The mechanical and electrical products that are firmly in the first major category of export industries have become the first support industries to expand imports in the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan”. On March 17, 2011, the Ministry of Commerce and other eight ministries and commissions issued the Several Opinions on Implementing the Active Import Promotion Strategy for Electromechanical Products during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period (hereinafter referred to as Several Yijian), clearly proposing to increase the number of advanced technology and key equipment, key components and foreign restrictions on the import of high-tech and advanced equipment for export to China, through digestion and absorption to improve the competitiveness of domestic enterprises, and finally cultivate a number of strong technological innovation capabilities and independent core technologies multinational electromechanical enterprise group.

       Export leader takes the responsibility of "leading high limits".

        Big but not strong is the problem that China's electromechanical products have always faced.

       Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce show that China's mechanical and electrical products have maintained the status of the first largest category of export commodities for 16 consecutive years, accounting for 60% of total foreign trade exports, and the current export volume has ranked first in the world. Although the structure of China's mechanical and electrical products has improved significantly, products with high technical content and added value such as automobiles, ships and aircraft have become the main export growth mains, but they have not been able to compete with international advanced technology.

       Jiang Yaoping, deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce, pointed out that the situation of large and unsound mechanical and electrical products, not many independent brands, extensive growth mode, and uneven regional development must be resolved through the transformation of development mode during the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

       Therefore, in the "Yijian" issued by the eight ministries and commissions and the content up to 24 major items, "improving the import volume of high-tech mechanical and electrical products" has become the core content—gradually improving the proportion of the advanced technology and key equipment, key component; increase the import support for advanced technology and key equipment, key components and foreign restrictions on the export of high-tech and advanced equipment to China; according to the development needs of the industry, timely adjust the Encourage Import Technology and Product Catalogue.

       How to digest imported technology is a key task.

       "The current import means future exports, which is why the mechanical and electrical products are the 'leaders' to expand the import policy." Wei Jianguo, secretary general of the China International Economic Exchange Center and former vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said that as the country's largest export category industry, mechanical and electrical products have a market base. After the expansion of imports, it can promote the technological upgrade of domestic industries, improve the competitiveness of China's future exports of mechanical and electrical products, and better crack the foreign export restrictions on China's high-tech products.

       Li Ping, secretary of the Party Committee Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy, also believes that the policy emphasizes the introduction of high-tech mechanical and electrical products because China's electromechanical industry is not strong in international competitiveness and needs high-end products to drive competition, stimulate, guide domestic industries,and structural upgrade, change the way of economic growth and enhance international competitiveness. And as an important part of the manufacturing industry, it also contributes to the improvement of China's manufacturing industry. In order to realize the introduction of genuine "high-tech" products and avoid the situation of expanding some foreign-restricted and imported equipments in the past, Yijian also clearly proposes to combine the industrial development status and key industrial planning, and timely adjust Inventory Catalogue of Imported Goods Not Exempted from Taxation for Domestic Investment Projects and Catalogue of Imported Commodities Not Exempted from Taxation for Foreign Investment Projects, gradually improving the technical requirements for duty-free commodities, and strictly limit the import management of equipment in the field of category and elimination, promote the industrial structuredjust and optimize the upgrade.

       "For enterprises,  not just 'introduction', but more importantly, it should be placed on 'absorption'." The relevant person in charge of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Mechanical and Electrical Products also pointed out that the Ministry of Commerce strongly supports the import of electromechanical products to serve themselves"

       This can be seen from the document itself. The Yijian clearly stated that it will increase support for encouraging the import and export of technical equipment to absorb and re-innovate. The state will provide support for the implementation of the technology and equipment in Encouragement of Imported Technologies and Products Catalogue, which will be infiltrated and re-innovated, and if there are determined major innovations, the country will provide the support. 

       Cultivate a multinational electromechanical group

       "We hope that through our efforts, during the 'Twelfth Five-Year' period, we will be able to cultivate a number of multinational electromechanical enterprise groups with strong technological innovation capabilities and independent core technologies." expressed by Zhang Wei, director of the Department of Mechanical and Electrical Technology Industry of the Ministry of Commerce, National Mechanical and Electrical Products. According to the preliminary target, during the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, the export structure of China's mechanical and electrical products will continue to be optimized, and the Ministry of Commerce will promote the transformation of export enterprises from "shop type" to "marketing type". 100 leading companies in 25 industries, including automobiles, machine tools, construction machinery, ships, and railway equipment, have established marketing networks overseas, cultivating and identifying 200 export bases and 2,000 base enterprises. The proportion of mechanical and electrical products with independent brands to the export of mechanical and electrical products increased from 8% to 15%. At the same time, the average annual growth rate of China's import and export of mechanical and electrical products is higher than the growth rate of GDP and foreign trade, and strive to end the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" The scale of imports and exports reached 2.4 trillion US dollars, of which exports reached 1.4 trillion US dollars.

       In order to achieve the above objectives, Several Yijian clearly stated that financial support will be given. Financial institutions should give full play the role of policy-based import credits under the premise of preventing risks, and encourage enterprises to introduce advanced technologies and key equipment, and key zeros. In terms of financial aspects, the actual consumption and re-innovation expenses incurred by the enterprise in the current year, and those that meet the research and development expenses stipulated in the tax law may enjoy the preferential deduction of preferential policies in accordance with the provisions of the tax law for further studying and formulating policies to support enterprises and carry out introduction, digestion and absorption and innovation.