With the rapid development of China's economy, "Made in China" has swept the world. However, the rapid expansion in the past 30 years has been unsustainable. On the one hand, due to the sluggish international economy, the demand for Chinese-made products in the international market has greatly shrunk; on the other hand, the development of China's manufacturing industry is constrained by the environment and resources.
At present, the competition in the global manufacturing industry has transformed into the competition of technology and innovation. With the continuous enhancement of independent innovation capabilities, the transformation from "Made in China" to "Made in China" is becoming a new outlet. "Made in China 2025" proposes to achieve the strategic goal of a manufacturing power through "three steps". In terms of the wind, China's Internet industry, robot industry, and high-end equipment manufacturing industry are all "golden pigs" that take off at any time, and "Made in China" is embarking on a new journey toward a manufacturing powerhouse.
The close-up picture of China's manufacturing industry painted by the data is rather bleak. Since the beginning of this year, various data used to express the decline and prosperity of the manufacturing industry have fallen continuously.
Is the reality equally depressing? The "Economic Information Daily" reporter visited Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Chongqing and other manufacturing hubs for more than a month, and witnessed the "pain" of survival under the heavy pressure of nearly 100 enterprises. "Tired" with the development, but also feel their still strong beating pulse.
Today is different from the past. After 30 years of continuous rapid growth, the "world's factory" has gradually moved away from China. Through the current "fog" of complex and even contradictory industrial phenomena and data, the industrial comparative advantage of "Made in China" is replacing the old with the new.
Weak data highlights grim situation
In the first quarter of this year, the added value of my country's industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.4% year-on-year, the lowest growth rate since May 2009, which further exacerbated people's deep concern that "Made in China" is in a severe downward trend.
The macro data are not optimistic and continue to experience downward pressure, which is the most intuitive reflection of my country's industrial manufacturing to the global market since the second half of last year. The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that in March this year, on the basis of the record low in the first quarter, the actual growth of the added value of my country's industrial enterprises above designated size was only 5.6% year-on-year, which was 1.2 percentage points lower than the year-on-year growth rate of the previous two months. By May this year, the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 6.1% year-on-year, which has rebounded but has not yet reached this year's high; 49.2, only to rise back to 49.6 in June. In addition, in the first two months of this year, the cumulative freight volume of railways closely related to the manufacturing industry also decreased year-on-year, by as much as 9.1%; the average daily output index of power generation, which is also closely related to the manufacturing industry and the real economy, also fell in March. There was a year-on-year decline of 3.7%... All kinds of data are constantly increasing the anxiety of the outside world.
The data "falls and falls endlessly", does it mean that tens of thousands of Chinese manufacturing companies are really "sorrowful"?
Luo Wen, president of the China Electronics and Information Industry Development Research Institute, said that the severe situation reflected by the data downturn can be described as "climbing a plateau", "In the first two months of this year, the overall profit margin of industrial enterprises above designated size in my country was only about 4.9%. , in this case, funds will flow into real estate and the stock market rather than into manufacturing, which will bring more pressure.”
During the visit, the reporter of "Economic Information Daily" felt that although the data is not optimistic, it is not simply "good" or "bad" to judge the current state of my country's manufacturing industry. Many contradictory phenomena coexist, multiple complex forms Interweaving is the true portrayal of "Made in China".
The transition gate faces many challenges
Negative factors such as increased exchange rate fluctuations, rising labor and raw material costs, and slow recovery in global market demand continue to affect China's manufacturing industry. After more than 30 years of sustained high-speed growth, the market foundation and social environment of my country's manufacturing industry have undergone fundamental changes. Many industry insiders and experts believe that the fundamental pressure of this round of "transformation test" lies in whether the self-development and social needs can be realized and connected.
China's manufacturing industry, which is at the transition point, is facing many tests.
One of the challenges of transformation is how a large number of manufacturing enterprises will change from mainly meeting the needs of the international market to meeting the needs of the domestic and international markets simultaneously.
Harry Saiddin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, said that in the past two years, an obvious trend is that the foundry companies that simply use China as their manufacturing base are struggling to survive or even shut down in large numbers. However, manufacturing companies targeting the Chinese market such as Procter & Gamble, Meizan, Amway, and multinational auto giants are all increasing their capital and expanding production. The fundamental reason is that years of economic growth have grown the Chinese market, and social costs have generally risen, which means that "Made in China" is actually no longer possible. It is simply equated with the "world factory", but should mainly meet the "Chinese demand" as the starting point. Taking the chamber of commerce as an example, by the end of 2014, 79% of its member companies had provided products and services for the Chinese market, in sharp contrast to only 23% before 2003.
"This is still the case for foreign-funded enterprises. Many local Chinese enterprises, especially export-oriented enterprises, need to realize changes in personnel training, team building, product positioning and other aspects, otherwise they will be eliminated." Sai Yading said.
The second test of transformation is how manufacturing companies shift from scale expansion to quality improvement, technological breakthroughs and cultural leadership.
Jin Bei, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that after more than 30 years of continuous growth, my country has become the world's largest manufacturing country, but the industrialization process of a country depends not only on "flow" but also on "flow" "Stock", which is what we lack. "On the surface, it seems that our manufacturing industry has no room for development, but in depth, except for some areas such as high-speed rail, the technical commanding heights of most industries are not in China, which is in line with the overall development of our industry in the past. , lack of height and depth are directly related. Both history and reality show that improving the quality of manufacturing can not be achieved by investment, and going further down requires technological breakthroughs and cultural leadership. This kind of change is difficult and painful. It is also a hurdle that a considerable number of enterprises may not be able to pass." He said.
