China Development Bank steps up support for manufacturing upgrade

Robotic arms assemble engines at a workshop of the Weichai Power Co., Ltd. in Weifang City, east China's Shandong province, April 22, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The China Development Bank boosted its loan support for manufacturing companies in 2021 to foster new growth drivers for the sector.

Last year, the bank provided 491.7 billion yuan (about 77.13 billion U.S. dollars) in loans to advanced manufacturing and emerging industries.

The bank issued 67.5 billion yuan in loans to support new infrastructure construction and the deep integration of big data and artificial intelligence technologies with various industries.

By the end of last year, outstanding loans in the manufacturing sector amounted to 958.8 billion yuan, with 85 percent of these loans being medium and long-term loans, according to the bank.