independently controllable, safe and reliable, and highly competitive, thereby laying a solid foundation for basically achieving a new type of industrialization.

The industrial scale is steadily growing, and supply chain resilience continues to strengthen.      

The machinery industry is a foundational and strategic sector for the development of the national economy. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly issued important instructions, emphasizing that “the equipment manufacturing industry is a vital national asset and an essential component of the real economy” and that we must “strive to keep key core technologies and the equipment manufacturing industry firmly in our own hands.” These instructions have charted the course and provided fundamental guidance for the development of the machinery industry in the new era.

Looking back at the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's machinery industry has achieved leapfrog development by overcoming numerous challenges and is undergoing a pivotal transformation—from being a “manufacturing giant” to becoming a “manufacturing powerhouse.”

First, the industrial scale is steadily growing.

From 2021 to 2024, the growth rates of value-added in China's machinery industry were 10.0%, 4.0%, 8.7%, and 6.0%, respectively—each exceeding the average growth rates for the nation’s overall industry and manufacturing sector during the same period, thus fully demonstrating the industry’s stable supporting role in driving industrial growth. The number of enterprises above designated size increased from 99,000 to 132,000; total assets rose from 28.4 trillion yuan to 39.4 trillion yuan; and operating revenue surpassed the 30-trillion-yuan mark for the first time in 2024, reaching 31.5 trillion yuan—a share of 22.9% of the nation’s total industrial output (an increase of 1.4 percentage points compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period). In terms of foreign trade, the total value of machinery industry goods imports and exports exceeded one trillion U.S. dollars for four consecutive years during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, becoming a key driver of industry growth. The proportion of general trade continued to rise, overseas markets diversified and advanced together, and the structure of exported products was optimized.

Second, innovative capabilities continue to improve.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, R&D expenditure in the five major categories of national economic industries closely related to the machinery industry showed a steady upward trend. In 2024, the intensity of R&D expenditure in the industry reached 2.4%, 0.8 and 0.6 percentage points higher than that of the overall industrial sector (1.6%) and the manufacturing sector (1.8%), respectively. As of the end of 2025, the industry had 527 “Single Champion” enterprises, over 5,000 specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative “Little Giant” enterprises, and more than 40,000 enterprises classified as “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative”—each accounting for over 30% of the national total.

Third, the industrial foundation continues to be strengthened.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the machinery industry has deeply implemented the Industrial Foundation Reconstruction Project, focusing on addressing key demands in critical sectors of the national economy through concentrated research efforts. As a result, a number of crucial foundational technologies and products have been breakthroughs, with some core basic components achieving independent controllability. The capacity for independent assurance of key foundational materials has been enhanced, and foundational manufacturing processes have been upgraded in parallel. Furthermore, significant progress has been made in industrial foundational software and automated control systems, yielding remarkable results in the advanced development of the industrial foundation.

Fourth, the resilience of industrial and supply chains continues to strengthen.

The machinery industry is taking the modernization of its industrial chain as its primary focus, strengthening its competitive advantages while addressing its weaknesses, and promoting coordinated cooperation across upstream and downstream sectors. As a result, the industrial chain’s ability to maintain autonomy and control, as well as its overall level of modernization, are steadily improving. Major breakthroughs have been achieved in the localization of high-end equipment, including the third-generation nuclear power technologies “Hualong One” and “Guohua One,” the ultra-deepwater drilling platform “Deepsea No. 1,” and the super-large-diameter vessel “Cangyuan.” Shield machine A batch of “major national strategic equipment” will reach or approach world-leading levels. The standards system will become even more robust, quality and brand-building efforts will continue to advance, and the advantages of industrial clusters will become increasingly prominent.

Fifth, the pace of industrial upgrading is accelerating.

This is mainly reflected in areas such as intelligentization, green development, and service-oriented transformation. The development of intelligent equipment is accelerating, significantly boosting the level of intelligence in production processes; the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools across the industry has exceeded 90%. Green and low-carbon equipment is being rapidly promoted and applied, with substantial increases in the production and sales of new-energy vehicles, electric construction machinery, and new-energy agricultural machinery. Meanwhile, manufacturing enterprises are accelerating their shift toward service-oriented business models.

