Providing a strong impetus for the manufacturing industry to climb "high" – a summary of the research on the key proposals of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conf

Editor’s note:

Manufacturing is the foundation of a country’s founding, the foundation of a strong country, and the lifeblood of a country’s economy. We must unswervingly make the manufacturing industry and the real economy stronger, better and bigger, and accelerate the construction of a manufacturing power. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China states: "Implement industrial base reconstruction projects and major technical equipment research projects, support the development of Technologically Advanced Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and promote the high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry." This points out the direction and provides guidance for accelerating the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, promoting the transformation of Chinese manufacturing to Chinese creation and "Chinese intelligent manufacturing".

Promoting the high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry is one of the 72 key proposals of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference this year, including the Central Committee of the Democratic Construction Committee, the Central Committee of the Zhigong Party, and a number of members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

"Those who are involved in shallow water get fish and shrimp, and those who enter deep water get flood dragons." Before the survey, Cui Bo, the leader of the research team, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and deputy director of the Proposal Committee, said that to investigate and think all the way, one cannot be satisfied with following along, and strive to grasp the essence and laws of the problem accurately. To thoroughly study the ideas and countermeasures for solving the problem, identify the "chronic diseases" existing in the high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry, and provide a "good prescription" for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. To promote high-quality development through high-quality research and test the results of thematic education.

From June 2nd to 6th, over a period of 5 days, from traditional manufacturing enterprises to key industries, from high-tech enterprises to key laboratories, industrial technology research institutes and other innovation platforms, the research team went to 15 units and enterprises in Shantou City, Shenzhen City, Dongguan City, Guangzhou City and other places in Guangdong Province. They held discussions and exchanged views with the responsible personnel, managers, experts and scholars, and front-line workers. They widely listened to the situation introduction and suggestions, and explored new solutions to the goals, tasks, current problems, and practical paths of promoting the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the manufacturing industry.

Research team in Yuexin semiconductor technology joint stock company research

Accelerate progress towards the mid-to-high end of the global value chain

Guangdong is a province with a large economy and a strong industry. From the original "Pearl River Water, Guangdong Grain, Lingnan Clothing, and Guangdong Home Appliances" to the current iterative upgrading of high-end manufacturing industries such as new energy vehicles and industrial robots, Guangdong insists on "manufacturing is the master", making manufacturing a "sharp weapon" for Guangdong’s high-quality development.

Anchoring the construction of a strong manufacturing province, Guangdong’s solution to the problem is clear: complete the "two comprehensive upgrades". First, comprehensively enhance the status and role of the manufacturing industry in the modern industrial system, and promote the status of the manufacturing industry to jump from the main direction to lead, from the "ballast stone" to the "pillar", and from the "stabilizer" to the "engine". The second is to comprehensively enhance the status and role of Guangdong manufacturing in the country and the world, maintain the overall strength of the manufacturing industry in the country, and be the vanguard of the high-quality development of the national manufacturing industry; accelerate the progress to the middle and high end of the global value chain, and become a world-class advanced manufacturing base.

Dai Hegen, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairperson of China Chemical Engineering Group Co., Ltd., said that through in-depth research, I really feel that Guangdong’s manufacturing industry has the characteristics of strong professionalism, high degree of industrial integration, and significant driving effect. At the same time, the manufacturing industry is the foundation of our country’s real economy and the main battlefield of scientific and technological innovation. It is necessary to further promote the collaborative innovation and cluster development of the manufacturing industry, lead the industry to a higher end of the value chain, build a new trend of mutual support and efficient and coordinated industrial development, and accelerate the construction of an independent and controllable, safe and reliable, and competitive modern manufacturing system.

As a representative of the sponsors, Li Peixi, a second-level inspector of the Research Department of the Central Committee of the Democratic Construction of China, told reporters that the survey saw a representative number of good enterprises and good projects of digital transformation and digital empowerment. There are not only traditional manufacturing and strategic emerging industry enterprises, but also digital platform-based service enterprises. "Guangdong is not only the forefront and vanguard of reform and opening up, but also the digital transformation and high-quality development of manufacturing are at the forefront. In some areas, a number of leading manufacturing enterprises are trying to break through the original framework and take the road of technological innovation and self-reliance," Li Xipei said.

