On the afternoon of February 17, the State Council Information Office held a press conference. Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, introduced the development of China's industry and communication industry in 2016 and answered questions from reporters.

Data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on that day shows that in 2016, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide increased by 6% year-on-year; the profit realized by industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide increased by 8.5% year-on-year; the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 10.8% year-on-year; the total national telecommunication service volume increased by 54.2% year-on-year; the profit of the iron and steel industry increased by 2.02 times year-on-year, and the loss of loss-making enterprises decreased by 51% year-on-year, and the operation of the entire industry has improved greatly.

At the press conference, Miao Wei stated that the national industry and information technology work conference held at the end of last year set the target that the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size will grow by about 6% this year, which is practical, objective and reasonable. There are three reasons: First, it is based on the general work guideline of seeking progress while maintaining stability. Industrial products need to meet the whole society's demand for the growth of material products and keep economic growth within a reasonable range, all of which require the industrial economy to stabilize at a reasonable growth rate. Second, this growth rate is fairly consistent with the current potential of China's economic growth and market expectations. Given the steady growth of household consumption, the stabilization of investment growth after its decline, and the efforts to stabilize foreign trade exports, this target is appropriate. Third, the fundamentals of the stabilizing and improving industrial economy have not changed.

A reporter asked at the press conference that during the painful transition period of economic restructuring, new growth drivers have not yet taken shape, and the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries is slow. How to view the connection in the transition from old to new growth drivers? Miao Wei said that new growth drivers cannot be one-sidedly understood as only emerging industries. The vast majority of emerging industries are formed through the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. It is a one-sided understanding to separate the two completely or even regard them as totally opposite.

In 2016, the profit of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide increased by 8.5% year-on-year, which reversed the continuous negative growth in the previous year. Corporate profitability has improved. The profit growth of pharmaceutical, electronic, chemical and other industries reached 15.5%, 12.9% and 11.5% respectively; the profit of metallurgy, coal and other industries increased by 2.02 times and 2.23 times respectively, showing a rapid restorative growth. In December 2016, China's producer price index (PPI) rose by 5.5% year-on-year, ending the 54 consecutive months of year-on-year decline starting from September. The continuous expansion of year-on-year growth has strengthened corporate expectations and market confidence. The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) has remained in the expansion zone for five consecutive months, which is the best performance since 2016.