China Targets 50 Billion-RMB Historical Industry Leaders by 2028

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and five other departments recently jointly issued the Guidelines on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Historical Classic Industries. Historical classic industries cover silk, tea, porcelain, traditional Chinese medicine, brewing, arts and crafts, and the four treasures of the study. China's representative historical classic industries have 25,000 above-scale enterprises, nearly 3.5 million employees, and total annual operating revenue of about RMB 8 trillion. In 2025, the value added of the real estate industry was roughly equivalent to the annual operating revenue of these industries.

The Guidelines propose that by 2028, the sector should cultivate 50 leading enterprises with revenue of RMB 10 billion each, shape 100 Chinese consumer brands, build several characteristic industrial clusters with revenue of RMB 100 billion, and form an industrial layout featuring tiered distribution and complementary advantages. By 2030, the sector should cultivate a group of world-class enterprises and well-known brands and move toward the medium-to-high end of the global value chain. The Guidelines propose promoting diversified integration of historical classic industries with culture and tourism, health and wellness, and education. The Guidelines also propose exploring a development model of "village collective + household workshop + classic famous enterprise."