BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) — Amid intense competition and the pressures of structural transformation, China has seized the key to innovation and launched new initiatives in supply-side structural reform, opening up fresh prospects for “Made in China” and injecting new momentum into its transformation and upgrading.

　　New technologies and breakthroughs are being accelerated into practical applications, new models and business forms are continuously emerging, and both value-added and global influence are steadily increasing, with innovation powerfully steering the “Made in China” vessel through turbulent waters.

　　Innovation: Crafting a New Brand for “Made in China”

　　On April 3, local time, a Boston Orange Line subway train manufactured by CRRC of China drew large crowds to Boston’s City Hall Plaza. This marked the first public unveiling of a “CRRC-made” train to its future passengers.

　　From the precise leveling of bogies and the assembly and meshing of gear screws to breakthroughs in cold- and high-temperature resistance technologies and system-integrated control, the innovations behind a single train are countless. Liu Hualong, Chairman of CRRC, stated that China’s rail transit industry has now achieved comprehensive export of entire industrial chains—including traction and ventilation systems—establishing itself as a trusted partner in the international market thanks to its superior quality and cutting-edge technology. In the past six months alone, CRRC has secured orders for 184 metro cars in Boston and Los Angeles.

　　Led by rail transit, “Made in China” in the new era is gradually shifting from low-value-added processing and manufacturing toward “Created in China,” which places greater emphasis on high technology, high quality, and superior standards. The Shenzhou spacecraft, the Tianhe supercomputer, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System—each of these prominent Chinese brands stands as a testament to China’s independent innovation in manufacturing and serves as a shining “Chinese calling card” on the global stage.

　　Notably, in recent years, “Made in China” has seen accelerating innovation in cutting-edge fields, with a number of breakthroughs filling domestic gaps, securing a foothold on the international stage, and potentially paving the way for new industries and opening up emerging markets.

　　Huawei has globally pioneered the launch of high-temperature, long-life graphene-based lithium-ion batteries, which can raise the upper operating temperature limit by 10°C and double the battery’s service life; the domestically produced CPU-powered “Sunway TaihuLight” has become the world’s first supercomputer with a computing speed exceeding 10^18 calculations per second; and new technology products such as quantum-dot TVs and OLED TVs are rapidly emerging…

　　According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China has made significant progress in cutting-edge research in multiple fields, including transparent display technology, lithium-ion batteries, and superconducting materials, placing it at the forefront internationally.

　　“Driven by technological innovation, China’s manufacturing sector is striving to seize opportunities, explore broader avenues for development, and bring about profound transformation,” said Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology.

　　Innovation: Injecting New Momentum into Transformation and Upgrading

　　Through innovations in product design, technical solutions, and material applications, Goertek Inc. and its partners have successfully developed a virtual reality head-mounted display with an enhanced wearing experience, which is expected to be launched by the end of this year.

　　As a domestically grown Chinese manufacturing enterprise, Goertek has, over the past decade and more, leveraged its manufacturing expertise in micro-acoustic modules and sensors to become a key supplier to global giants such as Samsung and Sony.

　　“While doing business as a supplier has its merits, control over our own development has always remained limited,” said Ji Yong, Vice President of Goertek. Goertek plans to deepen its focus on areas such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence, accelerating its transformation and innovation.

　　As the dividends of “latecomer advantage” and “comparative advantage” gradually dwindle, how can we identify new drivers of growth? With overcapacity and soaring costs, how can we enhance efficiency and deliver greater value? And given the uneven development across regions and industries, how can we achieve coordinated development? The challenges confronting “Made in China” must all be addressed through innovation.