"This survey shows that enterprises in Guangdong, regardless of their nature, have a strong sense of urgency, and Guangdong’s manufacturing industry is in a leading position in the global industrial division of labor and value chain in several fields. The comprehensive strength of the manufacturing industry has reached an advanced level, becoming the core area and main position of the manufacturing industry." Wu Ximing, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, vice president of the China Aviation Research Institute, and deputy director of the Aviation Industry Science and Technology Commission, listened and thought along the way about how to achieve high-quality development of the entire manufacturing industry chain. He said that the aviation industry I am in is a typical high-tech, new technology, and industrial chain integration industry. The development level of the aviation industry largely reflects the level of a country’s economic development and comprehensive strength. At present, our country’s economy has shifted from a stage of high-speed growth to a stage of high-quality development, which requires a batch of manufacturing industries characterized by high-tech and long-term industrial chain integration to support. To this end, we must firmly grasp the three-year action window period for state-owned enterprise reform, deepen planning and strengthen guidance, and promote state-owned enterprise scientific and technological innovation with greater intensity, so as to truly solve problems for the development of the country and enterprises themselves.

Research team in guangzhou visual source electronic technology joint stock company research

Realize the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry in the field of deep cultivation

Walking into a toy enterprise located in Chenghai District, Shantou City, the real-time display of the production status on the large screen on the wall makes people stop: each production line is basically intelligent and automated, leaving only a small number of personnel to assist the operation, breaking the traditional impression that the toy manufacturing industry is a labor-intensive industry.

In the exhibition hall, cars, ships, astronauts, building block flowers that are brighter than flowers, building block granular toys that replicate the "Wandering Earth" super mine car… All kinds of exquisite toy models can be assembled with granular building blocks; in the factory, such granular building blocks can produce more than 10 billion per year, and the dimensional accuracy of each building block is 0.02mm. This depends on the modern dust-free, high-speed automated precision building block standard general-purpose parts production workshop built by the enterprise.

So what role does the toy company play in the building block toy production process? In the words of the docent: "We are the Foxconn of the toy industry."

When it comes to Foxconn, everyone will definitely flash a word, OEM. That’s right, in the "manufacturing smile curve" manufacturing, R & D, and marketing, they are only responsible for the manufacturing process, that is, OEM.

"The quality and quality of our products are at the international leading level, and while the production volume is increased, the production cost can be reduced, and the high-quality and cost-effective pellet building blocks can be replaced by domestic production." At the factory survey site, the instructor said.

"Although we have a high level of production technology, we do not build the original brand of building block toys, but the manufacturer behind the brand." The person in charge said that there are many building block general-purpose parts, and after the production of general-purpose parts is standardized, automation and intelligence can be realized. At the same time, the investment cost of original toy companies is high, and the reduction of production costs allows toy brands to spend more energy on R & D investment, and ultimately promote the formation of a high-quality ecosystem for the entire toy industry.

High quality and high cost performance have not only benefited domestic toy brands, but also won the favor of foreign companies. According to the person in charge, at this year’s Canton Fair and China’s Shantou (Chenghai) International Toy and Gift Expo, leading toy companies from Russia, the United States, South Korea and other countries are interested in cooperating with the company. During the expo alone, the signed order amount exceeded 30 million yuan.

The premise of achieving a fine division of labor in the industry lies in a deep industrial foundation. "Chinese toys look at Guangdong, Guangdong toys look at Chenghai", Chenghai has become a famous toy production and export base in the country.

"Over the past few decades, Chenghai Toys has been slowly transforming." The research team saw that here, the toy industry has gradually realized the transition from traditional manual production or semi-automatic production mode to fully automated production; here, "Toy + IP" achievements are frequent, its brand ownership is the first in the country, and the IP authorization and patent authorization obtained by toy companies are also the first in the country. For example, the well-known Pleasant Goat and Super Flying Man, whose copyrights are in the hands of local established toy companies in Chenghai.

"The high-quality development of the manufacturing industry is the top priority for the high-quality development of our country’s economy. It is necessary to adapt to the development stage, development conditions and changes in the development pattern. With high-end, intelligent and green as the direction, accelerate the upgrading of the structural system, the innovation of the technical path, and the optimization of the development model. Make up the shortcomings of the manufacturing industry and forge the long plate to promote the effective improvement of the manufacturing industry and the reasonable growth of the quantity." Chen Yin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former deputy director of the proposal committee, said that it is necessary to attach importance to cultivating advanced elements and increasing investment in new elements, promote organized major scientific research and innovation, accelerate the promotion of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, build a national-level innovation system that matches China’s manufacturing industry system, has a clear division of labor and positioning, and is collaborative and open to multiple subjects.