Re-shaping the development landscape—opportunities and challenges coexist.      

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party pointed out that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China’s development environment will face profound and complex changes. China’s development is at a stage characterized by both strategic opportunities and risks and challenges, with an increasing number of uncertain and unpredictable factors. For the machinery industry, the situation it faces—both now and over the next five years—is equally intricate and complex.

First, uncertainty in the international environment has significantly increased.

One is The global economic landscape is undergoing profound adjustments. The trend of the “East rising, West declining” and the rise of the “Global South” are becoming long-term trends. Global overall growth is slowing down, market competition is intensifying, and China is facing ever-greater pressure as it shifts from “competition based on incremental growth” to “competition over existing resources.”

Secondly The regional restructuring of supply chains has exacerbated the vulnerability of industrial chains. Industries now face a dual challenge: technological competition from developed countries and cost pressures from developing countries. The risk of “being replaced at the mid-to-low end and being locked out at the high end” has further intensified.

Third is Competition over international standards and intellectual property rights is intensifying, yet China’s manufacturing sector happens to be relatively lagging behind in both of these areas. If we fail to achieve breakthroughs soon, our autonomy in future industrial development could be severely constrained.

Second, the domestic market is simultaneously undergoing transformation and upgrading while deepening its expansion into international markets.

One is The traditional markets in the machinery industry remain solid, the construction of new power systems is accelerating, and the mechanization rate in agriculture continues to rise. Meanwhile, the demand for green transformation and upgrading in industries such as steel and petrochemicals, as well as major infrastructure projects like the Yajia Hydropower Station and the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, will continue to drive demand in related mechanical equipment markets.

Secondly The convergence of China's ultra-large domestic market and the trend toward consumption upgrading will create a triple opportunity: increased demand for high-end equipment, renewed demand for traditional equipment, and growing demand for digital transformation among enterprises. This will, in turn, compel us to eliminate mid- and low-end production capacity, thereby freeing up vast market space for high-end supply.

Third is Globalization is deepening, and a number of industry-leading enterprises are actively promoting localized operations overseas, shifting from simply "exporting products" to "exporting enterprises" and "exporting standards," thereby continuously enhancing their initiative in global competition.

Third, the technological revolution is reshaping the future development landscape.

One is The global technological revolution is entering a “period of intensive breakthroughs,” with artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and new materials accelerating their development and driving the rapid emergence of new equipment sectors such as embodied intelligence, quantum precision manufacturing, and clean energy.

Secondly The green and low-carbon transition is driving equipment upgrades, and new energy and energy storage equipment will continue to grow rapidly. Demand for energy-saving, low-carbon, and high-efficiency electromechanical equipment will remain robust, providing a green growth engine for cultivating new quality productivity in the machinery industry.

Third is Cross-industry integration is giving rise to new business forms and models. Equipment manufacturing companies are transitioning toward integrated approaches that combine “manufacturing + services” and “equipment + solutions.” New models such as the industrial internet, digital twins, and flexible manufacturing are being widely adopted, continuously enhancing supply chain collaboration efficiency and expanding opportunities for value creation.

Fourth, deep-seated issues and challenges in the industry are becoming increasingly prominent.

One is Structural contradictions between supply and demand are particularly prominent, and issues such as product homogenization and overcapacity have erupted simultaneously in multiple sectors. The phenomenon of enterprises experiencing revenue growth without profit growth has become quite common. In recent years, the ex-factory price index for the machinery industry has continued to decline, and in 2024, the industry’s profit margin fell to 5.18%, thereby constraining enterprises’ R&D investment and technological upgrades.

Secondly The industrial and supply chains lack sufficient resilience and security. High-end core components—such as large-scale wind turbine main shaft bearings and high-end servo motors—and foundational industrial software have long relied on imports. Moreover, there remains a significant gap between China’s high-end CNC machine tools and advanced international standards, as well as with high-end scientific instruments. The ability to independently control key areas still needs to be strengthened.

Third is Our capacity for original innovation is weak. We lack sufficient preliminary accumulation in basic research and insufficient subsequent investment, leaving our scientific and technological innovation stuck for a long time in a state of tracking and imitation—this has become the biggest obstacle to fostering new-quality productive forces.

