City is key player in China transformation

Foshan, one of the traditional manufacturing hubs in China, is enjoying a particularly strong performance in advanced equipment manufacturing, and has thus become a key player in supporting China's industrial upgrade and transformation plans.

In the first 10 months of 2018, the added value of Foshan's equipment manufacturing industry was 110.68 billion yuan ($16.09 billion), an increase of 6.2 percent year-on-year, according to the Foshan government.

The city's average annual growth rate of industrial added value of the equipment manufacturing industry was 13.6 percent between 2015 and 2017.

Local businesses have made huge investments in their industrial upgrade over the past few years.

Cui Zihua, deputy general manager of Shenling Environmental Systems, said his company was once an air conditioning system developer, but then made major investments to expand into the energy management systems and environmental pollution treatment sectors.

"Our annual research and development costs accounted for 4 percent of the total sales of the company," Cui said. "However, our efforts have generated returns."

The company said its products are now used by leading global companies including US logistics service provider FedEx and Germany's Bayer and BASF. Its key clients also include Beijing Subway and GAC Group.

Zhang Qingyun, deputy director of Foshan's bureau of economy and information technology, said that most businesses in the city are light professional equipment developers.

He added that businesses in Foshan have established a strong position in producing machines for the ceramics, woodwork, printing and packaging, plastics, glass, medical and textile industries.

Foshan, which has long stood at the forefront of China's industrial upgrade, is also making a name for establishing complete industrial chains for various industries, Zhang said.

A strong industrial research and development foundation is another key feature of Foshan. The city, home to 380 high-tech companies in the advanced equipment manufacturing industry, has five R&D centers, 28 innovation supporting platforms and several academic institutes, Zhang said.

Currently, Foshan is focusing on developing four key industries: industrial robots, machine tools, automotive manufacturing and environmental protection equipment.

Businesses in Foshan have taken advantage of nearby research institutes and universities to advance the development of key components and core technologies. The city is home to a wide number of robotic technology developers including Huashu Robot, Media, Guangdong Jaten Robot & Automation and Foshan LXD Robotics.

Companies in Foshan have been eager to use robots to replace manpower in recent years. Zhang said more than 450 companies in sectors such as the automotive manufacturing, ceramics, home appliances and machinery industries in Foshan have used robots to replace manpower. Official figures show that more than 50 percent of the work in the automotive industry in Foshan now is performed by them.

Foshan also boasts a complete industrial chain for machine tool production. The city is home to more than 300 machine tool producers.

Last year, Foshan's machine tool industry reported industrial added value of 34.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.8 percent, which accounted for one-fifth of Foshan's total.

Foshan has a great number of industrial platforms to support the development of its manufacturing industry.

Three of the major platforms are the national-level Foshan High-tech Industrial Development Zone, which focuses on promoting the development of industries including auto parts, new energy, precision equipment and optical products; the Foshan Sino-German Industrial Service Zone, which strongly promotes cooperation between high-tech companies from China and Germany and Guangdong Hi-tech Service Zone for Financial Institutions, which has attracted more than 300 leading financial institutes including PICC and HSBC.