China's central SOEs (state-owned enterprises) invested more than 840 billion yuan ($115 billion) in key emerging industries, including mobile telecom, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and new materials, in the first eight months of 2023, up by 30 percent year-on-year, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) said on Wednesday. 

The investment focused on 15 key sectors, aiming to promote industrial upgrading while driving the development of many upstream and downstream industrial enterprises in the country.

China's SOEs will be the main driving force of emerging industries and play a leading role in these industrial lines, especially in the fields of aerospace, rail transport and the high-speed internet, Li Jin, chief researcher at the China Enterprise Research Institute in Beijing, was quoted as saying.

As an important part of China's economy, SOEs play a vital role in driving economic development and facilitating industrial transformation, with large investments aiding Chinese companies to make breakthroughs in emerging industries.

In order to better assess the development of central SOEs in the emerging industries, the SASAC designed an index to show the global development trend, aiming to fully reflect the achievements of central SOEs in the development of strategic emerging industries.

The index is to be published quarterly. It consists of a three-category indicator system covering industrial layout, scientific and technological innovation, human resources, industrial ecosystem and development effectiveness, according to the SASAC.

From 2018 to 2022, central SOEs' investment in strategic emerging industries grew from 700 billion yuan to 1.5 trillion yuan, accounting for 27 percent of all investment in these sectors, with average annual growth rate of 28 percent, according to data released by the China International Engineering Consulting Corp.

On Sunday, the SASAC published an article on promoting the reform of SOEs, which stressed the importance of pushing forward functional reforms in order to better serve national growth strategy.

The SASAC emphasized the role of SOEs in boosting strategic emerging industries, vowing to increase investment in key industries, including new-generation information technology, AI, biotechnology, new materials, environmental protection and other sectors.

According to the State Council, China's cabinet, central SOEs completed cumulative investment in fixed assets (excluding real estate) of 1.4 trillion yuan in the first half of the 2023, up 18.6 percent year-on-year. Investment in emerging industries accounted for more than 25 percent of all investment.