Several Opinions of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Two Other Departments on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Environmental Protection Equipment Manufacturing Industry

On March 12, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued a set of opinions on promoting the high-quality development of the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry. These measures aim to drive the industry's sustained, healthy, and stable growth and to build a trillion-yuan-scale sector with international competitive advantages.

The opinions set a target for 2027: significantly increasing the market share of technical equipment, perfecting the standards system, largely addressing "weak links" in the industry chain, establishing a dominant domestic and globally competitive position for "strong-suit" technologies and equipment, and building a comprehensive supply system for environmental protection equipment. By 2030, the goal is to achieve independent and controllable capabilities regarding "weak links" in the industry chain, further expand advantages in "strong-suit" technologies, and enhance the industry's scale, product quality, and overall performance. The initiative seeks to cultivate leading enterprises with strong industrial innovation capabilities and comprehensive competitiveness, thereby driving the comprehensive transformation of the environmental protection equipment manufacturing sector from traditional pollution control toward green, low-carbon, and circular development.

[Full Text]
To the competent departments of industry and information technology, ecology and environment, and market regulation of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, cities with independent planning status, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps:
The environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry serves as a crucial foundation for driving the green and low-carbon transition and provides the technological underpinning for building a Beautiful China. The following opinions are hereby put forward to consolidate and enhance the competitive advantages of the entire environmental protection equipment industry chain and to promote the high-quality development of the sector.

I. General Requirements
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th Central Committee. We will comprehensively implement Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and align closely with the development needs of environmental protection equipment required for the all-round advancement of a Beautiful China. Centered on promoting high-quality development, we will uphold technological innovation, strengthen technology application, accelerate industry transformation, and optimize the development environment, thereby providing robust equipment support for the green transformation of economic and social development.
The primary objectives are as follows: By 2027, we aim to achieve a significant increase in the market share of technical equipment and a more robust standards system. We will largely address "weak links" in the technical equipment industrial chain, while establishing a competitive landscape for "strong-suit" technologies—where domestic leadership is consolidated and international expansion is successfully realized—thereby building a relatively comprehensive supply system for environmental protection equipment. By 2030, we aim to achieve independent controllability regarding "weak links" in the industrial chain and further expand our advantages in "strong-suit" technologies. The scale, product quality, and comprehensive performance of the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry will be further enhanced. We will cultivate a group of leading enterprises with strong industrial innovation capabilities and comprehensive competitiveness, driving the industry’s comprehensive upgrade from traditional pollution control toward green, low-carbon, and circular development.

II. Accelerating R&D and Breakthroughs in Key Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment
(i) Implementing the "Open Competition" Mechanism for Key Technologies. Focusing on bottlenecks and critical constraints within the industrial and supply chains, we will launch a three-year initiative to upgrade major environmental protection technologies and equipment. We will employ an "open competition" mechanism (where the best candidates are selected to tackle specific challenges) to address key technologies such as high-salinity wastewater treatment and reuse, dry flue-gas purification, and the identification and monitoring of persistent organic pollutants. Efforts will be made to overcome deficiencies in fundamental components, materials, chemical agents, and control devices—such as specialized sensors and low-temperature denitrification catalysts—and to accelerate breakthroughs in complete sets of technical equipment.
(ii) Establishing an Innovation Center for the Environmental Protection Equipment Manufacturing Industry. We will optimize strategic scientific and technological capabilities in the environmental protection equipment sector and encourage leading enterprises, universities, and research institutions to jointly establish an industry innovation center. Adopting a "company-plus-alliance" organizational model, the center will integrate relevant innovation resources and focus on the development and application of forward-looking, disruptive technologies. It will provide R&D, dissemination, and commercialization services for common key technologies, thereby driving the green and low-carbon transformation of traditional processes and products.
(iii) Building Pilot-Scale Testing Platforms for Environmental Protection Equipment. Targeting areas where pollution control is urgently needed—such as high-performance water treatment membranes, equipment for treating volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and detection equipment for emerging pollutants—we will guide leading enterprises to spearhead the construction of high-level pilot-scale testing platforms and open them up appropriately. These platforms will provide specialized services including technology R&D and transfer, product performance testing, equipment sharing, and application verification, ultimately enhancing the transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements.

