Philips Lighting Holding BV, a Royal Philips company, is set to further step up its research and development (R&D) pace in China to compete with other established rivals in the next five years, China Daily reported.
According to the report, the Dutch company will bring in more than 30 percent of its research and development force in China to improve innovation, as both domestic and global manufacturers such as NVC Lighting, Opple Lighting Co. Ltd and. GE's light-bulb division had introduced their latest LED and smart lighting products into the country.
Olivia Qiu, chief innovation officer of Philips Lighting, said that fast innovation is the key to compete with others since the Chinese market is sensitive to new products, particularly those with more functions.
The report said that Philips Lighting has set a goal to release more than 1,000 lighting products in China each year, in a bid to increase its market share, with some products specifically designed for the local market. The company also hastened its research and development on inexpensive LED products for homes.
The report added that although China is a big market for Philips Lighting, local manufacturers accounted for only 20 percent of global LED production. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that in the first half of 2015, Chinese firms produced 177.45 billion LED lamps, an increase of 37.33 percent year-on-year.
The country's fast-growing 4G network is seen to help build a solid application foundation for both consumers and manufacturers, as well as help reduce the research and development period for new products.
"We will collaborate with more local companies across industries such as Xiaomi Corp. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to create products with more technical functions and cross-industry elements to further diversify our market presence in China," said Qiu.
The report said that more advanced products, including connected lighting systems and smart lighting products, as well as large-scale lighting equipment for the sport, hospitality and industrial sectors, will be introduced by Philips Lighting.
Three months ago, the company teamed up with Xiaomi to launch a connected desk lamp that automatically adjusts the light, enabling users to get the right light based on their task.
Qiu noted that since Chinese companies can now produce most of the components on their own and related research and development have also reached a high level, local companies are no longer assembly shops for their foreign counterparts.
As China is its second-largest overseas market after the United States, Philips Lighting has more than 1,000 researchers in the country, and 13 plants and six research and development centers.
Sun Fuquan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development in Beijing, said that in terms of applying clean-energy and energy-efficient products, China is already a global leader.
"LED and smart lighting, electric vehicles, wind power and solar energy, which use less power but also illuminate China's green development, will become a key differentiating factor in determining a country's competitiveness," Sun said.