China will lead the world in smart manufacturing by 2030, report says
The ‘Made in China 2025’ project has put China on course to overtake the West in hi-tech manufacturing, according to the report
China’s ambitious “Made in China 2025” industrial strategy has put the country on track to become a global leader in smart manufacturing within the next few years, though breakthroughs are still needed in several bottleneck technologies, according to a new report by Beijing’s Renmin University of China.
The Made in China 2025 project, launched a decade ago, aimed to propel China to the forefront of a slew of hi-tech industries, including aerospace, electric cars, robotics and telecommunications.
Though Beijing has become reluctant to publicly name-check the policy in recent years amid global pushback – especially from the United States – the strategy nevertheless helped China achieve remarkable progress in several key areas, said Wang Wen, dean of Renmin University’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies.
For Wang, the Chinese government should stick to its guns by continuing to build on its manufacturing strengths while advancing independent technological innovation. If it does so, the future looks bright, he said.
“China will become the centre for global smart manufacturing in the next five to 10 years,” he said, citing data from Grand View Research.
The US consultancy has projected that China will lead the global smart manufacturing market, with revenues growing at an annual rate of 18.2 per cent to reach US$158.2 billion by 2030.