(File Photo)

Chinese authorities said they will earmark a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) special fund to support the country’s “Made in China 2025” initiative, the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported on Oct. 12.

The money will be used to boost innovation in the manufacturing sector, strengthen industrial chain coordination, build a generic technology services platform, and carry out an insurance program for the application of new materials, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a recent notice.

An estimated 25 projects will be financially supported, including Internet of Things, new materials, smart appliances, high-end consumer electronics, industrial information, and security control and infant formula quality control, the MIIT disclosed.

Each project will get from 30 to 50 million yuan of financial support, industry authorities said, and key projects will receive over 100 million yuan for development. Industry and information technology departments at all levels across the country have unveiled plans to offer financial assistance to key projects in their provinces.

For instance, starting from last year, Guangdong has invested over one billion yuan into robotics, rail transportation, biomedicine, integrated circuits, and intelligent equipment.

The MIIT has signed an agreement with the National Development Bank (NDB) to aid pilot projects that are preferred by the market. The NDB has pledged that it will offer no less than 300 billion yuan of financial support to the “Made in China 2025” initiative from 2016 to 2020.

Many enterprises have started to apply for the fund. A person in charge of an integrated circuit company said that the financial support from the Central and local governments will help them attain technical achievements and promote industrialization.