Top economic planner to set up fund to support strategic emerging sectors

China's top economic planner has signed a memorandum with China Construction Bank to set up a fund investing in strategic emerging sectors.

In addition to the national-level development fund, the two parties will also establish underlying funds to attract private capital. The target fund volume is expected to be about 300 billion yuan (46.85 billion U.S. dollars), according to a statement released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The money will be invested in sectors like advanced information technology, high-end equipment, new materials, and new energy vehicles to support major projects and develop industrial clusters of strategic emerging sectors.

China aims to lift the added value of strategic emerging sectors within its GDP to 15 percent in 2020 from about 8 percent in 2015, according to the 13th five-year plan for the country's strategic emerging sectors.

Meanwhile, the country plans to nurture five industries including advanced information technology and high-end equipment into new pillar sectors each with 10 trillion yuan in market scale by 2020.

China has offered a string of supportive policies for the development of strategic emerging sectors. A total of 246 companies in this field have finished their initial public offering since last year, raising about 115.7 billion yuan.