North China's industrial hub gets smart in digital rush

TIANJIN - Mounted on the ceiling and walls, numerous anechoic wedges made the room with low ambient noise a bit eerie but brimming with a striking sci-fi atmosphere.

Located in the center of the room, a compressor does testing, with over ten detection sensors positioned above it capturing acoustic signals from multiple angles, while the control center receives and displays real-time compressor noise data.

The newly-launched laboratory is the global refrigeration industry giant Danfoss' most advanced and largest scroll compressor research and development (R&D) and testing center in North China's Tianjin municipality.

"The R&D center conducts dozens of projects each year," said Duan Chenjun, head of the center. The tested and validated technologies and solutions will find widespread applications in many sectors, such as air conditioning, data centers, cold chain, and energy storage, Duan added.

Arthur Xu, president of Danfoss China, said it is significant for the group to move from "producing" in China to "creating" in China, which reflects the company's confidence in China's green development and the long-term prospects of the Chinese economy.

Similarly, prominent global players such as Airbus and Nestle have also been drawn to the city, which serves as a cornerstone of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The region is undergoing significant upgrades to establish world-class advanced manufacturing industrial clusters.

Riding on the wave of digitalization and intelligence, manufacturing of Tianjin Municipality has been gaining steam, as north China's major industrial hub and port pulled out all the stops in order to lay a solid foundation of high-quality development.

The municipality's establishment of a 10-billion-yuan ($1.43 billion) special fund for intelligent manufacturing and next-generation Artificial Intelligence technology has spurred the growth of 316 of these factories and digital workshops, noted official data.

"By 2027, we aim to add another 300 digital workshops and intelligent factories, promoting the automation of key industry production lines," said Zhou Shengxi, deputy director of the local bureau of industry and information technology.

Another iconic trendsetter for intelligent manufacturing is China's household appliance manufacturer Haier Group.

At Haier's washing machine factory in Jinnan district, components are smoothly transported along the overhead fully automated logistics system to the required workstations.

With advanced equipment and minimal human intervention, a washing machine rolls off the automated production line within seconds.

"Thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence, the production efficiency of washing machines has doubled," said Hao Xingjun, a manager with the company.

The factory is undergoing ongoing digital application upgrades as part of its comprehensive digital transformation. "We firmly believe that the future application prospects will be even broader," Hao added.

By 2027, the total industrial output value of Tianjin's major industries will reach approximately 3 trillion yuan, while substantial advancements will be achieved by constructing national advanced manufacturing R&D bases, according to the action plan for high-quality development of manufacturing released by the local authority.

As the city's recent advances in its grand blueprint, the seventh World Intelligence Congress (WIC), a major AI event in China, will be held in Tianjin from May 18 to 21, building the port city into a global platform for exchange, cooperation, win-win outcomes, and sharing in the field of intelligent technology.