New challenge, new chances

A booth of Microsoft China is displayed on March 31, 2015 during the Cloud China 2015 Forum held in Beijing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In a recent plan for China's manufacturing, the Chinese government has mapped out a series of measures to boost the sector's development up to 2025, including efforts to promote integration of informationalization and industrialization, advance intelligent manufacturing and create an "Internet plus" environment.

Such an ambitious plan is much needed, given that China, as a big global manufacturer, cannot afford to miss the third industrial revolution having missed the previous two.

Information technology has considerably raised production efficiency. The high acceptance rate of products made through intelligent manufacturing in Germany is an indication of the enormous potential of intelligent manufacturing. The march of US Internet giants toward the real economy, such as the manufacturing of smart hardware by Google for contact lenses that measure wearers' blood sugar levels, and the use of unmanned aircraft by Amazon for goods delivery, has heralded the arrival of the "new hardware" era. This poses a new challenge to industrial development, but also creates a new area for growth.

To turn the concept of intelligent manufacturing into reality in this country, an innovative way of thinking is needed along with some technological breakthroughs. In this process, the government has to face such challenges as how to ensure the sufficient supply of high-quality labor, how to emancipate workers from production lines, and how to create new jobs for them.

As a big manufacturer, China should follow the emerging trends in the new industrial revolution based on intelligent manufacturing and try to take a leading position in global manufacturing through innovation.

The above is an abridgement of a People's Daily article published on Tuesday.

(China Daily 05/27/2015 page8)