III. Accelerate the Promotion and Application of Advanced Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment
(IV) Explore the establishment of a user evaluation mechanism for environmental protection equipment. Encourage user enterprises to comprehensively consider indicators such as performance, efficiency, energy and water consumption, service life, and operation and maintenance when procuring equipment; guide procurement based on value rather than solely on price. Direct third-party institutions to publish lists of environmental protection technologies and equipment based on user evaluations, thereby driving their wider promotion and application.
(V) Strengthen the alignment of supply and demand for environmental protection technologies and equipment. Periodically revise the *Catalogue of Major Environmental Protection Technologies and Equipment Encouraged by the State* and the *Catalogue of Technical Guidelines for National Pollution Prevention and Control*, and establish effective channels connecting equipment manufacturers with user enterprises. Intensify the promotion and publicity of successful project cases. Strengthen industry-finance collaboration in the environmental protection equipment sector to align financial resources with corporate financing needs. Encourage industry associations, enterprises in industrial parks, and academic and research institutions to organize activities such as technical exchanges and supply-demand matchmaking for advanced environmental protection equipment.

IV. Cultivating New Drivers of Industry Growth
(VI) Promoting the transition of pollution control toward synergistic efficiency in pollution reduction and carbon reduction. Encourage enterprises manufacturing equipment for air pollution control, wastewater treatment, and solid waste disposal to research new processes and develop innovative technologies and equipment for multi-pollutant control. This aims to facilitate the synergistic reduction of pollutants—such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—while improving equipment energy and carbon efficiency and promoting the resource utilization of waste. Enterprises are also encouraged to expand their business scope to include greenhouse gas emission reduction, the management of new pollutants, and the disposal of emerging solid waste streams.
(VII) Supporting leading environmental protection equipment enterprises in "going global." Encourage enterprises to actively undertake international projects involving complete sets of energy-saving and environmental protection equipment and to expand exports of environmental technologies and equipment. Promote the establishment of international organizations for environmental equipment technology, support domestic enterprises in participating in international cooperation programs, and facilitate overseas cooperative investment. Support qualified enterprises in extending their industrial chains to become multinational corporations integrating international contracting, overseas R&D, cross-border e-commerce, and product trade; this will enhance the international influence and competitiveness of their products and drive the global expansion of environmental technologies and equipment.
(VIII) Upgrading the intelligence and green capabilities of traditional environmental protection equipment. Leverage new-generation information technologies—such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and the industrial internet—to enhance the digitalization, intelligence, and green performance of environmental equipment across all stages, including design, manufacturing, operation, and maintenance. Focus R&D efforts on environmental protection robots, intelligent pollution control equipment, and remote operation and maintenance systems for sectors such as smart water management, pipeline cleaning, and environmental monitoring; accelerate the adoption and application of advanced technologies such as simulation software, virtual reality, and digital twins.

V. Optimizing the Industrial Development Environment
(IX) Strengthen policy guidance. Implement policies regarding large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-ins, and support the upgrading and retrofitting of eligible environmental protection equipment projects. Support breakthroughs in environmental protection technologies and equipment, as well as the construction of pilot-scale testing platforms, through national R&D programs. Effectively implement insurance compensation policies for "first-of-its-kind" major technical equipment and "first-batch" new materials to support the promotion and application of advanced environmental protection technologies and equipment. Study, at an appropriate time, government procurement support policies for environmental protection equipment products.
(X) Improve the standards system for environmental protection equipment. Refine the product standards system across specific sub-sectors of environmental protection equipment, and promote the standardization and integration (packaging) of non-standard products. Establish a standardization organization for the environmental protection equipment industry. Formulate mandatory standards covering energy consumption, water consumption, operation and maintenance, service life, and safety. Accelerate the development of metrological technical specifications for urgently needed equipment in the sector, such as online and on-site monitoring instruments. Organize leading enterprises to participate in the formulation and revision of international standards, thereby increasing the success rate of Chinese enterprises in initiating international standard projects. Actively participate in developing international standards for competitive equipment, such as systems for desulfurization, denitrification, and dust removal, as well as municipal sewage treatment facilities and large-scale waste incinerators.
(XI) Strengthen talent development. Leverage platforms such as national engineering practice bases to conduct training for environmental protection equipment engineers and skilled "craftsmen." Utilize manufacturing talent support programs to cultivate innovative entrepreneurs, as well as professionals skilled in advanced manufacturing technologies and advanced basic processes within the sector; encourage universities to step up the training of engineering and technical personnel for environmental protection equipment, tailored to industry needs. Encourage industry associations and standardization organizations to provide professional training that supports enterprises in expanding into overseas markets.
(XII) Optimize the market environment. Improve laws and regulations regarding product quality and strengthen quality supervision and management for environmental protection equipment. Formulate and revise regulatory criteria for the environmental protection equipment manufacturing industry to guide its standardized development. Leverage green finance to support eligible environmental protection equipment enterprises in issuing green bonds and expanding financing channels. Utilize relevant special funds and government investment funds to increase support for technological innovation, intelligent manufacturing, and service-oriented transformation within the sector, thereby fostering a favorable financial ecosystem for industrial development.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Ministry of Ecology and Environment
State Administration for Market Regulation
March 4, 2025