In 2017, China's machinery industry achieved remarkable results, with total industry profits reaching 1.71 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.74%. The total value of annual imports and exports reached 712.3 billion U.S. dollars, up by 10.01% compared to the previous year. Out of the 64 key products monitored by the association, 73.4% showed year-on-year growth in output. This strong performance highlighted the positive development trend of the sector.
According to Chen Bin, Executive Vice President of the China Machinery Industry Union, in 2018, the industry must focus on addressing the main contradiction of unbalanced and inadequate development. Emphasizing innovation-driven development and supply-side structural reforms, the machinery industry aims to embark on a new journey toward high-quality growth.
The economic performance of the machinery industry in 2017 was better than expected, with stable operations, improved efficiency, and a rebound in exports. Market confidence gradually strengthened, and major economic indicators exceeded expectations. The production of key products demonstrated a strong growth momentum, especially in sectors related to consumption, environmental protection, civil needs, smart manufacturing, and industrial upgrading.
Compared to 2016, when growth was largely driven by the automotive and electrical industries, 2017 saw broader sectoral growth. General industrial equipment, special equipment, electrical machinery, and automobile manufacturing all recorded growth rates exceeding 10.5% for the year.
Zuo Shiquan, Director of the Equipment Industry Institute at CCID Research, noted that demand for smart manufacturing is rising rapidly. With national policy support, the construction of digital workshops and smart factories is in high demand. Automation and digital machinery have created a large market for the machinery industry. Companies are actively adopting new technologies to meet the growing need for smart manufacturing, leading to rapid growth.
Moreover, emerging technologies such as new energy, new materials, and biotechnology are driving the creation of new industries, including high-performance metallurgical materials, inorganic materials, new chemical materials, and lithium-ion batteries. These developments bring new demands for innovation and development within the machinery industry.
Wang Ruixiang, President of the China Federation of Machinery Industry, stated that the overall strength of the sector has continuously increased, with leading economic indicators placing it among the top in the country’s industrial share. Main business income has exceeded 20 trillion yuan for four consecutive years, accounting for nearly a quarter of the national industrial share. Key industries have formed a relatively complete system, with diverse product ranges, significant scale, and competitive advantages, playing an increasingly important role in the national economy.
However, challenges remain. Chen Bin pointed out that the imbalance between high-end product supply and low-end oversupply has not fundamentally changed, and issues like underdeveloped specialized equipment persist. For example, despite being the world’s largest producer and consumer of metalworking machine tools for eight consecutive years, China remains the largest importer of such equipment.
Although China’s manufacturing output accounts for 25% of the global total—ranking first worldwide—the industry as a whole still operates at the lower end of the industrial and value chains. Annual mechanical product imports exceed $270 billion, mostly consisting of high-end products and equipment.
Wang Ruixiang also emphasized that the issue of being "big but not strong" is evident. Unbalanced development manifests in disparities in production capacity scale, product variety quality, international expansion pace, and global competitiveness. Insufficient technological development, limited progress in "intelligence, integration, greenization," and weak innovation in service-oriented manufacturing and business models are major challenges.
To address these issues, Wang stated that the industry must accelerate its transition to high-quality development. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has called for the industry to speed up digitization, networking, and intelligent transformation, shifting from high-speed to high-quality growth.
Zuo Shiquan added that digitalization, networking, and intelligent manufacturing represent major trends in the future of the industry. Through smart manufacturing, production efficiency can be significantly improved, failure rates reduced, and product development cycles shortened. This approach helps respond to market changes and supports the development of high-quality manufacturing.
However, he warned that this transformation requires long-term efforts and careful planning. Corporate leaders must enhance their awareness of smart manufacturing, develop strategic roadmaps, and implement practical development plans. Companies should base their strategies on their own realities, advancing systematically and creating feasible paths for digital and intelligent development.
Furthermore, Zuo emphasized that companies should focus on improving business performance rather than just pursuing smart manufacturing. They should prioritize management improvements and gradually achieve digitization, networking, and intelligent development. Additionally, they should promote comprehensive smart systems, covering smart products, smart production, and intelligent services, to drive innovative production methods.
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