China's light-industry sector will increase product variety, improve quality and strengthen brand-building to stimulate consumption demand and advance product innovation and upgrading, the head of the China National Light Industry Council said in a press release on March 21.

Zhang Chonghe said that, in the coming period, the council will guide firms to accurately stimulate demand, promote research and development for advanced smart products, and facilitate the production of functional food products, smart home appliances, products for babies and senior citizens, as well as green products.

Work will be done to advance the digital transformation of production equipment across the whole industry and accelerate the building of intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories to improve the quality of consumer goods with the support of digital technology, Zhang said.

The industry also plans to cultivate a batch of high-end international brands in the fields of home appliances, food and cosmetics, and products for children.

Zhang added that the council will fine-tune consumer goods safety standards and speed up the formulation and revision of mandatory national standards in key sub-sectors.

Measures will be taken to guide enterprises to actively apply new technologies, processes and materials to improve the comfort, safety and functionality of products, said He Yaqiong, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.