　　“To achieve a transformative climb up the value chain, the key lies in leveraging existing assets. We must infuse innovative thinking into every link and every sector, thereby effectively driving quality improvement and efficiency gains,” said Li Beiguang, Deputy Director-General of the Planning Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

　　What can you accomplish in two seconds? At Qingdao Hongling Group, state-of-the-art 3D body-scanning systems capture 22 measurements across 19 body areas in the blink of an eye, automating the entire garment-sizing process. By applying internet-based thinking to reinvent industrial production workflows, Hongling has not only streamlined sizing efficiency but also enabled personalized manufacturing on the assembly line, opening up new avenues for growth.

　　“We began exploring the industrial internet initially to address inventory challenges; after a few years, we realized it was a comprehensive methodology that fundamentally upended traditional industry logic,” said Zhang Daili, Chairman of Hongling Group.

　　It’s not just Hongling that has changed. Since the launch of “Made in China 2025,” the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has identified 109 pilot and demonstration projects for smart manufacturing, which have achieved an average increase in production efficiency of more than 30% and an average reduction in operating costs of more than 20%.

　　In addition to structural adjustments within industries, inter-regional industrial relocation has become more balanced and targeted.

　　Shenzhen’s drone industry, Zhuzhou’s “Power Valley,” Wuhan’s “Optics Valley,” Shenyang’s robotics sector—over recent years, several regions across China have leveraged their existing industrial strengths, actively attracting and transplanting high-end production factors and cutting-edge technologies, thereby achieving differentiated development among regions and charting a new map for manufacturing.

　　“Innovation, too, requires allocating the right resources to the right areas to ensure targeted and effective action. This is precisely the essence of supply-side structural reform,” said Miao Wei. He added that the emergence of a new manufacturing landscape is not only driving the transformation and upgrading of local industries but also bolstering confidence in achieving “leapfrog development.”

　　Innovation: Sustaining Vitality Through Reform

　　At the cusp of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, “Made in China” more than ever needs major innovations to seize the initiative. This is both an opportunity that must not be missed and a challenge that cannot be afforded to lose. The urgent priority is to ignite the engine of innovation through reform, remove institutional and systemic barriers that impede innovation, and unlock greater room for development.

　　On the one hand, we must continuously advance the transformation of government functions, remove obstacles, and pave the way for innovation and entrepreneurship.

　　From steadfastly advancing administrative streamlining and delegation of power, to vigorously promoting mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and then to accelerating network speeds and reducing tariffs in the telecommunications sector, government departments have further dismantled institutional and systemic inefficiencies, thereby unleashing market vitality and development potential. Last year, on average, 15,100 new enterprises were registered each day nationwide, marking a peak since the launch of the commercial system reform.

　　However, “as we move forward, others are also making progress.” Reform must never stall; it must continue to deepen and expand, unleashing the vitality of every enterprise and every individual, thereby creating the time and space needed for sustained development.

　　On the other hand, we must also create a more conducive and tolerant institutional environment, establish “fast-track” mechanisms, dismantle the “glass wall” that impedes cost transfer, remove institutional barriers to talent mobility, and ensure that innovation drivers are fully unleashed.

　　Miao Wei stated that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is advancing the establishment of manufacturing innovation centers to build innovation platforms in key areas, pool resources and coordinate efforts to tackle critical technological challenges, and facilitate the translation of more research findings into productive capacity. To date, a power battery innovation center has been established, and by 2020, approximately 15 national-level innovation centers will be set up.

　　While innovative achievements have been made, their industrialization still faces significant challenges. To address this, it is essential to establish and refine a robust fault-tolerance mechanism for innovation. In areas such as major equipment and new materials, China has launched pilot programs for insurance-based compensation mechanisms geared toward market applications, encouraging users to boldly and willingly adopt new technologies and equipment. Going forward, policies will be further refined and the scope of application will be expanded to maximize their effectiveness.

　　It is evident that initiatives to drive innovation are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and a favorable environment in which the entire society values and aspires to innovation is taking shape. “Looking ahead, we will further strengthen the integration of science and technology with the economy and, through the continued advancement of reform, elevate ‘Made in China’ to a new level,” said Miao Wei.