'Factory of the world' reinvents itself after slump

GUANGZHOU — Owing to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring inflation in some Western countries, Dongguan, a manufacturing powerhouse in South China's Guangdong province, has faced a decline in foreign trade in recent years.

In the first half, the GDP of the city, often dubbed "factory of the world", recorded a modest year-on-year growth of 1.5 percent, significantly lower than the national average of 5.5 percent.

To address the challenges, Dongguan is actively pursuing a slew of new measures involving the optimization of economic structures, transformation of production methods, exploration of new markets and a commitment to innovation.

Lucky Harvest Co Ltd, a leading metal mold maker in Dongguan, has ventured into new fields, such as new energy vehicles, communication equipment and photovoltaic energy storage components.

"As a veteran manufacturer in the mold and components industry, Lucky Harvest has the capabilities to seize new opportunities," said Yang Bin, executive deputy general manager of the company.

In the first three quarters, the company achieved an operating income of 3.9 billion yuan ($544.5 million), up 32 percent year-on-year, with its net profit up 65 percent.

Highlighting the strong technological foundation of Dongguan's manufacturing industry, Ye Kongxin, Party chief of Chang'an township, where Lucky Harvest is located, said this is the driving force behind Dongguan's factories being able to consistently develop new products and explore new areas of growth.

Chang'an, an economic leader among the townships in Dongguan, is home to two main clusters of industries — electronic information and metal molds. Ye said the township aims to cultivate emerging industrial clusters in three areas: NEV supporting industries, intelligent visual technology and digital healthcare.

In recent years, Dongguan Jingbo Photoelectronic Co Ltd has faced operational difficulties due to factors like the pandemic and a downturn in the mobile phone market.

"International orders significantly decreased, leading to a drop in the company's sales revenue. During the most challenging period, monthly sales decreased by 57 percent year-on-year," said Li Zhijun, general manager of the company.

In response, Jingbo has collaborated with partners in the industrial chain in an effort to overcome technical bottlenecks.

At the end of July, Jingbo made a breakthrough in developing automobile glass covers. Orders soon flooded in and have been fully booked until January.

Li said the collective effort has helped in overcoming the challenges. "The entire supply chain is working together. Through synergies, we reduce costs and weather the difficult times together."

Recent economic data have shown that Dongguan's manufacturing industry has stabilized. The city's industrial electricity consumption increased by 9.9 percent in October, 7.8 percentage points higher than that of September, marking six consecutive months of positive growth since May.

According to Huangpu Customs, which administers Dongguan's foreign trade, in October, Dongguan's foreign trade value reached 102.9 billion yuan, up more than 5 percent year-on-year.

The "factory of the world" is also going through a rapid digital transformation in various sectors to streamline production processes and boost efficiency.

Liang Yangyang, chief economist of the Dongguan Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, said that over 9,000 large-scale industrial enterprises in Dongguan, or about 70 percent of the total number of large-scale industrial enterprises in the city, have initiated digital transformation.

Fulinmen Shijia, an intelligent home furnishing company in Guangdong, has used digital transformation as a means to tackle the downturn in the real estate industry. As a result, its annual operating income has grown by over 60 percent over the past three years.

Xinhua