BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhua) -- At the recently concluded World Manufacturing Convention 2018, a number of state-of-the-art technologies and new breakthroughs were unveiled to show the world China’s unique charm in manufacturing.
Driven by a string of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), big data and the Internet of things, intelligent manufacturing has already been serving as a new engine that helps push forward China’s manufacturing transformation and upgrade. While thoroughly revolutionizing the traditional manufacturing, this intelligent wave is also changing China at an unprecedented pace and in unprecedented means.
--“AI+” becomes a new breakthrough for China’s manufacturing
Manufacturing upgrade is a catalyst for updating both Chinese industry and worldwide technologies as well, said Liu Qingfeng, president of IFLYTEK Co., adding that as it advances in multiple dimensions and along various industrial chains, AI will be further integrated with education, medical care, automobile and a range of other manufacturing sectors at higher levels.
“This is an era of intelligent manufacturing, and this ubiquitous tide is changing our ways of production and life,” said Xin Guobin, China’s vice minister of Industry and Information Technology, at the conference.
Statistics show that by the end of 2017, the scale of China’s AI core industry has surpassed 18 billion yuan, and the scale of related industries reached 220 billion yuan.
A previously-released report, entitled Emerging of Artificial Intelligence Economy in China, indicates that by the end of June 2017, there were a total of 2,542 companies engaged in AI globally, among which 592 were Chinese companies, making China the world’s second largest AI base. Besides, China has registered 15,700 AI-related patents, also ranking the second globally.
The combination of AI and manufacturing will be profoundly changing our life in the future: on the one hand, it will change the features of consumer products, most of which are 3C products, such as handsets, toys, robots, smart home devices and appliances; on the other hand, AI can change the existing “expert systems” in lots of fields, including education, medical care, smart cities, etc, iFLYTEK’s vice president Zhang Youguo said.
--Foreign companies vie for opportunities brought by China’s intelligent manufacturing move
As the supply-side reform is ever deepening in China’s manufacturing sector, more and more foreign companies vied for opportunities brought by China’s intelligent manufacturing move and adjust their global strategies so as to comply with the process of Chinese manufacturing.
Wu Xiaohua, deputy head of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, revealed that as China continuously opens its manufacturing wider to the outside, large amounts of investment and market opportunities are being created for foreign-funded companies.
On May 25, the first batch of electric automobiles jointly produced by JAC Motors and Volkswagen were unveiled in Hefei. This product is based on the JAC’s technological framework centering on new energy and is scheduled to come into the market in the latter half of this year.
JAC-Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd., established in December 2017, is China’s first joint venture for making new energy autos, and also Volkswagen’s third joint venture in China.
This electric automobile can drive over 300 kilometer after full charging, noted Jochem Heizmann, president of Volkswagen China, adding that it’s integrated with an AI-enabled voice control platform and mobility solutions that involves smart charging and parking.
Data shows that in 2017, the number of foreign-funded manufacturers in China was 4,986, up 24.3 percent year on year, and the manufacturing business attracted a total of 33.5 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI). The focus of foreign investment is being gradually shifted from the processing industry to high and new tech fields that involve computers, IC, and intelligent manufacturing, and at the same time, nearly 2,000 multinational firms have set up regional headquarters or R&D centers in China.
--Facilitating shift of growth engine in manufacturing industry
Among the Fortune 500 companies in 2017, the average business revenue of Chinese companies was 11 percent higher than their US counterparts, but the former’s average profit was 30 percent lower. In terms of the core technology, imported products accounted for 80 percent of China’s IC chip manufacturing equipment and for 90 percent of the country’s general computer CPUs and basic software. From the product quality, the life cycle of China-made general parts and components is in general 30 percent to 60 percent that of overseas similar products, and the service life of mold products is averagely 30 percent to 50 percent shorter than overseas advanced products.
Undoubtedly, China’s manufacturing will continue its opening-up at a higher speed and in a greater depth. However, this process must be driven by innovation and it requires the country to correctly find a new position in the value chain.
Liu believed that to replace the old growth drivers with new ones, China’s manufacturing has to realize in-depth connection and integration with AI in the future.
“If we can grasp opportunities created by the AI industry in the following three decades, we will have a greater say in the global value chain and exert a greater influence. Therefore we must facilitate the joint and synchronized development of both AI and manufacturing in China and enable AI to truly become part of China’s national strategy.” Liu said.
However, some experts proposed that to develop our intelligent manufacturing, China should, while attaching great importance to applications, focus more on the advancement of fundamental research and technologies toward higher levels.
“For instance, over 70 percent of China’s AI businesses centers on applications, rather than on technological issues. Before we can meet the goal of registering 150 billion yuan worth of industrial output from the core AI businesses by 2020, the entire industry has to achieve development by leaps and bounds. Therefore, there will be a long way to go before intelligent manufacturing sees explosive growth,” said Li Deyi, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Some overseas industry insiders also expressed their hope to see China open its manufacturing even wider to the outside world and engage in deeper cooperation with international manufacturers.
(Edited by Yang Yifan, yangyifan@xinhua.org)
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