Tip: After reading this article, you can get the answers to these questions:
1. How to correctly understand the internal logic of "Made in China 2025"?
2. How to lay out the innovation strategy of the future manufacturing industry?
3. How can the government optimize policies and provide strategic support for innovation-driven development of enterprises?
At present, the country has formulated a "three-step" strategy to build a strong country, and "Made in China 2025" is the first ten-year action plan. So, how to systematically, comprehensively and deeply understand the development strategy of China's manufacturing industry? How to lay out the strategy of global competition in manufacturing industry in the future in a forward-looking way? How does the government support the strategic breakthrough of manufacturing industry from the policy level?
1, background questions raised by Made in China 2025
First of all, how to correctly understand "Made in China 2025". At present, many people compare it with German Industry 4.0, American Advanced Manufacturing Strategy and British Manufacturing 2050, and think it is the same strategy and plan. I don't agree with this view. My understanding of "Made in China 2025" is very different from that of Germany, the United States and Britain.
I can tell two stories. The first story is the development of the automobile industry. At present, electric vehicles are a strategic emerging industry. Obviously, the technology of the United States is ahead of Germany, but it is almost impossible for the United States to catch up with Germany in the traditional automobile industry. Everyone has noticed that the competitiveness of the three major American automakers is getting weaker and weaker.
Then, the level of high-tech development in the United States far exceeds that in Germany. Why can't traditional cars beat Germany? As a new industry of electric vehicles, is the United States ahead? There is a very important premise here, that is, the technology of the automobile industry has made a nonlinear leap, and the United States has established a brand-new automobile core technology paradigm. Only under the brand-new technological paradigm can the American automobile manufacturing industry catch up with Germany, but why can't the traditional American automobile industry catch up with Germany?
A very important reason here is that Germany has established a strong industrial innovation ecosystem in the traditional automobile field, which is deeply rooted in German cultural tradition, value system, production mode and operation mode, while the United States does not have such a strong ecosystem.
The second story is the clothing industry. In the past thirty or forty years, China has been proud of its internationally competitive garment manufacturing industry, such as Wenzhou's garment industry, leather industry, luggage industry, button industry, etc., forming a powerful industrial cluster, which is not behind Europe and America in manufacturing technology and technology. However, we can see that these high-end light industries, including clothing, luggage and other luxury goods, still cannot compete with the declining Italy.
Why is this? On the surface, the reason is that our products have no brand and no first-class industrial design, but in essence, this is not just a problem of brand and design, it is the result of cultural precipitation in the past 100 years, and it is the quality culture formed by people's long-term accumulation and its industrial base. Needless to say, we can't compete with it, even the United States and Japan are equally difficult to compete with it.
Knowing the above two stories, when we look at Made in China 2025, we will not only understand it as "Internet" and intelligent manufacturing, but as a system integrating industrial ecology, innovation ecology and cultural ecology. "Made in China 2025" is an all-round catch-up strategic plan. In a sense, on the one hand, we should make up lessons for big industries, on the other hand, we should catch up. The essence of Germany's Industry 4.0 is a physical information system, and the advanced manufacturing strategy of the United States is based on its powerful technology and emerging technologies, and continues to maintain and seize the commanding heights of emerging industries.
It is very important to understand this background, and it will be much more profound to understand Made in China 2025 from this background. We will realize that we don't want to give up the existing traditional industries and large-scale industrial manufacturing models, nor do we want to give up the traditional advantageous industries. On the premise of continuing to enhance the advantages of traditional manufacturing industry, we should find ways to use the nonlinear transformation of the industry to achieve "overtaking in corners". This is the basic starting point of our "2025".
2. A mainline problem of "Made in China 2025"
The main line of China Manufacturing Industry 2025 is to improve the industrial innovation ability. So, how to improve the innovation ability of enterprises? I want to make four points here.
The first is how to improve the research and development capabilities of key core technologies. Let's take a look at the present situation of innovation ability of several pillar industries in Wenzhou. I have been the head of the evaluation team of Zhejiang Enterprise Technology Center for more than ten years, and I am an expert member of the evaluation team of national technology centers, and participated in the evaluation of dozens of enterprise technology centers in Wenzhou. You're welcome to say that even among large enterprises, only two or three enterprises are really engaged in the research and development of key technologies. When these enterprises are doing key technologies, they mainly integrate domestic innovation resources, but do not pay attention to international ones.