In the opinion of Du Tianjia, director and researcher of the Capital Operation Research Department of the Research Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the high-end, intelligent and green manufacturing industry solves the problems of efficiency, efficiency and effectiveness, which requires focusing on high-end, intelligent and green direction, improving the "gold content", "intelligence content" and "green content" of the manufacturing industry, continuously improving the development advantages, innovative development momentum, optimizing the development ecology, and maximizing the effectiveness.

The research team investigated in Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Factory

Let scientific research deeply empower high-end manufacturing

Passing through a lush lychee forest, the research team came to the China Spallation Neutron Source, the largest single scientific project that has been completed so far. This is a major national scientific and technological infrastructure supported by the National Development and Reform Commission. The legal entity is the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This device makes China the fourth country in the world to have a pulsed spallation neutron source after the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.

The spallation neutron source is often compared to a "super microscope" that can be used to explore the microscopic structure of matter. Its source, the accelerator system, is hidden underground like a Wolong.

Red, green, blue, yellow… With the target station as the center, the spectrometers that have been built and are being built are stretched out in all directions, making China Spallation Neutron Source look like a blooming flower. It is understood that China Spallation Neutron Source has built three spectrometers in the first phase, namely a general powder diffractometer with a green shell, a small-angle neutron scattering meter, and a multi-functional reflector with a blue shell. In the past four years, China Spallation Neutron Source has also cooperated with universities and research institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to build several spectrometers to meet the needs of national and local research institutions and enterprises.

What is the localization rate of equipment? "Our equipment localization rate has reached more than 90%." Chen Hesheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the chief conductor of China Spallation Neutron Source Engineering, said that nearly 100 cooperative units across the country have completed the development and mass production of various equipment of the device, and many of the equipment has reached the international leading or advanced level.

5000, 97%, 800, 122%… In China’s spallation neutron sources, there are several sets of data that deserve special attention.

"5000". A proud number, here, time is not calculated by year, month, day, but by hour. "We spend 5,000 hours per year shooting targets to provide neutron beams." Chen Hesheng said that 5,000 hours means that for more than 8,700 hours a year, China’s spallation neutron source spends most of its time producing neutrons and conducting experiments. Among other international spallation neutron sources, the United Kingdom and Japan generally spend about 4,000 hours per year.

Another figure to be proud of is "97%". "From 2020 to 2021, our actual operating efficiency exceeded 97%, which is an efficiency that other spallation neutron sources around the world cannot achieve." Wang Yifang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the actual operating efficiency is the ratio of the actual operating time of the spallation neutron source to the planned operating time. The higher the number, the lower the failure rate of the spallation neutron source, and the better the stability of the planned operation.

When describing the effectiveness of China’s spallation neutron source operation, they use the number of projects to illustrate. "In four years, China’s spallation neutron source has been open for 8 rounds, and a total of more than 800 projects have been completed, focusing on supporting major national projects," Chen Hesheng said.

It is worth mentioning that currently, there are more than 3,800 registered users, and the number of applications for projects from 2021 to 2022 has increased by 122% year-on-year, and the approval rate for project applications is 29%.

"The’two guarantees’ emphasized by the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader have pointed out the direction and provided guidance for promoting the relevant work to achieve high-quality development." According to Huo Fupeng, deputy director of the Industry Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, China cannot lack manufacturing at any time. To ensure that "manufacturing must be firmly established" depends on itself. This is a necessary and correct strategic choice. It is necessary to not only lay out the "heavy weapons of the country", but also to break the "neck" problem. We must have the confidence and chips to "turn the table" in the industry, grasp the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, grasp the development and growth of strategic emerging industries, adhere to independent innovation, master key core technologies, support the development of Technologically Advanced Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and make the manufacturing industry move towards high-end, intelligent and green development, providing strong support for modernization.

Constantly solidify the foundation of manufacturing talent reserve

In recent years, with the continuous integration and penetration of new technologies, the traditional manufacturing industry is transforming into a new industry of intelligent manufacturing. Behind the booming development of the industry, intelligent manufacturing talents, especially technical talents, play an important role. The research team found that the current shortage of intelligent manufacturing technical talents is obvious.

According to the data of the seventh national census, the employment of the manufacturing industry ranks second among the 20 major industries, accounting for 18.1% of the employed population. Statistics show that the talent gap in the 10 key areas of our country’s manufacturing industry will be close to 30 million in 2025, and the gap rate will be as high as 48%, becoming a key factor restricting the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry.

