BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- China ranks fourth in manufacturing power development index, said a report published Friday by the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE).

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The manufacturing power development index consists of four items including scale development, quality and benefit, structural optimization and sustainable development, said Zhong Zhihua, vice-president of the CAE, adding that the index reflects the development level of a country's manufacturing industry.

China ranks fourth in 2019, after the United States, Germany and Japan, with the largest increase from 2012 to 2019, according to the report.

In recent years, China's manufacturing power development index is progressing and its gap with developed countries is narrowing, said Zhu Gaofeng, an academician of the CAE.