On December 28, the 1,000,000th vehicle rolled off the assembly line at GAC's Aion plant in Panyu, Guangzhou. Just last month, GAC Aion sold 41,567 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 45%.
This is just a microcosm of the accelerated running of new energy vehicles. Driven by the trend of intelligence and electrification, the automotive industry is facing major changes unseen in a century, promoting the comprehensive transformation of the manufacturing industry to a technology enterprise. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in November 2023, Continental's automobile production reached a record high. Vehicle production and sales reached 3.093 million units and 2.97 million units, up 29.4% and 27.4% y/y, respectively.
Stabilizing and developing the manufacturing industry is an important support for stabilizing the macro economy and promoting high-quality development. On December 28, the "2023 China Manufacturing Power Development Index Report" jointly released by the National Manufacturing Power Construction Strategy Advisory Committee, the Chinese Academy of Engineering and other units shows that in the past three years, the mainland manufacturing industry has increased its macro-control efforts and withstood the impact of unexpected factors, and the development index of the manufacturing power has stabilized at a high level of more than 120, and the construction of a manufacturing power has made steady progress.
Stabilization ▶▷
Kinetic energy switching to seize new tracks
On December 12, it was announced that the intelligent ecological factory of Inpai Battery was completed, and at the same time, the full-stack self-developed and self-produced P58 microcrystalline super battery was rolled off the production line.
GAC Group began the research and development of battery systems in 2011, 12 years ago, with the completion of the Inpai Battery Intelligent Ecological Factory, GAC Aion officially mastered the ability of full-stack self-development and self-production of battery cells.
Behind the stabilization of the manufacturing industry is the smooth conversion of "new" and "old" kinetic energy. According to the data, in November, the monthly production and sales of new energy vehicles exceeded one million for the first time, standing on a new level - production and sales completed 1.074 million and 1.026 million respectively, an increase of 39.2% and 30% year-on-year respectively.
Continuing to vigorously promote technological innovation is the only way to promote the "lean growth" of the manufacturing industry and achieve high-quality development. In the first three quarters of 2023, China's total exports of electric passenger vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, solar cells and other products increased by 41.7% year-on-year, with a strong performance. This figure has maintained double-digit growth for 14 quarters, and the proportion of mainland exports reached 4.5% in the first three quarters of this year.
The "new three" of foreign trade showed a contrarian upward trend, driving the overall stable growth and optimization of the industrial structure, which also means that the "gold content" of economic growth is higher.
To stabilize the manufacturing industry, key indicators must be maintained. According to the data, the proportion of China's manufacturing added value in GDP has been declining year by year, falling below 30% in 2020 to 26.2%, and by 2022, the added value of China's manufacturing industry will account for 27.7% of GDP, a slight increase from the previous year.
In June this year, Guangdong issued opinions on building a strong manufacturing province with high quality, proposing that the added value of the manufacturing industry will account for more than 35% of GDP by 2027, which is higher than the goal of "maintaining the proportion of manufacturing industry at more than 30% by 2025" two years ago.
Upgrades ▶▷
Digital intelligence makes traditional industries "sprout new branches"
A hair dryer for a few dollars, a pair of slippers for a few dollars...... In the past "Black Friday", cross-border e-commerce such as (Shein) and Temu captured the hearts of many overseas consumers.
SHEIN, known as the "No. 1 unicorn in the fashion industry" in Guangzhou, has effectively reduced inventory, reduced waste, and improved the overall efficiency of the industry through the large-scale application of the on-demand production model of "small orders, testing and then reversing orders", providing a model of innovative practice for the transformation of the traditional garment industry into the sustainable development of the fashion industry.
Traditional industries are the main force of the manufacturing industry, and they play an obvious role in stabilizing growth and promoting employment. The added value of the mainland's traditional industries accounts for a large proportion of the manufacturing industry, and it is the main force in the mainland's industrial development. Through the installation of "digital engines", traditional industries are radiating new vitality and becoming less and less "traditional".
In May this year, the first meeting of the 20th Central Financial and Economic Commission emphasized that insisting on promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries cannot be regarded as a "low-end industry" and simply withdrawn. The new kinetic energy comes not only from the development and growth of the new economy, but also from the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries where "old trees sprout new sprouts".
At present, the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries is accelerating. The cultivation of new industries and the construction of new tracks are more endogenous or organically grafted on the basis of existing industries, not pursuing "volleying out", not greedy for innovation, and therefore the foundation is more solid and the new kinetic energy is more stable.
Refresh ▶▷
New quality productivity reshapes development advantages
To stabilize growth, we must not only release the kinetic energy of traditional industries, but also seize new opportunities for emerging industries and future industries.
"Help me find a demonstration picture of a glass insulator blowing itself up. As soon as you enter this sentence, an example image pops up. With the help of SenseTime's large-scale model technology, the employees of China Southern Power Grid Artificial Intelligence Company have become more and more accepting of this kind of "digital employee" who responds to every call.
Large models are becoming a new technology that is reshaping thousands of industries. According to the vice president of vivo, the integration of large models into mobile phones and the mobile phone will become an "intelligent body", which will improve the user's experience on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is also expected to boost the consumer electronics market, which is related to whether mobile phone manufacturers can gnaw the "hard bone" of high-end.
Artificial general intelligence is coming, especially since the launch of ChatGPT, the general artificial intelligence technology represented by large models and generative AI has set off a wave around the world. In October, Beijing released an implementation plan for AI computing power vouchers to help enterprises reduce the cost of computing power, and in November, Shanghai launched 11 measures to promote the innovation and development of large-scale pre-trained models.
Guangdong is aiming at "the strongest general artificial intelligence province", and issued the "22 General Artificial Intelligence Development" in November, proposing that by 2025, the scale of intelligent computing power will be the first in the country and the world's leading, and the scale of the core industry will exceed 300 billion yuan, building Guangdong into a national general artificial intelligence industry innovation leader.
In terms of the choice of the path for the development of artificial intelligence, developed countries have a first-mover advantage in principle research and theoretical research, while China has embarked on a path suitable for local development by relying on a vast market and massive data. This also shows that with the development of Chinese artificial intelligence industry continues to lead in the "no man's land", "take-it-ism" is no longer feasible, and it is necessary to strengthen original innovation and underlying innovation in order to continue to lead in this high-tech competition.
It is worth mentioning that the rapid output of products representing new quality productivity, "new quality productivity" frequently appears in the public eye, which represents the promotion of industrial innovation with scientific and technological innovation, especially the use of disruptive technology and cutting-edge technology to give birth to new industries, new models and new kinetic energy. It is gathering a strong synergy to promote new industrialization and reshape new advantages for development.
南方+记者 郜小平
【Author】 Gao Xiaoping
Southern Industry Think Tank