Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Zhuhai’s annual output of equipment manufacturing will hit 300 billion yuan ($43.5 billion) by 2020 and 600 billion yuan ($86.8 billion) by 2025, according to a development plan for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period recently approved by the municipal government.

The plan envisions that Zhuhai will become the China Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Industrial Base and a gathering place for the world-advanced equipment manufacture “hidden champions” by 2025.

Zhuhai has created a new development pattern by prioritizing marine engineering, aviation and aerospace, transportation, and intelligent manufacturing equipment. Gross output value of equipment manufacturing is estimated to top 190 billion yuan ($27.5 billion) for 2016, accounting for 44 percent of the city’s gross industrial output, announced the Science, Industry & Information Technology Bureau.

Aircraft assembly [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

The city will rely on current foundations and advantages to realize planning targets. It will screen out superior competitive, characteristic competitive, strategic potential, and emerging potential industries. Focus will be on the development of new-energy vehicles, intelligent manufacturing equipment and integration, energy-saving and environmental protection apparatus, general aviation, yachting, shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment, rail transit equipment, and robotics in the next few years.

It will carry out five programs -- innovative upgrades, equipment intelligent manufacturing, brand quality, talent cultivation, and eco-system -- for selected key industries. It plans to build five to eight characteristic manufacturing innovation centers to provide key common technology support for intelligent manufacturing and ocean engineering equipment. About three to five cutting-edge R&D bases will be set up to foster a new batch of industrial ecology, and promote the optimization and upgrade of existing industrial parks.

The city will also create an iconic Intelligent Manufacturing Calling Card, and construct a nesting zone for national intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration projects. Gree Electric Appliances, Founder Technology, and Zhuhai Titans Technology are all hopeful to become the new Zhuhai City Card in the field of equipment manufacturing. 

In the meantime, Zhuhai is to evolve into a pilot area for the national "Made in China 2025" strategy, a model city for collaborative innovation and intelligent manufacturing, as well as a talent pool for the high-end manufacturing sector.

According to the plan, Zhuhai will cultivate several world-level leading enterprises, transnational conglomerates, and about 10 enterprises each with sales revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) by 2020. Equipment technologies in some fields will have reached advanced international levels by then.