"If you plant the sycamore tree, you will attract the phoenix." Deepening the reform of the talent development system and mechanism is the key to building the advantages of the talent system and promoting the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Dai Hegen bluntly said that there is a huge gap in senior technicians in China’s manufacturing industry, and most enterprises have more assembly line workers and fewer middle and senior technicians. He suggested that we should innovate the training mode of professional skills in the domestic manufacturing industry, strengthen the integration between vocational education and industrial demand, improve the training system of professional talents in disciplines, and comprehensively promote the construction of a new type of industrial worker team, so as to accelerate the adjustment of the industrial structure and promote the transformation and upgrading of China’s manufacturing industry.

Talking about the cultivation of manufacturing talents, Sun Changlong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and manager of Tianjin Honghu Electromechanical Technology Co., Ltd., took over the words, "At present, the new generation of information technology, high-end numerical control machine tools and robots, aerospace equipment, new materials, biomedicine and high-performance medical apparatus have become the main forces leading the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. In these fields, a large number of compound technical talents with more professional knowledge, higher skill level and cross-technical fields are needed. They should have forward-looking vision and strategic awareness, be able to preside over and guide the development of innovative routes, achieve breakthroughs in basic research fields, and lead the conquest of key core technologies. It is necessary to establish and improve the high-end talent cultivation model, create a project + talent + platform education mechanism, encourage high-end talents to take the initiative to bear the burden of overcoming difficulties, and give corresponding rewards in a timely manner. "Sun Changlong said.

"The manufacturing industry also needs comprehensive innovative talents with both market awareness and R & D capabilities. Such talents can keenly touch cutting-edge technologies, keep up with technological trends, continue to break through innovation, continuously achieve technological upgrades, and create competitive products." Xu Kun, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, suggested that the school-enterprise cooperation mechanism should be further improved, relying on university scientific research projects, organically combining the talent resources of enterprises and universities, focusing on the areas of urgent innovation in the industry, conquering "stuck neck" technology, and improving the market conversion rate of technology. It is also possible to build an innovation consortium led by leading enterprises, with the participation of university research institutes, and the joint construction of various types of innovation entities. Supported by innovative talents and guided by market demand, we can promote the efficient linkage of innovative entities and the efficient allocation of human resources. In market expansion and technological innovation, we will continuously mine and cultivate comprehensive innovative talents. Implement the "school-enterprise-local" joint education model to train compound technical talents with solid professional knowledge, strong practical ability, and strong learning ability for enterprises.

Entering the enterprise, visiting the platform, going to the workshop, holding a symposium… Although the research itinerary was intensive, every time they went, the research team members would carefully listen to the opinions of the enterprises and units, carefully record important issues, widely collect good experience and practices, and analyze the common problems and specific difficulties they faced.

The survey found that at present, the independent and controllable development of the manufacturing industry chain is facing a series of new problems and risks: First, there is a "stuck neck" shortcoming in our country’s manufacturing industry chain. For example, the current lack of high-end chip production capacity in our country, coupled with the promotion of technological blockade, technological gap, and development decoupling by some Western political forces in recent years, has led to an increasingly serious "stuck neck" problem in some fields such as the integrated circuit industry, communication equipment industry, and industrial software in our country. For example, the core competitiveness of our country’s manufacturing industry chain is not outstanding. Although our country has the most complete industrial system and the status of "world manufacturing center", the problem of "big but not strong" and "all but not excellent" is still prominent.

The research team believes that there is an urgent need to make up for shortcomings, strengthen control, improve resilience, and build advantages to resolve these new problems and new risks, and further enhance the independent controllability of our country’s manufacturing industry chain. Focus on key basic components, key basic materials, advanced basic processes and industrial technology bases and other industrial "four foundations" to implement strong foundation projects, increase investment in cutting-edge technology research and development and key "stuck neck" technology research support. We should also focus on improving the key core technology has the voice over, accelerate the realization of domestic substitution, actively participate in and actively plan the establishment of industrial technology standard system, and gradually improve the "anti-stuck neck" ability. Carry out special projects such as solid chain, supplementary chain and strong chain from the supply side and the demand side, encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to cultivate a group of Technologically Advanced Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, single champions and invisible champions who master key technologies in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and improve the technical content of products in key links of the industrial chain.

(Text/picture, reporter, Li Yuanli)