China is seeking to expand its remanufacturing industry over the next five years in its general plan to boost the development of a recycling-based economy, a senior government official said Wednesday.

Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, said the ministry would work with other departments to clarify the development targets of the remanufacturing industry, and promote the sector's healthy and fast growth during the country's 12th Five-Year-Plan Period (2011-2015).

"The NDRC is now drafting a series of plans concerning the development of the country's circular economy, the emerging industries of strategic importance, energy savings, and environmental protection. These plans all look at remanufacturing as an important element," Xie said at an international remanufacturing forum held Wednesday in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province.

Xie said the development of the remanufacturing industry will have strategic significance to China as it better utilizes resources and creates higher values.

"Take a vehicle engine, for example, it weighs 500 kilos, if it is recycled as waste steel, its value is only worth about 1,000 yuan (about (about 151 U.S. dollars). But if the engine is remanufactured, it will be worth no less than 30,000 yuan," Xie said.

He said that by the end of last year China had more than 80 million motor vehicles in use, while major construction machinery topped well over 3 million units.

Based on this, Xie said the country's remanufacturing economy was expected to hit 40 billion yuan if remanufactured products took up only a 5-percent market share.