BEIJING -- China will strive to foster an amiable environment for innovation in the strategic emerging industries to make them an "important driver" of social and economic development, an official said Monday.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the emphasis on strategic industries, was intended to drive growth as well as transform the development pattern.

In the latest development plan, China said it aimed to bring the share of strategic emerging industries to 8 percent of its GDP by 2015 and 15 percent by 2020.

Strategic industries accounted for less than 4 percent of GDP by 2010 and China has pledged to spur development in the area to transform the economy.

While stressing the importance of government guidance in the sector, experts have also called for the role of market in resource allocation.

Feng Fei, an industrial analyst with the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the government should not just focus on the expansion of the industries, but had to emphasize technology innovation and industrial system improvements to let the market play a fundamental role.

Strategic emerging industries include those related to energy-saving and environmental protection, new generation of information technology, biology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, new materials and new-energy automobiles.