On 17th June, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Ministry of Commerce (MoF), and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly issued Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-quality Development of Light Industry (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). General objectives in the Opinions state that by 2025, i) the overall comprehensive strength of the light industry will be significantly improved; ii) its proportion of contribution to the whole industry will be stabilized; iii) its contribution to expanding domestic demands and promoting consumption will be more evident; iv) its ability in serving the establishment of new development patterns and sound socioeconomic development will be strengthened. Meanwhile, the Opinions also highlights the importance of the revision of mandatory national standards in the light industry.
Since the beginning of this year, the development of the light industry has been confronted with multiple difficulties, including multiple Covid-19 outbreaks in China, rise in prices of raw materials, sluggish logistics and shrinking demands. It’s believed that with the release and implementation of the Opinions, the light industry will continue to maintain steady and rapid growth in the second half of the year.
He Yaqiong, director general of the MIIT’s Consumer Goods Department, said that China's light industry demonstrated high resilience through the brunt of Covid-19 with its complete industrial-chain system as well through its capacity to self-support and maintain a high degree of marketization. The light industry covers sectors with rigid demands (such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, etc.). These sectors are fundamental to the light industry’s long-term growth. An example of the light industry’s sustained growth can be seen through the added value from industries such as batteries, toys and wine manufacturing reaching double digit growth from January to May of this year. The total export of eight key goods in light industry also reached $188.7 billion (year-over-year increase of 9.3% ), and the export of bags, shoes and toys grew by more than 20%.
The Department of Consumer Goods will organize industry associations, research institutions and key enterprises to draw up industrial chain maps for household appliances, plastic products, cosmetics and dairy products. In addition, the department will also establish a list of hazardous technologies and product to help strengthen risk assessment. Regarding the dairy, canned food, wine, grain and oil sectors, the department will support the establishment of quality raw material bases and endorse an upgrade of the entire industrial chain for bulk food.
In the light industry, efforts are also being made to build green factories, green industry parks and green supply chains. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, a total of 357 green factories and 44 demonstration enterprises with green supply chain management were built. There have also been 27 green design standards and 818 eco-designed products published.
To promote high-quality development within the light industry, the guidelines put forward important measures for stable growth and long-term benefits, including
- strengthening strategic support for scientific and technological innovation, accelerating breakthroughs in key technologies, improving the scientific and technological innovation system, and optimizing the standards to promote higher growth.
- building a high-quality supply system, increasing and upgrading innovative products, improving quality assurance, optimizing brand incubating services, and promoting new business models.
MIIT annually releases public copies of the Guidelines on Upgraded and Innovative Consumer Goods, and as a result has enlisted a total of 431 light industrial products to date.
The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) will work with relevant departments to speed up the formulation and revision of mandatory national standards for household appliances, furniture, lighting appliances and baby and child products. They will also work to optimize the provision of recommended national standards, sector standards and association standards. Authorities will promote the development of a measuring and testing system for the light industry, as well as establish a unified system of green product standards that include proper certification and product labeling.
MIIT will i) encourage enterprises to establish and develop high quality management systems to improve product comfort, safety and functionality; ii) encourage enterprises to raise their standards and meet international standards; iii) put the leading role of demonstration enterprises into play; iv) carry out activities for quality risk analysis and control, quality cost management and others; v) improve online quality monitoring, online quality control and product quality traceability throughout the life cycle; vi) build a number of high-level quality control and technology evaluation laboratories.