Release of three-year action plan for improving the quality of raw material industry

On October 25th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Administration of Market Regulation jointly issued a notice on the "Three Year Action Plan for Improving the Quality of Raw Materials Industry (2018-2020)" (referred to as the "Action Plan"). The notice points out that the raw material industry is the foundation and pillar industry of the national economy, and its development level directly affects the quality and efficiency of manufacturing industry development. With the deepening of supply side structural reform, the quality of raw material industry products in China has been continuously improved, and the variety structure has been continuously optimized, playing an important role in stabilizing growth, adjusting structure, promoting reform, benefiting people's livelihoods, and ensuring safety. At the same time, there is still a significant gap between the raw material industry and the international advanced level in terms of quality infrastructure, key process technologies, product physical quality, and effective supply capacity, making it difficult to meet the requirements of high-quality economic development in China. In order to further improve the quality and efficiency of the development of the raw material industry, and better support the construction of a strong manufacturing and quality country, this Action Plan is formulated.

Adhere to demand driven, innovation driven, and integration of production and use, improve the reliability, stability, and consistency level of product quality, increase the effective supply of high-performance, functional, and differentiated products, drive the overall improvement of raw material industry quality brands, and provide guarantees for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry.

By 2020, the quality of raw material products in China has significantly improved, with some mid to high end products entering the global supply chain system. The supply structure has been optimized, and the supply side structural reform of the raw material industry has achieved positive results. The Action Plan sets goals for the steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical, and building materials industries.

Steel industry: The quality stability, reliability, and durability of general steel products have significantly improved, and the batch stability and consistency of high-performance steel materials have steadily improved. The proportion of products with physical quality of steel products reaching international standards exceeds 50%. Positive progress has been made in the research and industrialization of high-end steel for marine engineering, high-tech ships, advanced rail transit, aerospace, and other fields, breaking through 3-4 key steel varieties annually.

The non-ferrous metal industry: The quality uniformity of non-ferrous metal materials used in key areas such as high-tech ships, advanced rail transit, energy-saving and new energy vehicles has been improved, and the effective supply capacity of mid to high-end products has been enhanced. The overall quality level of non-ferrous metal products has improved, and the comprehensive guarantee capacity of precision processed products such as aviation aluminum and copper plates and strips has exceeded 70%.

The petrochemical and chemical industry: The quality level of bulk basic organic chemical raw materials, key synthetic materials, and specialized chemicals has significantly improved. Tackle the technological bottlenecks of a batch of new polymer materials, membrane materials, and high-end specialized chemicals. The guarantee capacity of basic raw materials such as olefins and aromatics, as well as new chemical materials, has significantly improved. The proportion of green products has significantly increased, and the proportion of new fertilizers has increased to around 30%.

Building materials industry: the industrialization of industrial glass, advanced ceramics and intraocular lens materials has made significant progress, the quality of high-performance inorganic fibers and their reinforced composites has significantly improved, the production of graphene materials has reached the international advanced level, and the support capacity of advanced inorganic non-metallic materials has significantly improved. The industrialization of building materials has accelerated, and the quality assurance capabilities of cement and flat glass have significantly improved. The variety of mineral functional materials is becoming increasingly diverse, and the proportion of green building materials in new buildings has reached 40%.

The Action Plan points out that it is necessary to improve the standard supply system of raw materials, improve the progressiveness, synergy and leadership of standards, develop advanced group standards that meet the market and innovation needs and are internationally leading, vigorously promote the application demonstration of advanced group standards, and lead the high-quality development of the industry.

In terms of security measures, one is to establish a collaborative work mechanism. The second is to increase fiscal and financial support. The third is to strengthen the cultivation of quality talents. The fourth is to improve the quality infrastructure. Fifth, leverage the role of industry organizations. Sixth, strengthen international exchanges and cooperation. Make full use of bilateral and multilateral international cooperation mechanisms, seize the opportunity of the "the Belt and Road" construction, encourage domestic and foreign scientific research institutes, industries and enterprises to expand communication channels, carry out extensive international cooperation in technical innovation, standard formulation, quality governance and other fields, improve the quality of raw materials and products, and promote the industry to the middle and high-end.