China must speed up industrial restructuring and upgrading, and make substantial progress on the road towards new industrialization, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei wrote in an article in the latest issue of Qiushi Magazine, the flagship journal of the Communist Party of China.

The 12th Five-Year Plan Period (2011-2015) is the critical time for China's industrial restructuring and upgrading, Miao said.

Restructuring is the shift of industrial growth model and the transformation from conventional industrialization to new industrialization. Upgrading is the optimization of technological, organizational and industrial structures, the article explained.

He identified some key areas needing restructuring and upgrading in the 12th Five-Year Plan Period, which include: independent innovation, technological renovation of enterprises, the information level of industry, green and low-carbon development, quality and brand strategy, the coordinated development of large enterprises and SMEs, and the level of opening up.

He urged to strengthen and improve financial services in the areas of consumer credit, finance guarantee for small and micro enterprises, and mergers and acquisitions.

On Jan 18, China issued its first mid- and long-term industrial restructuring and upgrading plan, in which the country set an 8 percent growth target in value-added output for all industries over the next four years.