China aims to become the world’s leading manufacturer of telecommunication, railway and electrical power equipment by 2025, as the country ramps up its implementation of the Made in China 2025 strategy, according to a new roadmap released on Jan 26.

Qu Xianming, an expert involved in drafting the updated version of the Made in China 2025 technology roadmap, said China has already made great strides in the above three areas, but more efforts are needed to crack the bottlenecks of key components in order to achieve global supremacy.

“It is not just about production capacity. Instead, we aim to become No 1 in research and development, as well as the application of these products,” said Qu, an expert with the National Manufacturing Strategy Advisory Committee, an organization that advises the government on plans to upgrade the manufacturing sector.

According to Qu, home appliances, petroleum refining equipment and construction machinery are also likely to be added into the key areas of Made in China 2025.

“It is still under discussion. But if they are added to the list, the central government will roll out measures to assist their development,” Qu added.

The first version of the Made in China 2025 technology roadmap was published in 2015. It was designed to guide local governments and enterprises in their manufacturing investment and other business decisions.

But the past two years have witnessed new ideas and technologies pop up, demanding an updated technology roadmap to reflect the new trends and problems in the manufacturing industry.

Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said China has already become one of the world’s largest producers of more than 220 types of products.

“But we are still facing big challenges in producing reliable core components, and many products are still mid-tier to low-end. We hope the roadmap can serve as guidance for companies to cultivate innovation and upgrade their plants,” Xin said.

According to the updated roadmap, China’s homegrown robotics, high-end automation and new energy vehicles industries are all likely to rank No 2 or No 3 globally by 2025.

But China will still lag behind some foreign countries in the fields of semiconductors, operating systems and industrial software at that time.