The application of information technology (IT) to manufacturing heavy equipment instead of traditional consumer goods will be the core of China's manufacturing sector in the coming 10 years. This will enable the country to achieve a smart industrial transition and become a world manufacturing power by 2025, Premier Li Keqiang remarked at the 3rd Roundtable Summit of Global CEO Council held on June 9 in Beijing.
Li said that one of major goals of the government's "Made in China 2025" plan is to export China's manufactured equipment while continuing with traditional manufacturing industries in China.
The premier said that the plan also includes promoting breakthroughs in 10 key sectors, which include aerospace equipment, numerical control tools and robotics, ocean engineering equipment and high-tech ships, nuclear power equipment, energy-saving vehicles, and heavy-duty agricultural machinery.
Li stressed that the plan would allow China to achieve the level of industrialization nearly equal to Germany and Japan, and rank among the world's advanced manufacturing powers rather than be treated as the "world's factory."
Li added that the country should shift to building a new manufacturing image for the nation by increasing the manufacture and export of high-quality heavy-duty equipment such as nuclear power equipment and high-speed trains.
Mao Weiming, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said that the "Made in China 2025" plan is mainly designed to enable the country to become a "strong" manufacturer instead of simply a "big" one. He said this included addressing other issues first, such as the lack of core technologies, industrial structure, poor brand quality, high competition in homogeneous products, and a shortage of channels for transferring technical achievements.
Mao said that upgrading the country's industrial structure and competitiveness by building high-end supply chains and value chains, especially in the production of high-value equipment, is a priority issue.
According to China News Service, the country has favorable conditions to develop the heavy-duty equipment segment, as the market demand for construction equipment is strong in many countries. China can also work with advanced countries to develop and supply medium- and high-end equipment for third-party developing countries.
Wang Liming, chief engineer at the MIIT, said that China now contributes to 61 percent of global output of power generation equipment, 41 percent of global vessel production, and 38 percent of machine tool supply.
The country is also the leading builder of railways in the world, completing construction of 16,000 kilometers of rail and more than 10,000 kilometers under construction.
China's manufacturing capability and capacity is also good in aerospace, steel and marine engineering.