Innovation Leads the Development Road of China's Equipment Manufacturing Industry

In recent years, with the strong support of a series of policies, the development of China's equipment manufacturing industry has been significantly accelerated, the level of major technological equipment autonomy has been significantly improved, international competitiveness has been further enhanced, and the technological level and market share of some products have leapt to the top of the world. However, it is worth noting that although China has become a big country in equipment manufacturing, it still has outstanding problems, such as large industries but not strong, weak independent innovation capabilities, backward basic manufacturing, low-level redundant construction, and difficulties in the promotion and application of independent innovation products. At the 2010 (third) China Manufacturing Summit Forum held recently, participating government officials, experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on how to revitalize China's equipment manufacturing industry.

Guests:

Honorary President of China Machinery Industry Federation and Deputy Minister of Machinery Industry Lu Yanyi

Shi Dingyi, counselor of the State Council and chairman of the China Renewable Energy Society

Director of the Department of Policy and Regulation of the Ministry of Science and Technology Mei Yonghong

Equipment Manufacturing Industry is the Basis of China's Industrialization

Moderator: Cultivating and developing strategic emerging industries is the focus of China's economic work. What is the meaning of high-end equipment manufacturing industry as one of the strategic emerging industries?

Lu Yanyu: High-end equipment manufacturing refers to the high-end field of equipment manufacturing industry. It can be understood from the following three perspectives: First, it has a high level of technology, which is characterized by knowledge and technology, involving high-quality, multi-disciplinary, and multi-domain technologies. Second, it is at the high end of the value chain and has high added value. Third, it is at the core of the industrial chain. Its level of development determines the overall competitiveness of the industrial chain.

At present, China has taken the strategic development of emerging industries and the seizure of future economic and technological commanding heights as an important entry point for transforming the economic development mode and adjusting and optimizing the economic structure. The high-end equipment manufacturing industry will inevitably become an important engine that will drive the upgrade of the entire equipment manufacturing industry and become an important support for the development of other strategic emerging industries. In the face of the challenges of increasing global competition, environmental resource constraints, and senior talent shortages, we must pay attention to the importance of strategic development to develop the high-end equipment manufacturing industry to promote the revitalization of the entire equipment manufacturing industry in order to more effectively for emerging industries in various fields. Provide equipment and service guarantees.

Moderator: After the international financial crisis, developed countries proposed a series of new development concepts such as re-industrialization and low-carbon economy. Under the new situation, what kind of development opportunities will China's equipment manufacturing industry embrace? What are the significance of the development of China's equipment manufacturing industry?

Lu Yanzhen: The high-end manufacturing industry cluster with strong competitiveness is the basic feature and important symbol of the world’s industrial powerhouse. In the post-financial crisis era, a series of new development concepts such as re-industrialization and low-carbon economy in developed countries have made the high-end equipment manufacturing industry the focus of a new round of international industry and science and technology competition. The development of high-end equipment manufacturing industry in China will also face tremendous pressure. .

Manufacturing industry is the material basis for economic and social development, and it is the pillar and dominant position in the national economic construction. The equipment manufacturing industry provides advanced technology and equipment support for the modernization of the entire manufacturing industry. Therefore, the revitalization of equipment manufacturing industry is the basis for China's industrialization. The equipment manufacturing industry has a long industrial chain and a wide range of products. It can form a specialized supply chain around complete sets of equipment and mainframes, which can drive the development of SMEs. In particular, the high-end part of the industry chain, with its high technological content and high added value, is the core of improving the competitiveness of the equipment manufacturing industry, and has a strong driving effect on the regional economy and the economic development of the entire country.
High-end equipment manufacturing has become a key breakthrough

Moderator: What is the current status of China's equipment manufacturing industry?

Lu Yantao: After years of efforts, China has made great strides in some important areas of equipment manufacturing, including product output and technology levels, mastery and innovation of key technologies, industry concentration, equipment level, management level, and international competitiveness. Especially in the context of the rapid development of China's economic construction, relying on national key projects, China's equipment manufacturing industry has achieved greater results, and high-end equipment manufacturing industry has begun to take shape.

Of course, while we are seeing achievements, we must also soberly recognize the problems on the way forward. In some areas, the phenomenon of over-reliance on foreign countries for key products and technologies still exists. For example, gas turbines in power plants and high-pressure pumped-storage units are not only designed to rely on foreign countries, but some components also rely on imports.

