China leads factory sector for 15th straight year

Innovation index for top manufacturers grew 11.6% annually over the past decade, report shows.

China's manufacturing sector has demonstrated increasing innovation capabilities, an industrial index released by the China Centre for Information Industry Development said.

The report, which comes from a centre affiliated with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, indicates that the innovation index for the country’s top manufacturing companies has consistently risen, achieving an annualised average growth rate of 11.6% from 2013 to 2023.

The manufacturing innovation index includes five primary indicators: innovation resources, innovation output, innovation collaboration, innovation performance, and innovation environment. Additionally, it contains 17 sub-indicators that track various metrics, such as the percentage of large companies that have established specialised R&D centres and the number of invention patents they own.

The report highlighted that the influence of innovation from Chinese firms has been increasing steadily, and collaboration in innovation has seen rapid growth. It recommended further efforts to enhance cooperation amongst industries, universities, and research institutions, as well as to improve the innovation environment.

In 2024, China's industrial production saw accelerated growth as the country continued to refine and upgrade its industrial structure. The manufacturing sector has maintained its position as the largest in the world for 15 years in a row.

Recent data released earlier this week has fostered a more optimistic outlook, showing that the nation's manufacturing sector kept expanding in March, with business production ramping up amid ongoing economic recovery. The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector was reported at 50.5 in March, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from February. A PMI above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.