Fourth is The industrial ecosystem is not yet sound, and enterprises lack a solid foundation for sustainable development. The construction of the standards system lags behind, support from testing and certification as well as pilot-scale platforms is weak, intellectual property protection is inadequate, and there is a shortage of high-end R&D personnel, digital talent, and highly skilled workers.

Anchor on the dual-core objectives and steadily advance new industrialization.      

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party set forth the main goals for economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and once again clearly defined the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035. At the same time, it made important arrangements for promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, optimizing and upgrading traditional industries, and fostering and strengthening emerging and future industries, thereby charting a clear course for the high-quality development of the machinery industry over the next five years.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the machinery industry must closely focus on the core requirements of building a modern industrial system and developing new-quality productive forces. It should zero in on key areas of focus, implement a series of pivotal tasks that are comprehensive, forward-looking, and strategic, and steadily advance new-type industrialization, thereby laying a solid industrial foundation for basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035.

During the preparation of the “15th Five-Year Plan” for the machinery industry, preliminary proposals were put forward. Six Key Tasks 。

First, optimize the industrial structure.

We must focus on intelligentization, green development, and integration as our primary directions, optimize and upgrade traditional industries, foster and expand emerging industries and industries of the future, accelerate the cultivation of new drivers of growth and the development of new-quality productive forces, speed up the construction of a modern industrial system, and create a powerful engine for high-quality development.

Second, enhance innovation capabilities.

To enhance the supply of high-quality science and technology, we must firmly promote the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, thereby supporting the formation and development of new-quality productivity. This primarily involves: strengthening research and development efforts on critical core technologies, reinforcing the leading role of enterprises in technological innovation, and facilitating the commercialization and application of scientific and technological achievements.

Third, promote the strengthening and stabilization of industrial chains.

We must accelerate the development of a modern industrial system anchored by advanced manufacturing, promote integrated development across large, medium, and small enterprises along industrial chains, tailor-made cluster formations with international competitiveness based on local conditions, and enhance the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains. Key initiatives include: strengthening the development of critical industrial chains, improving the level of industrial chain collaboration, promoting the development and orderly, phased transfer of industrial clusters, and solidifying the data security safeguards for industrial chains.

Fourth, build a healthy industrial ecosystem.

We must fully leverage the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, better harness the role of the government, comprehensively optimize the industrial competitive ecosystem, accelerate the development of public service platforms, and promote the mechanical industry to achieve both qualitative improvements in quality and reasonable growth in quantity. Key initiatives include: strengthening the construction of equipment testing and verification platforms, optimizing the standards system, and enhancing tiered enterprise cultivation and brand building.

Fifth, enhance the level of opening up to the outside world.

We must uphold a high-level policy of opening up to the outside world, better integrate “attracting in” with “going global,” optimize the structure of opening up, enhance the quality of opening up, guide enterprises to strengthen their international competitiveness, elevate the level and sophistication of international cooperation, and forge new advantages for participating in international economic cooperation and competition under the conditions of economic globalization.

Sixth, strengthen the cultivation of industrial talent.

We must vigorously implement a talent-led development strategy, oriented toward serving the development of new-quality productivity in the machinery industry and supporting the construction of a modern industrial system. With a focus on cultivating modern management and operational talents, innovative engineering and technical talents, and highly skilled professionals, we will build a new-generation industry talent pool that is both responsible and action-oriented, thereby solidifying the primary resource that underpins the high-quality development of the machinery industry.

Guided by the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Party, the machinery industry will anchor itself on the dual core objectives of "leading with new quality" and "ensuring safety and controllability," thereby significantly enhancing its capabilities in autonomous control over industrial foundations, critical core technologies, and high-end equipment. The resilience of industrial chains and supply chains will continue to strengthen, the industrial ecosystem will keep improving, and key links in priority areas will move into the mid-to-high end of the global value chain. The integration of manufacturing and information technology—both "two integrations"—will yield increasingly tangible results, fostering a new development pattern characterized by the upward climb of traditional industries, accelerated leadership by emerging industries, and coordinated deployment of future industries. By achieving these goals, we will essentially establish a modernized industrial system for the machinery industry, laying a solid foundation for basically realizing a new type of industrialization.