The State Council on Feb 18 issued a document on speeding up the development of makerspaces, which have flourished throughout the country, in a bid to support economic restructuring and industrial upgrade.

The policy is aimed at connecting makerspaces, the forefront of mass entrepreneurship and innovation, with other development plans such as “Internet Plus” and “Made in China 2025”, to spur reform of leading enterprises in research, production, marketing, services and management, as well as the development of the smart “manufacturing plus services” model.

According to the plan, more new makerspaces are encouraged in key industrial areas such as electronic information, biological technology and modern agriculture.

The government also called on leading enterprises and research institutes to set up makerspaces centered on their main businesses or specialties. A series of State-level platforms and bases for innovation will be established as well.

The government will boost supporting measures such as rewards and subsidies to advance the initiative. New makerspaces are also likely to enjoy new preferential tax policies and the guidance of financial capital.