My colleague in Shanghai, David Cao, recently wrote a brief
report about China's plans to accelerate the new "Made in China 2025" strategy. Some observers are calling it the "Chinese version of Industry 4.0."
This strategy is intended to upgrade the manufacturing sector, encourage innovation, and help maintain economic growth at a medium-to high level. Government support will include special funding and tax incentives, focusing on 10 industrial sectors: new-generation IT technology, high-end CNC and robotics, biomedicine and high performance medical apparatus, energy-saving vehicles, rail equipment, aerospace and aviation equipment, maritime engineering equipment and high tech vessel manufacturing, new materials, electrical equipment, and agricultural equipment.
According to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, China will implement the "Made in China 2025" strategy in conjunction with an "Internet Plus" plan, based on innovation, smart technology, the mobile Internet, cloud computing, Big Data and the Internet of Things. In many respects this is analogous to the Industrie 4.0 initiative launched by the German government several years ago, which provides a model of sorts for China’s strategy.
As a national strategy, “Made in China 2025” will deeply influence China manufacturing and the country’s industrial automation market over the next 10 years. Currently, all regions in China are planning their strategies based on their respective industry structures, aligning this with the national strategy.
More information is available from the Chinese government
site.