Recently, four authorities including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the State‑owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the National Energy Administration have jointly issued the Implementation Plan for High‑Quality Development of Energy‑Saving Equipment (2026‑2028) (Document No. MIIT‑Lian‑Jie〔2026〕44, hereinafter referred to as the Implementation Plan). It aims to continuously improve the energy efficiency of energy‑saving equipment featuring high universality, large energy consumption and promising development prospects, and strengthen the supply and application of energy‑saving equipment.

The Energy Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the State encourages industrial enterprises to adopt high‑efficiency and energy‑saving equipment such as electric motors, boilers, kilns, fans and pumps. The Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Accelerating the Comprehensive Green Transition of Economic and Social Development calls for promoting energy‑saving, low‑carbon and clean production technologies and equipment, advancing energy conservation and carbon reduction transformation in key industries, and accelerating the upgrading and replacement of equipment and products. Energy‑saving equipment refers to products and equipment designed and manufactured with advanced technologies in all links of energy production and consumption, which can improve energy utilization efficiency and reduce energy consumption and losses. Accelerating the high‑quality development of energy‑saving equipment constitutes an important measure to boost industrial energy efficiency and realize the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, a key direction to foster new drivers for green development and forge new industrial competitive edges, and a vital foundation to meet the growing energy consumption demand of the whole society and safeguard national energy security.

Focusing on six categories of energy‑saving equipment, namely energy‑saving motors, transformers, industrial heat pumps, industrial refrigeration (heating) and heating equipment, water‑electrolysis hydrogen‑production equipment, and information and communication equipment, the Implementation Plan sets the goal of advancing energy conservation and carbon reduction in key industries, takes the optimization and improvement of energy‑using systems as the main thrust, regards the R&D and application of advanced technical equipment as the major starting point, and pursues the paths of green design and manufacturing, equipment renewal and retrofitting, as well as artificial intelligence empowerment, so as to accelerate the intelligent, green and integrated development of energy‑saving equipment. By 2028, breakthroughs shall be achieved in key materials and components for energy‑saving equipment; the matching performance and actual operating efficiency of energy‑using systems in key industries will keep improving; the energy efficiency level of energy‑saving equipment such as motors and transformers will reach world‑leading standards, and the market share of energy‑saving equipment will be further increased.

The Implementation Plan makes systematic work arrangements covering accelerating R&D and promotion of advanced energy‑saving equipment, expanding the green and low‑carbon supply of energy‑saving equipment, enhancing system coupling and matching of energy‑saving equipment, and pushing forward digital upgrading of energy‑saving equipment. It requires expediting the R&D of new materials, new components and new products with outstanding energy‑saving effects that meet market demands for higher‑efficiency and higher‑performance energy‑saving equipment, promoting the construction of large‑scale models for equipment energy conservation and carbon reduction, advancing the application of artificial intelligence‑empowered energy‑saving equipment, striving to raise the system‑wide operating efficiency of energy‑using equipment in key industries, and shifting industrial energy conservation toward full‑process systematic energy conservation. Meanwhile, specific measures for building a sound industrial development environment are proposed in three aspects: accelerating the renewal and retrofitting of energy‑saving equipment, improving the standard system for energy‑saving equipment, and strengthening overall coordination of industrial development.

The release of the Implementation Plan will give a strong impetus to the high‑quality development of energy‑saving equipment, and provide critical equipment support for better‑quality energy conservation and carbon reduction efforts, advancement of new‑type industrialization, and achievement of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.