China to propel growth of bio-industry

BEIJING - China is aiming to drive its biological industry into high-speed growth in the next three years, according to an online statement issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, on Wednesday.

The central government has set a goal of keeping the total output of its biological industry up at least 20 percent each year through 2015, the statement said, citing a guideline on the development of the sector recently issued by the State Council, or China's Cabinet.

The statement quoted an unnamed official as saying that the government also vows to significantly increase the added value that bio-industry creates, making its proportion in the country's gross domestic product double by 2015 from its 2010 level.

Bio-industrial development is very important for the health of the population, grain security, energy conservation and emission reduction, the official said.

The guideline also stipulates the major fields of bio-industry to include its applications in medicine, medical engineering, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, environmental protection and services, the last category of which is newly introduced in the guideline.

Bio-industry is one of the seven strategic new industries China aims to cultivate according to its 12th Five-Year Plan for the 2011-2015 period.

The State Council has previously issued similar guidelines on four other strategic new industries, including the energy conservation and environmental protection sector, high-end equipment manufacturing, the new energy sector and energy-efficient and new-energy automobile manufacture.