In the first seven months of this year, profits and investment grew by 12.8% and 9.7% year-on-year, respectively

　　High-tech manufacturing shows strong momentum

　　General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "China's manufacturing sector covers a very complete range of categories. What we must strive for now is comprehensive upgrading—the low- and mid-end of the past must move upward, and we must establish a presence in the high-end."

　　Aiming at high technology, pursuing high efficiency, and moving toward high quality. From the accelerated commercialization of the C919 domestically produced large aircraft and the maiden voyage of "Mingyang Tiancheng," the world's largest single-unit-capacity floating wind power platform, to successive breakthroughs in key core technologies such as heavy-duty gas turbines and automotive smart chips, and further to China's shipbuilding industry accounting for more than 70% of global new orders and home appliance exports achieving positive year-on-year growth for 17 consecutive months... Since the beginning of this year, new quality productive forces have developed at a faster pace, and high-tech manufacturing has shown strong momentum. In the first seven months, the growth rate of value added in high-tech manufacturing has consistently exceeded that of all industrial enterprises above designated size, serving as a vivid portrayal of China's economy brimming with vitality and surging momentum.

　　Strong performance in both production and sales

　　UBTech's humanoid robot Walker S easily completed handling, sorting, and parts installation on a simulated automobile assembly line, while Unitree Technology's humanoid robot G1 can squat, sit up, and perform a "carp flip"... At the recently held 2024 World Robot Conference, more than 600 robots were showcased, brimming with a sense of technology.

　　On one side, technology is iterating and products are being "updated"; on the other, orders are plentiful and production is busy.

　　At Sichuan Times New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., the world's first zero-carbon battery factory, a single cell can be produced in as fast as one second, and a battery pack rolls off the line in 2.5 minutes. From January to July this year, CATL's power battery installations grew by 41.8% year-on-year.

　　All industries are pursuing "new" directions and climbing "upward," converging into the outstanding performance of high-tech manufacturing—

　　Strong performance in both production and sales, with leading growth rates. In July, the value added of high-tech manufacturing above designated size grew by 10% year-on-year, 1.2 percentage points faster than in June and 4.9 percentage points higher than all industrial enterprises above designated size. Exports also performed well: in the first seven months, mechanical and electrical products accounted for 59% of total export value.

　　Steady profit growth with outstanding efficiency. In the first seven months, profits in high-tech manufacturing grew by 12.8% year-on-year, 9.2 percentage points higher than the average level of industrial enterprises above designated size, contributing nearly 60% of the profit growth of industrial enterprises above designated size. As of August 23, 127 listed electronics companies on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange had disclosed their first-half operating results, reporting total net profits exceeding 26.3 billion yuan, up 145% year-on-year.

　　Investment is being stepped up, with promising prospects. In the first seven months, investment in high-tech manufacturing grew by 9.7% year-on-year, 6.1 percentage points higher than total investment. R&D investment in industries such as automobiles and railway, shipbuilding, aerospace and other transportation equipment continued to increase.

　　"From increasing investment and expanding markets to profit growth, and further to expanding R&D and manufacturing, high-tech manufacturing has formed a virtuous positive cycle, demonstrating pronounced high growth potential," said Zhang Yuzhe, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.

High-tech manufacturing is "leading the pack," helping the industrial economy continue to expand in total scale while steadily improving in quality and efficiency. In the first half of the year, the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide grew by 6% year-on-year, continuing the relatively rapid growth trend since the fourth quarter of last year.

　Coordinated development with strong support

　　In Hefei, Anhui, as 16 propellers spun rapidly, an flying car lifted off and flew smoothly along a predetermined route. Soon afterward, the EH216-S electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), independently developed by EHang, will be put into commercial operation.

　　"The development of China's eVTOL industry cannot be separated from support in multiple aspects," analyzed Hu Huazhi, founder and chairman of EHang. On the demand side, new scenarios such as tourism and sightseeing are flourishing; on the supply side, the industrial system is complete, and emerging industries bring innovation spillover effects, with most components able to be quickly sourced; on the policy side, departments such as industry and information technology and civil aviation are continuously optimizing the industrial ecosystem, while cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hefei are providing strong support for industry development. "We must seize the opportunity and ride the momentum to make the low-altitude economy pie even bigger."

The outstanding performance of high-tech manufacturing is attributable to the industrial foundation and market opportunities, and also inseparable from the proactive efforts of all regions, departments, and the vast number of enterprises.

　　——Industrial transformation and upgrading have created valuable opportunities.

