FILE: Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Aerial shots of cityscape

Beijing, China - April 21, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. Various of software developers, high-tech exhibits at exhibition of 5th China International Software Development Conference
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Baoguo, executive deputy secretary-general, China Software Industry Association (partially overlaid with shot 4):
"China's software business revenue grew steadily from 8.16 trillion yuan in 2020 to 15.48 trillion yuan in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 13.8 percent, outpacing most other sectors in the national economy. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the scale of China's software industry is expected to break through the 20-trillion-yuan mark."

++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
4. Various of computing servers; engineers at work
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
5. Various of animation showing city, transportation empowered by network services

Beijing, China - April 21, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xiong Jijun, vice minister, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (ending with shot 7):
"We will promote the implementation of an action plan for 'AI plus software' to encourage the intelligent transformation of software development, the intelligent upgrade of software products, and the intelligent transformation of software enterprises. We will also support the development of new forms and models of software, such as intelligent operating systems and intelligent industrial software."

FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of computing servers; engineers at work
8. Various of programmers at work, computer screens

FILE: Shanghai, China - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Aerial shots of cityscape

China's software industry has seen rapid development in recent years with this strong and sustained growth laying a solid foundation for the sector to break the 20-trillion-yuan scale milestone by the end of the decade, officials said at the 5th China International Software Development Conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The conference coincided with the release of a report by the China Software Industry Association, which showed that in the first two months of this year, China's software business revenue topped 2.15 trillion yuan (about 315 billion U.S. dollars), up 11.7 percent year on year.

The industry's total profits hit 269.3 billion yuan in the same period, registering a 7.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to the latest data, with this solid growth coming as the sector has enjoyed consistent expansion over the past several years.

China has stressed greater sci-tech innovation in its new 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), a key blueprint which maps out the country's development priorities for the coming years, and the software sector is expected to continue to be a central focus as part of these goals.

"China's software business revenue grew steadily from 8.16 trillion yuan in 2020 to 15.48 trillion yuan in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 13.8 percent, outpacing most other sectors in the national economy. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the scale of China's software industry is expected to break through the 20-trillion-yuan mark," said Chen Baoguo, executive deputy secretary-general of the China Software Industry Association.

Beyond its own rapid growth, the software sector is acting as a core driver for the in-depth digital and intelligent transformation of China's manufacturing industry. As of the end of last year, China has built more than 8,200 'advanced-level', over 500 'excellence-level', and 15 'pioneer-level' smart factories across the country.

The numerical control rate of key processes and the penetration rate of digital research and development design tools have both seen substantial increases, accelerating the shift of production modes toward flexibility and intelligence.

Meanwhile, the total number of industrial equipment connected to China's key industrial internet platforms has surpassed 100 million units, providing robust support to the ongoing digital transformation of the manufacturing sector.

To further fuel the software industry's high-quality development and unlock new growth momentum, authorities are rolling out a series of targeted policy measures, with a key focus on deepening the integration of artificial intelligence into the software sector.

"We will promote the implementation of an action plan for 'AI plus software' to encourage the intelligent transformation of software development, the intelligent upgrade of software products, and the intelligent transformation of software enterprises. We will also support the development of new forms and models of software, such as intelligent operating systems and intelligent industrial software," said Xiong Jijun, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).