An employee inspects equipment at a Lighthouse textile factory in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. CHEN YEHUA/XINHUA
China's manufacturing gains have been driven by decades of investment in innovation, factory upgrades and a complete industrial ecosystem, rather than subsidies, experts said on Wednesday.
They made the comments after the Ministry of Commerce released a document on Tuesday titled "China's Position on the So-called Excess Capacity Issue" to clarify relevant facts and elaborate on China's policy stance on the matter.
The document said that the rapid development of China's modern industries is driven by innovation, and that stable and healthy operation of these industries relies on the continuous deepening of reforms.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, China's spending on research and development expanded by around 10 percent annually, making it the world's second-largest investor in R&D. Basic research accounted for more than 7 percent of total R&D expenditure in 2025, the highest level on record, the document noted.
