Break through the blocking points and difficulties, and be the vanguard of scientific and technological innovation

In the fierce market competition, listed companies have increased R&D and innovation, actively adapted to and led a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, accelerated the cultivation and development of new quality productivity, and become the vanguard of high-quality industrial development.

Wind statistics show that as of 17:00 on April 29, 4,609 A-share companies disclosed data related to R&D expenses in 2023, totaling 1.46 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.18% compared with the same caliber, accounting for 44% of the R&D expenditure of the whole society in 2023, and R&D intensity (the proportion of R&D expenses in operating income) reached 2.5%, higher than in 2022. The enthusiasm and quality of R&D and innovation of listed companies have been improved. In 2023, the R&D investment of most enterprises has increased, and 2,998 listed companies will achieve a year-on-year increase in R&D investment in 2023. Among them, 371 companies increased by more than 50%, and 127 companies increased their R&D investment by more than 100%. In terms of the scale of R&D investment, there are 23 companies with R&D investment of more than 10 billion yuan. The intensity of R&D has been steadily increasing. In 2023, the median R&D intensity of listed companies will be 4.44%, which is higher than the R&D intensity of listed companies in 2022 of 4.29% on a comparable basis. In 2023, the number of listed companies with R&D intensity exceeding 10% will reach 705, and in 2022, it will be 683. Listed companies with high R&D intensity are mainly concentrated in biomedicine, semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, quantum information and other industries. In 2023, China Construction will invest 46.074 billion yuan in R&D, ranking first in terms of R&D investment. BYD ranked second on the list from the top 20 in five years. In 2023, BYD's R&D expenses will reach 39.57 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 112%, exceeding Tesla's annual R&D investment of 10 billion yuan. Innovation goes far, innovation wins. Just as the "technology fish pond" theory put forward by Wang Chuanfu, the founder of BYD, the continuous and strong R&D investment has given BYD the confidence to sit firmly in the top spot of global new energy vehicle manufacturing. In 2023, BYD will sell 3,012,900 passenger cars, a year-on-year increase of 67.7%, ranking as the leader in China's new energy vehicle sales for 11 consecutive years and the global new energy vehicle sales champion. BYD achieved a gross profit margin of 23.02% in its automobile business last year, an increase of 2.63 percentage points over 2022, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies reached 30.041 billion yuan, an increase of 80.72% year-on-year. "Ten years of R&D, one billion dollars, 10% success rate" is used to describe the difficulty of R&D of innovative drugs. Improving R&D efficiency has become the key for biopharmaceutical companies. Today, AI technology is helping pharmaceutical companies shorten the R&D cycle and improve R&D efficiency. According to Yahong Pharmaceutical, the company's R&D expenses in 2023 will be 365 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 49.49%. In 2023, the company developed a next-generation targeted and AI-driven drug discovery platform that enables differentiated drug discovery and efficient innovation, which can reduce the time and resources required for drug discovery and development, and improve the success rate of clinical trials. Innovation is the active choice of listed companies to move towards a new stage of high-quality development. In recent years, with the rise of domestic beauty brands, the development model of emphasizing marketing over R&D is changing. Compared with the "take-it-or-leave-it" of the raw materials in the past, domestic beauty products are now focusing on making up for the shortcomings in the research and development of raw materials. According to the data of the State Food and Drug Administration, the number of new raw materials for cosmetics in mainland China has increased from 6 in 2021 to 42 in 2022 and 69 in 2023. As the first listed beauty manufacturing company on the Beijing Stock Exchange, Ba Wei Co., Ltd. completed the filing of new raw materials for "pandanus leaf extract" in July 2023. New ingredients mean new formulations and a more diverse range of new products in the future. Leng Qunying, chairman of the company, told reporters, "Compared with the industry's 3%-5% R&D investment, our R&D investment has accounted for more than 6% of revenue, has more than 100 patents, and has independently developed more than 6,000 cosmetic formulas." With strong technical research and development capabilities, the company can select basic formulas in the existing formula library for secondary deployment according to customer needs, provide multiple product solutions for customers to choose, and greatly shorten the product development cycle in the context of accelerated product update and iteration. Innovation is also the only way for listed companies to break through the difficulties of the industrial chain and enhance their core competitiveness. China Mobile's 5G-A base station climbed Mount Everest, Guodun Quantum released the 504-bit quantum computing chip "Xiaohong", and Weichai Power's 53.09% body thermal efficiency diesel engine set a new world record...... In recent years, the hard technology strength of listed companies has become more and more prominent, and the Science and Technology Innovation Board has further polished the label of "hard technology". Wind statistics show that as of 17:00 on April 29, in 2023, the median R&D intensity of listed companies on the STAR Market will reach 12.11%, which is significantly higher than the overall level of A-share companies and higher than the R&D intensity level of companies on the STAR Market in 2022. To master the core technology, it is necessary to maintain strategic focus and long-term continuous investment. Wanhua Chemical has broken the monopoly of foreign companies for nearly half a century, and has become the first enterprise in Asia and the second in the world to master the manufacturing technology of the whole nylon 12 industry chain. China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. cooperates with upstream and downstream enterprises and colleges and universities to tackle key problems in multiple directions from design, materials, manufacturing, testing and other links, and finally realizes the main bearing of the shield machine with a diameter of 8.61 meters from scratch and from existence to excellence, breaking through the "last link" of the independence of the whole industry chain of the shield machine. Talent is the foundation of innovation, and R&D and innovation achievements are inseparable from the "hardcore" scientific research team. It has become the norm for listed companies to allocate highly educated talents, and companies in medical services, biological products, chemical pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, communication equipment, aerospace equipment and other industries have attracted a large number of highly-educated talents with master's and doctoral degrees. Wind statistics show that by the end of 2023, the R&D personnel of listed companies have been further enriched, reaching nearly 300,000, 55,000 more than the end of 2022. 51 listed companies have more than 100 doctors. WuXi AppTec has 1,412 PhDs, ranking first. How to mobilize the enthusiasm of talents for innovation is an important topic. "Shujun Valve Tappet Automatic Assembly Unit" and "Yangyang Timing Gear Bolt Tightening Unit"...... In Weichai Power No. 1 Factory, the reporter saw that there were many process signs named after engineers in the workshop. Wang Shujun, chief technician of Weichai Power, told reporters that this is a measure of the company to stimulate the innovation enthusiasm of front-line talents, and the innovation gene has penetrated into the workshop and penetrated into all levels.