Business
Industrial Upgrade Essential for the Manufacturing Sector's Expansion
China needs to strive for high-quality development of the manufacturing industry
  ·  2019-07-29  ·   Source: NO.31 AUGUST 1, 2019
A helicopter model on display at the 19th China Harbin International Equipment Manufacturing Expo in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on May 16 (XINHUA)

The development of the manufacturing industry has played a key role in China's economic growth. In 2018, the value added of manufacturing reached 26.5 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion), contributing 29.4 percent of the GDP.

China has developed into an industrial power with complete industrial systems and a strong infrastructure foundation. While the manufacturing industry boasts strong production capacity, many sub-sectors, however, are burdened by overcapacity and need urgent transformation and upgrade.

Excess capacity can be cut by encouraging market competition and phasing out loss-making "zombie enterprises." This will also balance supply and demand and keep commodity prices stable to develop a favorable market environment.

Scientific and technological progress has provided significant support for high-quality development of the manufacturing industry. Due to domestic economic growth and changing development modes, the government and enterprises' input in technological research and development (R&D) has seen substantial growth, improving the innovation capacity of the industry and promoting university-industry research collaboration.

Since the manufacturing industry has developed on a large scale, only industrial upgrade can further expand it and make it a stable contributor to economic growth. To achieve high-quality development of the industry, the growth of hi-tech, strategic emerging and advanced manufacturing industries should be accelerated and traditional manufacturing industries upgraded.

As part of supply-side structural reform, China needs to focus on promoting innovation and green development of the manufacturing industry, developing new driving forces and upgrading traditional industries as it reduces costs and improves weak sectors.

Industrial policies in line with domestic conditions should be implemented and more market-oriented and law-based approaches used to give full play to the role of the market in the allocation of resources, enhance the effectiveness of the policies and reduce negative impacts.

Efforts are also needed to promote integrated development of manufacturing and service industries based on information technology.

Technological R&D and manufacturing that used to be carried out independently have been connected through technologies such as the Internet, big data and the Internet of Things, making manufacturing and services increasingly closely linked. Manufacturers need to follow the new trend by making full use of technological platforms integrated with modern service industries and accelerate upgrading traditional industries through high technology to contribute to manufacturing restructuring.

As China's economy enters a new phase of pursuing high-quality growth amid domestic and external uncertainties, reforms are being furthered and opening up widened.

In the future, it is necessary to promote mergers and acquisitions of manufacturing enterprises, increase industrial concentration and create a favorable environment for enterprises to expand.

The development of the private and public sectors needs to be balanced. Private firms constitute a key driving force for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry as small and medium-sized enterprises account for a large part of it. As part of broader reform efforts, private companies should be allowed greater access to industries where state-owned enterprises have a stronger presence. China needs to focus on both the public and private sectors to develop various forms of mixed-ownership economy, broaden channels for their mutual investment and boost the vitality of market entities.

This is an edited excerpt of an article written by Guo Kesha, Dean of the School of Economics and Finance at Huaqiao University, Fujian Province, published in Guangming Daily

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

Comments to dengyaqing@bjreview.com

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