Multiple companies shifting to innovation

Two workers assemble a helicopter at Taiyuan-based Zhehong Aviation Industry. Wang Ruirui / For China Daily　　

Executives at Taiyuan-based Shanxi Electric Motors were excited when the company reported an unexpected performance for the first half of this year.

During the six months, the company delivered 564 million yuan ($87 million) worth of products, growing 109 percent year-on-year. Its export orders amounted to 51 million yuan, increasing 126 percent.

"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have expanded in European markets, with Italy and Russia contributing a vital force for our growth," said Board Chairman Zhang Wenhe.

He said Shanxi Electric Motors has adjusted its production plan to meet China's requirements in carbon neutrality. It has developed a range of energy-saving electric motors for the upgrade of such industries as metallurgy, coking, cement production and paper making in recent years.

"The products, featuring a higher performance in energy conservation, are being well received on both domestic and overseas markets," Zhang said.

Shanxi Electric Motors is just one example of how Shanxi's advanced manufacturing sector has grown vigorously since the province began an innovation-driven, high-quality development strategy several years ago.

According to the Shanxi Statistics Bureau, industrial enterprises above designated size－companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($3.09 million)－in the province reported an average year-on-year growth rate of 15.9 percent during the first half of this year. Meanwhile, enterprises in the equipment manufacturing sector grew by 34.4 percent and high-tech equipment manufacturers grew by 36.5 percent.

Shanxi has a strong manufacturing industrial system that produces such specialized products as coal-mining machines, heavy construction machines, rail-transit equipment and equipment for coal-based chemicals. A range of these products have achieved nationally leading positions.

Since last year, Shanxi has shifted the focus of advanced manufacturing to the so-called "new equipment manufacturing".

"New equipment manufacturing means to offer products and solutions to sectors relating to new infrastructure, new technologies, new materials and new operational models," said Zhang Zhanxiang, deputy chief of the Shanxi Department of Industry and Information Technology.

The official said the provincial government released a new equipment manufacturing plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) on April 30. Shanxi was the first province in China to issue such a plan.

It proposed that intelligent and green development should be the "double engines" to drive the upgrading of Shanxi's manufacturing industries.

When talking about intelligent manufacturing, Che Qingtai, chief of the Shanxi Academy of High-Quality Transformation and Development, said Shanxi will use 5G, digital technologies and the industrial internet to make smart manufacturing possible.

"Our aim is to realize a transformation from 'made in Shanxi' to 'innovated in Shanxi'," Che said.

By Yuan Shenggao

Guo Yanjie contributed to this story.