The reason for this situation is that China’s high-end equipment manufacturing technology mostly comes from foreign countries, and it takes a long time to introduce, digest, and innovate. With the change in the global manufacturing development strategy of the manufacturing industry, the industrial transfer in developed countries is limited. The core technology does not transfer, but it uses multinational corporations as carriers to enter the Chinese market, which increases the difficulty for China to cultivate high-end equipment manufacturing.

Moderator: What about the new energy equipment manufacturing?

Shi Dingxi: With the strong support of related policies, the localization of new energy equipment manufacturing is relatively high. Taking wind power equipment as an example, on the basis of the introduction of digestion and independent innovation in recent years, localization has been achieved from several hundred kilowatts to two or three megawatts, including offshore wind power equipment of more than 3 megawatts. However, there is still a big gap between the current domestic equipment's non-failure rate and efficiency compared with the advanced level in foreign countries. In the core control system, the core software is still in the hands of foreign companies. This is a relatively weak link in China's equipment manufacturing industry.

In terms of solar photovoltaic power generation, China's solar photovoltaic power generation equipment has reached international standards. At present, the main problem in this industry is that the core equipment is dependent on imports. The core equipment of China's photovoltaic power stations is mostly from Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. This has given China's equipment manufacturing industry, especially the high-end equipment manufacturing industry, new tasks. It can be said that the localization and technical level of equipment will determine the development prospect of China's photovoltaic industry.

Therefore, only by vigorously cultivating and developing China's equipment manufacturing industry can we promote the formation of a large emerging industry of renewable energy, and gradually replace fossil fuels that currently occupy the mainstream. To achieve this goal, there are still many measures that need to be improved, such as policy-oriented issues, including some of the current emerging industries related to renewable energy, in the early stages of development to give necessary support, such as price subsidies and other measures.

Moderator: What problems do China urgently need to solve to develop its equipment manufacturing industry?

Lu Yanzhen: China's development of equipment manufacturing industry needs to focus on solving the following problems: First, investment in transition dependence factors, and economic efficiency is not high. The extensive development of large-scale investment relying on resources and funds is the main cause of overcapacity in some areas of China's equipment manufacturing industry. Vicious competition caused by this disrupts market order and seriously hinders the development of high-end markets. In addition, the large amount of inputs in the factors has also led to the convergence of the regional industrial structure. Some local governments have blindly pursued regional GDP and local fiscal growth, exacerbating repeated investment and environmental deterioration in the region.

The second is that large enterprise groups are not strong, and there is a lack of specialized, special, sophisticated small giant companies supporting them. Large enterprise groups in China's equipment manufacturing industry generally have problems with strong manufacturing capacity, weak R&D capabilities, relying on the introduction of more technologies and independent intellectual property rights, high production value, low industrial added value, strong stand-alone manufacturing capacity, and weak system integration capabilities. It is necessary to solve the problem of the lack of competitiveness of large enterprise groups by improving the equipment manufacturing industry chain and establishing an innovation system that takes enterprises as the main body.

Third, the technological innovation system needs to be improved. Establishing a sound technological innovation system is the key to the continued development of China's equipment manufacturing industry. The technological innovation system of equipment manufacturing industry consists of four stages: basic research, common technology research, product development, industrialization, and the formation of industrial chains. This structure shows that the basic common technology is indispensable, but due to various reasons, the important basic role of basic scientific research in China's scientific research institutes has not been fully exerted, which is obviously not conducive to overall innovation. At present, the use of public service platforms for the re-establishment of basic generic technology research and development by scientific research institutes has no time to delay, otherwise it will affect the entire strategic process of establishing an innovative country in China.

Practice has proved that the technology obtained through market transactions can only be entry technology, and the core technology can not be bought. Only by improving our capacity for independent innovation and hard work for several years can China truly become a world industrial power. At present, nurturing high-end equipment manufacturing has become a key breakthrough in the transformation of China's equipment manufacturing industry from big to strong.

Cultivating high-end manufacturing industry must focus on innovation

Moderator: In May last year, the State Council formally announced the "Equipment Manufacturing Industry Adjustment and Revitalization Plan." Regarding the implementation of the plan, relevant government departments have issued a series of policies and measures to revitalize the equipment manufacturing industry. Can you tell us in detail?

Mei Yonghong: Promoting the creation, application, and accumulation of knowledge is the top priority for the development of China's manufacturing industry, and it is even a matter of life and death. At present, China has introduced many policies and measures aimed at revitalizing the equipment manufacturing industry, mainly involving five aspects.

