China's State Council Information Office (SCIO) held a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday on the high-quality development of centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, addressed the briefing and answered questions from gathered mediapersons. He emphasized that the 14th Five-Year Plan period has been the first five years of China embarking on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country, which has been enormously important for the reform and development of central SOEs.

Steady improvement in operational efficiency

Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, central SOEs have maintained stable and positive growth in operational performance. Their total assets have increased from less than 70 trillion yuan to over 90 trillion yuan ($12.6 trillion), while total profits have risen from 1.9 trillion yuan to 2.6 trillion yuan, with average annual growth rates of 7.3 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. The operating profit margin has increased from 6.2 percent to 6.7 percent, and overall labor productivity per employee grew from 594,000 yuan to 817,000 yuan per year. 

Setting new benchmarks for technological innovation

Central SOEs have played a stronger role as key players in innovation, achieving significant progress in technological advancement. Over the past few years, their innovation capabilities have substantially improved, Zhang said. R&D spending has exceeded 1 trillion yuan for three consecutive years, with the R&D intensity ratio increasing from 2.6 percent to 2.8 percent.

Advances in modern industrial system development

New strides have been made in building a modern industrial system, with the cultivation of new quality productive forces gaining momentum. The pace of industrial transformation and upgrading has accelerated. The "AI+" special initiative has led to the deployment of over 800 application scenarios, and the digital transformation drive has resulted in the establishment of 1,854 smart factories. Energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of output value and carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan of output value have decreased by 12.8 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, efforts will be intensified to tackle key core technologies, enhance original and pioneering technological supply capabilities, and deepen the integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. Central SOEs will continue to strengthen their role as major drivers of scientific and technological innovation.