Manufacturing shines bright

Sector to replicate impressive growth numbers of first six months during rest of the year

Manufacturing continued to be the bright spot of China's industrial landscape during the first six months of this year, with the sector logging revenues of more than 8 trillion yuan ($1.13 trillion) during the period, way ahead of other sectors like financial services, industry experts said.

The growth momentum is set to continue for the rest of the year also, with the high-end manufacturing segment poised for further gains, they said. Advanced manufacturing enterprises are already playing an important role in China's structural upgrade, supply-side reform and high-quality economic growth.

Stressing the importance of the manufacturing sector, President Xi Jinping said greater global cooperation and mutual learning is necessary to jointly seize the opportunities arising from China's new round of scientific and industrial advances.

Xi made the remarks in his congratulatory letter to the 2019 World Manufacturing Convention that opened in Hefei, Anhui province, on Friday.

Last week, Xi underlined the importance of developing the real economy through bolstering manufacturing to enhance high-quality economic growth during his three-day inspection tour in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, that ended on Wednesday.

China's top 500 companies in the advanced manufacturing sector have shown significantly increasing sales revenues and net profit growth last year, and more companies are engaged in middle-and high-end equipment manufacturing, according to a recent report of the China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association.

Leading manufacturing enterprises that mastered core technologies have remained strong and developed fast, and major industrial players have shown obvious advantages in their operations.

Last year, the top 500 manufacturing companies achieved total net profit of 976.7 billion yuan, up 19.44 percent year-on-year. The net asset profit margin stood at 10.48 percent, which was 1.25 percentage points higher than the previous year, the report said.

Shenzhen-listed Suzhou Shijia Science and Technology Co, which provides support services for global elevator enterprises, semiconductor devices, communication devices and other fields, saw its net profit in the first half soar 350.88 percent year-on-year. Its share price has nearly doubled from the start of the year and closed at 42.08 yuan per share on Monday.

In the first six months, Shenzhen-listed Baoding Technology Co Ltd, a large-scale forging and casting manufacturer, saw its net profit surge by 124.71 percent year-on-year. On Monday, its share price surged to the daily limit and closed at 12.67 yuan per share.

"Some subdivisions of the manufacturing sector, such as nonferrous metals, steel, and building materials, have continued to upgrade their industrial chains and seen outstanding growth. For example, in the first six months, the construction business netted overall sales growth of 16.8 percent year-on-year, which is 5.3 percentage points higher than the previous year," said Fang Yanhe, a researcher at Huatai Securities.

Going forward, high-end and precise manufacturing is expected to embrace faster growth opportunities. For instance, the application of 5G mobile phones will result in higher demand for precise copper alloy sheets. In addition, the production of ultra thin flexible OLED television is also set to increase, experts said.