(File photo)

China ranks fourth globally in comprehensive manufacturing power, coming in behind the U.S., Germany and Japan, according to the 2015 China Manufacturing Power Development Index Report released by the Chinese Academy of Engineering on May 12.

The report shows that since 2001, China has been gradually making its way up the list. In 2000, China's index was less than 30 percent that of the U.S.; now it has increased to nearly 58 percent.

Zhu Gaofeng, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, acknowledged that China's manufacturing power had greatly increased in the past 10 years. However, he emphasized that there is still a long way to go to catch the top three manufacturing powers. Quality effectiveness is still the main weakness of China's manufacturing. Structure optimization is also lagging, while sustainable development has made some progress.