Economic columnist Wu Xiaobo believes that after more than 30 years of continuous development, my country has formed a stable and influential middle-class consumer group. Their requirements for consumer goods and manufactured products are changing from quantity requirements to quality requirements. "Their appearance actually constitutes a turning point for 'Made in China'."
The third test of transformation is how to change the comparative advantage of domestic manufacturing from preferential policies and cheap resources to complete industrial chain and market system.
Zhu Gaofeng, head of the research group of the "Strategy of Manufacturing Powerful Country" of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that in the past few decades, preferential policies and sufficient supply of land and labor factors have provided a basis for my country's manufacturing industry to catch up with the world. my country's becoming the second largest economy and the continuous improvement of the market's legal environment have made it difficult to maintain the status quo, but this does not mean that China's manufacturing industry has lost its competitiveness. The new advantages mainly include the improvement of the industrial chain and the solid foundation of the domestic market. Aren’t there many companies moving out of China and moving back? The key is how to adapt to these changes.”
Enterprises actively respond to quenching and rebirth
There is a high degree of excess production capacity, sluggish market demand, and intensified foreign exchange fluctuations... In such an environment, a reporter from the "Economic Information Daily" visited and saw that the market's short-term anxiety and medium- and long-term optimism coexist.
In the southeast coastal area, the owner of a clothing company complained to reporters that 70% of the companies in his village had closed down in the past two or three years. Yuan".
In a city in the south, the local government recommended a large labor-intensive enterprise with tens of thousands of workers to the reporter as a "model of contrarian development", but the person in charge of the Hong Kong-funded enterprise complained when he saw the reporter, saying I am very optimistic about the labor cost advantages of Myanmar and other places. "In the next two or three years, we will either close the factory and not do it, or move the factory to Southeast Asia as a whole."
However, in Shenzhen, where the factory is "separated by a wall", Huawei's rotating CEO Hu Houkun told reporters that the world's top telecommunications company achieved global sales revenue of 288.2 billion yuan last year, a year-on-year increase of 20.6%; net profit of 27.9 billion yuan, A year-on-year increase of 32.7%, which is much higher than the combined total of Ericsson, Alan and Nokia.
"In the next five years, we have the confidence to continue to achieve an average annual growth rate of more than 10%!" In Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places, the photovoltaic industry, which was once in a trough, sprung up again last year. Not only has the entire industry turned losses into profits, but also a group of advantageous enterprises It also stood out. The person in charge of Trina Solar Group, located in Changzhou, told reporters that it is expected that the company's production capacity this year will account for one-tenth of the world's total, "steadily ranking first in the world".
In Jiangsu Xugong Group, Li Suoyun, the deputy general manager, pointed to us all kinds of challenges and difficulties, and admitted that the enterprise and the industry were under unprecedented pressure, but he also said that in the past year, Xugong Group still gritted its teeth Brazil has built a manufacturing base, and R&D centers in Germany and the United States. "Short-term difficulties will never overwhelm long-term improvement. Temporary losses can be exchanged for long-term gains. We believe that 'Made in China' must form new advantages in order to form new advantages. It is necessary to participate in international competition, open the door to engage in research and development, and compete in the market.”
In Xi'an, an important industrial city, Yin Jian'an, chairman of Shaangu Group, said that since last year, the country's heavy chemical industry has seen a sharp decline in investment, and the lack of global market demand is difficult to change in the short term. Coupled with the impact of the devaluation of some currencies such as the euro against the renminbi, the entire industry has not yet Out of the rock bottom, "But we analyzed and analyzed, but we still felt that there was an opportunity and a way out. First, the state's attention to environmental protection will inevitably lead to equipment renovation, and second, the 'Belt and Road' is full of vitality. We have been talking with Indonesia for a long time. , intends to rely on the 'going out' of domestic projects to realize investment in equipment."
Looking forward to more improvements in the manufacturing environment
During the interview process, some business leaders believed that although there were good market opportunities, they were faced with constraints such as difficulty in financing and expensive financing, which made some companies miss the opportunity for development. Many business leaders eagerly hope that the current pace of reform can be faster and bigger, so that the manufacturing environment can be more improved.
"The problem is that enterprises have motivation, but the surrounding environment is not supported enough." Zhao Bin, deputy director of Wenzhou Economic and Information Commission, said, "From the perspective of the financial environment, the balance of enterprise loans in Wenzhou turned out to be negative growth last year, and the bank loan approval limit was all raised; from the policy perspective From the perspective of the environment, whether it is land use indicators or financial leverage, we are greatly restricted, and there is no place to use them, which severely restricts our transformation and upgrading.”
In Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province, Zhou Yujia, chairman of Bellma Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., is preparing to open up a new production line with the help of the market boom, not only to upgrade and transfer production from traditional toilets to smart toilets at one time, but also to launch its own brand and realize the transformation from OEM Shift from manufacturing to own brand.
"We have organized a group of sanitary ware companies to visit Japan, and we must not hand over this rare opportunity to Japanese companies, but the most painful thing now is that the problem of financing has not been solved. Obviously, the whole society has seen the market for smart toilets. Opportunities, but the bank still asks us to take assets as collateral, which traps our hands and feet and makes it difficult for us." Zhou Yujia said.
During the interview, some manufacturing companies, including some well-known large groups, confided their true thoughts to the reporter, eagerly looking forward to the current pace of reforms to be faster and bigger, so that the manufacturing environment can have more improvement. Liu Jincheng, chairman of Huizhou Yiwei Lithium Energy Co., Ltd., said that enterprises should take the initiative to meet the arrival of reform along with social and economic development, and assume due social obligations and legal responsibilities.