First, nurture innovative enterprises and use various policy tools to guide more companies to take the road of innovation and development. We require innovative companies to have complete innovation plans and build their national engineering and technology centers in enterprises. In addition, we need to train the management of these companies, including R&D management, and introduce more talents for these companies.

The issue of talent is the weakest thing for Chinese companies compared with foreign big companies. From the perspective of R&D, China’s enterprises have an average of three R&D personnel, compared with 49 in Japan, 48 in the United States, 35 in Germany, and 25 in Canada and the United Kingdom. In addition, China's talent structure also has some problems. After graduating from a doctoral degree of 30% of our country, we all choose to stay in universities instead of corporate development. This is extremely unfavorable for the development of enterprises.

Second, build a strategic alliance for technological innovation in production, education, and research. In the past, when the government supported corporate innovation or supported innovation, it focused more on a technology than a product. It focused on an organization rather than a combination of policies. It focused on an innovation rather than a complete innovation chain. Caused many of our country's scientific and technological achievements can not be quickly transformed into products and competitive industries. Today, under the new market economy conditions, how to make innovation based on market demand and better meet market demands requires the establishment of a new model of research and development or innovation. The experience of developed countries shows that it is a good choice to build a strategic alliance for production, research, and technology innovation.

Third, build a technology innovation service platform to provide more complete equipment, technology development tools, and unobstructed channels for cooperation with other companies or scientific research institutions. To build a technological innovation service platform around some key industries is actually to build a secure network for enterprises.

Fourth, increase the introduction and digestion and absorption of key technologies. In the long run in the future, many industries in our country, including some leading industries, will need to introduce advanced foreign technology and equipment. This is the hurdle that we cannot bypass. Past experience shows that the simple introduction will lead us into a vicious circle of "introduction, backwardness, reintroduction, and backwardness." Can we strengthen the intensity of technological learning in the large-scale introduction of technology, speed up the digestion and absorption of technology, and finally narrow the gap with the developed countries? This is a problem worthy of serious consideration.

Fifth, cultivate innovative capabilities in the productive services industry. A relatively developed productive service industry that matches the development of the manufacturing industry can, to some extent, determine the future and efficiency of the manufacturing industry.

Moderator: What principles should China adhere to in cultivating and developing high-end equipment manufacturing?

Lu Yanzhen: Concise focus, clear goals, and nurture high-end equipment manufacturing industry should do something wrong. We should pay attention to adhere to the following principles when selecting cultivation objects: First, we must meet the basic characteristics of strategic, leading, driving, growth, and sustainability of high-end equipment manufacturing; second, we must meet the national economy in the next 5-10 years. The transformation and upgrading of key industries and the high-end needs of emerging industries; the third is to choose a certain technology and industry base, constraints on resources and the environment is relatively loose, through a period of effort to cultivate successful projects.

Only by insisting on innovation and consolidating the industrial base can we promote the sustainable development of China's equipment manufacturing industry. Specifically, it is necessary to increase research in general-purpose basic parts, large-scale castings and forgings, key special materials (high-grade insulating materials), control system components, and numerical control machine tools, and strive to promote the standardization strategy to enhance the industry's soft power. Technical standards have become the commanding point of high-tech industry competition, and also an important means to ensure the development of high-end equipment manufacturing industry. At present, China should organize large-scale backbone enterprises to participate in and become the main body of standard setting, pay attention to the integration with international standards, participate in international standard setting activities, and strive for More words to promote independent innovation products to occupy the international market. At the same time, vigorously developing modern manufacturing service industry is an inevitable choice for the development of China's equipment manufacturing industry, especially high-end equipment manufacturing industry. It is also the only way for China to adjust and optimize its industrial structure and implement low-emission, low-elevation, high-value-added development.

At present, the development of China's equipment manufacturing industry is in the context of the specific national conditions of industrialization and modernization, and at the same time it is facing the profound changes brought by the international financial crisis to the international political and economic environment. Based on this premise, the sustainable development of China's equipment manufacturing industry should have two meanings. That is, while continuing to play its role as a pillar industry, it must adapt to the needs of economic and social development, and must take the enterprise as the main body and the market as the direction; Must meet the constraints of resource and environment, persist in relying on technological progress and improving the quality of workers to achieve sustainable development.

China has proposed the development goal of modernization in the middle of this century. Sustainable industrial development is an extremely important part of modernization. In this process, it is necessary to continuously improve the value content and technological level of equipment products, and from advanced to overall, it will enter the world's advanced ranks, so that China will truly transform itself from a manufacturing country to a manufacturing powerhouse.