According to China Petrochemical News, a group of cutting-edge technologies and innovative achievements were showcased at the recently concluded 2018 World Manufacturing Conference, showcasing the charm of Chinese manufacturing to the world.

Obviously, driven by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, intelligent manufacturing has become a "new driving force" for the transformation and upgrading of China's manufacturing industry. While it has transformed traditional manufacturing, it is also changing China at an unprecedented speed and in unprecedented ways.

Upgrading the manufacturing industry promotes the development of Chinese industries

The intelligent speaker that automatically plays light music to "wake up" the owner, a palm sized robot that can do push ups with one hand, a new energy autonomous vehicle equipped with an artificial intelligence system, and a flexible display screen that can bend in an "S" shape... The development achievements of China's manufacturing industry, especially in the field of intelligent manufacturing, amazed the participants at the 2018 World Manufacturing Conference.

In the view of Liu Qingfeng, Chairman of iFlytek, upgrading the manufacturing industry is a catalyst for promoting the development of Chinese industries and even global technological updates. The multidimensional development and multi industry chain operation of artificial intelligence will be deeply integrated with a series of manufacturing industries such as education, healthcare, and automobiles.

We are in the era of intelligent manufacturing, and ubiquitous intelligent manufacturing is changing people's production and lifestyle, "said Xin Guobin, Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology.

According to statistics, by the end of 2017, the scale of China's AI core industry had exceeded 18 billion yuan, and the scale of related industries had reached 220 billion yuan. Intelligent connected vehicles, intelligent service robots, medical imaging assisted diagnosis systems and other intelligent products have a good technological and industrial foundation in China.

Intelligent manufacturing not only makes our manufacturing process more intelligent, such as the extensive use of new technologies such as robots and the Internet of Things in the manufacturing process, but also makes the products themselves intelligent, "said Zhang Youguo, Senior Vice President of iFlytek Co., Ltd.

Foreign companies compete to embrace China's "smart" manufacturing

With the deepening of supply side reform in China's manufacturing industry, more and more foreign companies are targeting the development dividend of China's manufacturing industry, competing to adjust their global layout and adapt to the transformation process of China's manufacturing from "low cost, low technological content" to "high technology, high quality".

Wu Xiaohua, Vice President of the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China's manufacturing industry continued to expand its opening up in the process of transformation and upgrading, creating a large number of investment and market opportunities for foreign-funded enterprises.

He said, "The new round of manufacturing upgrading and opening up may have greater dividends for foreign enterprises than the first round, because it has high added value and stronger market purchasing power

On May 25th, the first electric vehicle jointly produced by Jianghuai Automobile and Volkswagen Group was launched in Hefei. This pure electric vehicle is based on Jianghuai Automobile's new energy technology framework and incorporates the design concept of Volkswagen's SEAT brand. It will be launched in the second half of this year.

Jochen Heizmann, President of Volkswagen Group (China), introduced that this electric vehicle has a range of over 300 kilometers and is equipped with a voice control platform using artificial intelligence technology, as well as travel solutions including intelligent charging and intelligent parking. At present, this model has received thousands of orders from Volkswagen's shared mobility partners.

It is reported that Jianghuai Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. was established in December 2017. It is the first Sino foreign joint venture new energy vehicle enterprise in China and also the third joint venture of Volkswagen Group in China.

Last November, Whirlpool (China) Co., Ltd. began building its third global intelligent manufacturing demonstration factory in Hefei. Whirlpool (China) Co., Ltd. equipped the factory with intelligent robots to assist production, automated logistics operations, virtual reality glasses, equipment status tracking, big data network monitoring and other means and systems, hoping to ultimately achieve a smart factory operation mode in the Internet of Things environment. The complete construction plan will take ten years.

Data shows that in 2017, there were 4986 foreign-invested manufacturing enterprises established in China, an increase of 24.3% over the previous year. The manufacturing industry attracted a total foreign direct investment of 33.5 billion US dollars, and the focus of foreign investment gradually expanded from processing and manufacturing to high-tech fields such as computers, integrated circuits, and intelligent manufacturing. Nearly 2000 multinational companies have set up regional headquarters and research and development centers in China.

Some foreign industry insiders have expressed the hope that China's manufacturing industry will open its doors more and engage in deeper cooperation with global manufacturing companies.

Developing intelligent manufacturing requires deep cultivation of basic scientific research and technology

Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China's manufacturing industry has actively integrated into the global economic system, leveraged its own advantages, undertaken international industrial transfers, and made significant progress in development. However, there is still a long way to go before it can become a manufacturing powerhouse, "said Xin Guobin frankly.

According to reports, in terms of economic benefits, among the companies that made it to the Fortune Global 500 in 2017, Chinese companies had an average operating revenue 11% higher than American companies, but their average profits were 30% lower; From the perspective of core technology, 80% of integrated circuit chip manufacturing equipment, 90% of general-purpose computer CPUs, and basic software rely on imports; From the perspective of product quality, the service life of general component products is generally 30% to 60% of that of similar foreign products, and the service life of mold products is generally 30% to 50% lower than that of advanced foreign levels.

Xin Guobin said, "Strengthening external cooperation, enhancing exchanges and communication, jointly responding to the new round of technological and industrial changes, and actively participating in global economic competition and cooperation are based on our own understanding, while promoting the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse is our vision for the next 30 years based on the current situation of the manufacturing industry. In this process, we should neither be arrogant nor underestimate ourselves

Undoubtedly, the pace and degree of opening up of China's manufacturing industry will continue to accelerate, but in this process, innovation must be the driving force, increasing scientific and technological research and development efforts, and finding new coordinates in the value chain.

Liu Qingfeng believes that China's manufacturing industry will inevitably move towards matching and deep integration with artificial intelligence in the future. In the next 30 years, if we seize the opportunity of the artificial intelligence industry, we will have greater voice and influence in the global value chain. Therefore, we must elevate artificial intelligence and Chinese manufacturing to a strategic height of dual energy drive and equal footing

Some authoritative experts in the industry have pointed out that the development of intelligent manufacturing should pay more attention to deepening basic scientific research and technology, and make every effort to build China's core competitiveness in intelligent manufacturing.

"At present, more than 70% of China's AI industry is distributed at the application level, not at the technical level. If we want to achieve the goal of achieving the total output value of the core intelligence industry of 150 billion yuan by 2020, the level of the entire industry will need to be significantly improved. Therefore, the outbreak of the intelligent manufacturing industry is far from coming." Li Deyi, an academician of the CAE Member, said, "China's industrial foundation of intelligent manufacturing is still not strong enough, so we should continue to gather the driving force of independent research and development, and make great efforts on the technical level."