BEIJING - A senior Chinese official said Thursday that the country will further cut taxes and fees in the manufacturing sector this year to promote its high-quality development.

The country will continue to lower the rates of value-added tax levied on the manufacturing sector and reduce its costs on production factors such as electricity and water, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei told Xinhua in an interview.

Miao said the country will move to optimize the sector's development environment and continue to ease market access.

He said the country will further open up the manufacturing sector, roll out the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list nationwide and ensure implementation of opening-up policies concerning sectors such as automobiles, shipbuilding and aviation.

A statement issued after the Central Economic Work Conference, which mapped out policy priorities for 2019, said high-quality manufacturing development was prioritized on the work agenda and stressed unwavering efforts to build the country into a manufacturer of quality and the integration of advanced manufacturing and modern service sector.

With a massive domestic market, integrated industry system, capacity of innovation, well-developed infrastructure and favorable business environment, China has strong resilience to cope with challenges, Miao said.