BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- As China's manufacturing sector is transforming toward high-end intelligent and green development, new scenarios and industries are put forth through the building capacity of energy-saving equipment, low-carbon products and digital technologies, stimulating new engines for industrial development.
During the 2023 Industry Green Development Conference, which was held from June 1 to 3 in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, an impressive array of green manufacturing applications were on display, echoing the industry's green transformation trend.
-- Green products spur green demands
According to data released at the three-day conference, China has promoted nearly 30,000 kinds of green products so far, with the output of main links in the photovoltaic industry chain accounting for over 70 percent of the global total. China has been continuously promoting the supply capacity of green products, with the development of low-carbon industries on the rise, according to Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology.
For instance, as new energy vehicles (NEVs) have grown into a symbol of green and low-carbon lifestyle, China has held the top position in terms of both production and sales of NEVs worldwide for eight consecutive years.
Chinese car leasing firm CAR Inc. has launched batches of NEVs for its rental services in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other cities, and is putting thousands of NEVs to the market in succession. According to its data, during the May Day holiday this year, the company saw daily average lease of NEVs surging to over three times of the same period last year.
At the production plant of GAC Aion, an NEV subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd., robots can automatically identify car models and do the assembling of certain parts. In May, GAC Aion has sold more than 40,000 new cars, up 114 percent year on year, according to Zheng Chunqi, deputy general manager of the company. "We will continue to increase our efforts in promoting intelligent and green upgrading of production methods," said Zheng.
The supply of high-quality green products is expected to stimulate new green demands, said Liu Wenqiang, deputy head of the China Center for Information Industry Development, noting that it is necessary to speed up the improvement of green supply system across the whole chain from raw materials to consumer goods, as a bid to form and strengthen the green advantage.
-- Green production enhances improvement of quality, efficiency
Green production promotes not only reduction of cost and emission, but increase in quality and efficiency. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) shows that by the end of 2022, China has built over 2,100 high-level digital workshops and smart factories, with the production efficiency of smart manufacturing demonstration plants increasing by 34.8 percent and carbon emissions reducing by 21.2 percent.
The exhibition alongside this year's Industry Green Development Conference has featured demonstrations of how green and smart models are applied in various scenarios from production plants to urban management.
For example, telecom giant China Mobile presented a simulation scenario for 5G remote mining, of which the unmanned and intelligent mining equipment is expected to effectively improve the working environment, the production efficiency and the level of environmental protection.
At the booth of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group, staffs were introducing the company's practical experience in supporting smart city operation and reducing energy consumption of lighting systems by replacing traditional street lights with smart poles.
The Tsingtao Beer booth displayed its intriguing solution of reducing water consumption in the brewing process through optimizing production methods and technical improvement.
It is necessary to further accelerate the transformation toward low-carbon energy consumption, clean production and digital manufacturing, said Xin, calling for the empowerment of green manufacturing through next generation information technologies including 5G, big data and artificial intelligence.
-- Green transformation activates new growth engines
Experts attending the conference agreed on the necessity to further improve the clean energy industry chain, promoting the technological breakthroughs and industrialization of green energy sectors such as photovoltaic, wind power and energy storage.
By further tapping the potentials of energy conservation, it is expected that China will further promote carbon reduction in key areas and sectors, as well as improving the fiscal, taxation, financial and other policies and standards to support green development, according to Liu Qiong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.
The MIIT is committed to promoting the phase-out of outdated production capacity in accordance with laws and regulations, cultivating strategic emerging industries and optimizing regional industrial layout, according to Xin.
Specifically, it is essential to fully implement the green design of industrial products throughout their whole life cycle, focusing especially on enterprises within the sectors of metallurgy, petrochemicals, building materials, textiles, etc., said Zhou Ji, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Zhou also pointed out that the manufacturing sector is supposed to provide high-quality products, equipment and systems for green development, as a bid to offer solid guarantee and support for the green transformation efforts of the economy as a whole. "It is a large-scale industry with promising future," Zhou noted. (Edited by Yu Huichen with Xinhua Silk Road, yuhuichen@xinhua.org)
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