Innovation opens new doors for country's exports

Cutting-edge technologies, sustainable solutions move to forefront over conventional goods

Early last month, work began on closing the hull of an offshore wind turbine installation vessel at a shipyard owned by a company in Yantai, Shandong province.

Yantai CIMC Raffles Ocean Technology Group has seen a notable increase in orders for this type of vessel since last year, with six of them currently under construction, accounting for one-third of its total orders.

Wei Chuntao, director of the company's supply chain management center, said: "These vessels, which can each lift 3,000 metric tons, are being built for a Dutch shipowner. They are high-end ships and cost much more than bulk ships and small and medium-sized container vessels."

The technical specifications for these vessels, such as lifting capacity and operational water depth, have been upgraded to meet clients' demands, Wei added.

Chen Bin, deputy director of the expert committee at the China Machinery Industry Federation, which is based in Beijing, said that Chinese products have benefited from continued improvements in technological capabilities and the advancement of industrial transformation and upgrading.

In particular, technology-intensive green products and those with long industrial chains, such as electronics, liquefied natural gas carriers and construction machinery, will drive the nation's exports this year, Chen added.

For example, there has been a significant increase in global demand for offshore wind installation vessels, with Chinese shipyards securing nearly 90 percent of the resulting manufacturing orders. As of October, 37 orders had been placed worldwide for such vessels, with Chinese shipyards responsible for building 33 of them, data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry show.