　　"5G+Industrial Internet" covers all 41 major industrial categories, 421 national-level intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories have been cultivated, and the clean energy system is being built at a faster pace... The manufacturing sector is accelerating its march toward high-end, intelligent, and green development, providing a broad stage for the development of high-tech manufacturing.

In July, the value added of high-end equipment industries such as aerospace vehicles and equipment manufacturing, the output of digital products such as civilian drones and virtual reality devices, and the output of major products in new energy industries such as wind power and photovoltaics all achieved double-digit growth.

　　——Policies have been implemented effectively, providing support and assistance.

　　In July, domestic sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 853,000 units, accounting for 53.5% of domestic passenger vehicle sales. "From encouraging innovation and relaxing market access conditions to introducing more than 70 supportive policies such as purchase tax exemptions, purchasing rights, and road rights, pragmatic and effective industrial policies have supported the rapid growth of the industry," said Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president and secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

　　Establishing 30 national-level manufacturing innovation centers, focusing on advantageous industries such as 5G to strengthen, extend, and supplement the industrial chain, optimizing the ecosystem around emerging industries, and setting up a 500 billion yuan re-lending facility for scientific and technological innovation and technological upgrading... The better combination of an effective market and a proactive government gives high-tech manufacturing more confidence for development.

　　——Enterprises are striving forward, opening up room for growth.

　　Opening up new fields and winning on new tracks, the vast number of enterprises are pressing ahead. Unicorn company GalaxySpace is accelerating the development of satellites for "direct-to-mobile" connectivity at its Ark Laboratory to better address 6G communication needs. New automaker Jiyue Auto has released end-to-end AI smart driving software that, by recognizing lip reading, increases speech recognition rates in noisy environments by 80%.

　　463,000 high-tech enterprises, more than 140,000 specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, and 1,557 manufacturing single-champion enterprises... Large, medium, and small enterprises are pursuing integrated innovation, with all links of industry, academia, research, and application working together to form a powerful synergy for promoting high-quality development. Since the new era began, the proportion of value added in high-tech manufacturing to the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size has gradually increased from 9.4% in 2012 to 15.8% in the first half of this year.

　　Broad space with ample potential

　　Like a window for observing China's economy, the performance of high-tech manufacturing has strengthened confidence in industrial upgrading and laid a solid foundation for economic development.

　　Through this window, one can see the enormous potential of the super-large-scale market.

　　With body thickness reduced to 9.2 millimeters and phone weight reduced to 226 grams, Honor's newly released foldable-screen phone is widely favored by the market. "The continuous expansion of the middle-income group and the in-depth advancement of new industrialization and new urbanization have provided broad development space for manufacturing," said Wei Qijia, director of the Industrial Economy Research Office of the Economic Forecasting Department at the State Information Center. The performance of high-tech manufacturing teaches us that as long as we base ourselves on continuously upgrading demand and provide richer, higher-quality products and services, we can gain more opportunities and a larger market.

　　Through this window, one can see the new advantages of Chinese manufacturing on the global stage.

　　On August 27, Toshiba Home Appliances, under Midea Group, held a distributor conference in Vietnam, announcing that it will launch 98 new mid-to-high-end home appliance products to the market in the coming year. In the first half of the year, Midea Group's overseas sales revenue grew by 13.09% year-on-year. "The improving exports of high-tech products play a prominent role in maintaining the competitiveness of China's foreign trade," Zhang Yuzhe believes. China's manufacturing sector is steadily advancing toward the mid-to-high end of the industrial chain and value chain, and its position in the global industrial division system is steadily rising, with considerable development potential.

　　Through this window, one can also see the general trend of industrial transformation and upgrading and the long-term positive development of the economy.

　　Pursuing innovation and strengthening industry, the pace has never stopped—promoting the establishment of a new batch of national manufacturing innovation centers, cultivating gazelle enterprises and unicorn enterprises, and carrying out the "AI+" initiative, with relevant departments working in coordination; Zhejiang is building four trillion-yuan-level advanced industrial clusters such as next-generation information technology, and Liaoning is cultivating and expanding 10 strategic emerging industrial clusters such as robotics, with all regions actively making arrangements; Airbus has opened a China R&D center in Suzhou, and Volkswagen has announced the expansion of its production and innovation center in Hefei, with multinational companies expressing optimism and more innovation resources landing in China.

　　"The world's most complete industrial system and the largest and most promising vast market have provided a solid foundation for the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing," Wei Qijia believes. By deeply implementing the strategy of invigorating the country through science and education, the strategy of strengthening the country through talent, and the innovation-driven development strategy, and accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, a modern industrial system represented by high-tech manufacturing will be built at a faster pace, and the driving force of China's economy will be more abundant and its foundation more solid.