Robots work on a factory assembly line in Zouping, Shandong province, Sept. 13, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, recently unveiled the 2024 Catalogue for Guiding Industry Restructuring in response to new trends and demands in the area of industrial development. Coming into effect on Feb. 1, this revision marks significant updates over the 2019 version.

The new catalogue has a total of 1,005 items, with 352 under the encouraged category, 231 under the restricted category, and 422 under the phase-out category. The total number of items is 473 less than that in the previous edition, as items of the same kind under the encouraged category have been adjusted and merged to make the new list more systematic and practical.

The new list, which aims to help accelerate the building of a modern industrial system, added to the encouraged category sectors such as smart manufacturing, agricultural machinery equipment, numerically controlled machine tools and cybersecurity, as well as items conducive to industrial optimization and upgrading in related sectors. 

Industries like firefighting and construction, and relevant items that deviate from green development and workplace safety standards are added to the restricted and phase-out categories.

This overhaul is part of China's ongoing efforts to move manufacturing to higher-end, smarter and greener production. It underscores the country's commitment to strengthening competitive industries while working faster to shore up weaknesses in sectors crucial to its development security, and shaping a new system of efficient and high-quality services.