The second is the innovative ability of design and manufacturing. This ability is particularly important in Wenzhou, because Wenzhou's industries have always been good at light industry, including clothing, leather goods, shoe leather and glasses, all of which emphasize innovative design ability. Then, has Wenzhou established a design-driven innovation platform for the demand of light industrial clusters? Wenzhou entrepreneurs have a strong ability to copy and will soon imitate European and American fashion designs. If this road goes on for a long time, they will have path dependence and are unwilling to do original design. I believe everyone has seen this problem. Of course, there are also good enterprises here, such as Mason Clothing and Metersbonwe Bang Wei Bang Wei. They have done a good job in innovative design, but at present these enterprises basically rely on the strength of their own individual enterprises. So, has our government or our industrial cluster built such an innovation platform? If this problem is not solved, we have neither core technology nor innovative design, then our enterprises will be finished, such as glasses and lighters in Wenzhou. I strongly suggest that Wenzhou government should make up its mind to build a design-driven innovation platform for light industry clusters.
The third is the construction of manufacturing standard innovation system. I would like to make a suggestion here: seize the time to build a big data platform. Wenzhou people's minds are very smart, and Wenzhou people have a very good condition, which is Wenzhou people's economy. This market awareness and Wenzhou people's economy all over the world have created very good conditions for the development of C2B. To do C2B well, we need to rely on big data platform and data mining technology to build a big data platform for Wenzhou's existing industries and a data infrastructure suitable for the next 30 years.
The fourth is the construction of intellectual property system. Many Wenzhou entrepreneurs told me that Wenzhou's intellectual property rights were imitated too quickly and Wenzhou enterprises were not interested in applying for patents. There are two reasons. One is the failure of China's intellectual property protection system. Another is that there are too few original technologies and front-end technologies, and there are not many applications for high-quality invention patents. For example, an enterprise in Wenzhou had a scale of tens of billions four or five years ago. At that time, only three invention patents were authorized in five years for the technology center recognized by the state. If the manufacturing industry wants to go up, it must pay attention to intellectual property rights and technical standards, which is an important means to build the right to speak internationally. Many Wenzhou enterprises I have been to don't care much about the invention patent itself. They buy patents from universities and scientific research institutions in order to put on a facade when reporting to high-tech enterprises and enterprise scientific research institutions, and to fight for national policies, rather than being driven by endogenous factors. This problem must be solved.
3. Industrial ecosystem of "Made in China 2025"
According to this starting point, it is not contradictory to understand the development trend of traditional industries and strategic emerging industries. We should not give up traditional industries in order to develop strategic emerging industries. Our biggest problem is not that the industry is too traditional, but that the industrial innovation ecosystem (including product innovation system and manufacturing process system) is still relatively backward. What we lack most now is the innovation ability of the whole industry. We all know that both traditional industries and strategic emerging industries have an industrial innovation ecosystem, and all of them can continuously improve their innovation ability under the perfection of such a system.
If you have carefully read Made in China 2025, you can see that there is a main line running through this strategy until 2049, that is, let our manufacturing industry really create a new format with innovation drive and motivation. Of course, there is a big gap between China's manufacturing innovation capability and that of the United States, and the industrial ecosystem is also very different. The development of China's manufacturing industry must combine the characteristics of China's manufacturing industry with China's national conditions and improve its innovation ability. This core thread will last for 30 years.
So, how to build our innovation ability? I have a very clear view that it is not easy for our manufacturing industry to catch up with Europe and America in a short time, even in the next 30 years. The reason is simple, because the foundation of our entire industrial innovation ecosystem is still relatively backward. In the next 10 and 20 years, we must put the industrial innovation ecosystem in the basic position. So, how to improve innovation ability? Among the nine tasks of Made in China 2025, the second to sixth tasks are: promoting the deep integration of informatization and industrialization, strengthening industrial basic capabilities, strengthening quality brand building, and comprehensively promoting green manufacturing. These four aspects constitute the four elements of China's manufacturing innovation ecology. It is the foundation of manufacturing industry in the next 30 years.
It should be emphasized that 20 15 is only the first work of 10, and the planning focus for the next 30 years is to build a strong industrial ecosystem around four major elements. Here I focus on the first factor, which is the deep integration of industrialization and informatization. In fact, I think this formulation is a false proposition, deliberately separating informationization from industrialization for the needs of policy guidance. In fact, for a truly advanced leading enterprise, it doesn't matter whether informatization and industrialization are integrated at all, because it is a natural process.
The deep integration of industrialization and informatization is a natural process. Countries and industries put forward "Internet" to "Internet". I think it is necessary to realize "Internet X". Why? Don't simply regard the Internet as a tool, because it is an idea and a strategic way of thinking. For example, let's look at the current Apple system and Google's Android system. As we all know, Google has led millions of application development companies and hundreds of thousands of enterprises to manufacture applications with its Android R&D team of hundreds of people. It is a typical vertically integrated industry. Understanding the current Internet from a vertically integrated system is like the blood and flesh of a living body, which are naturally integrated. If you go to see Alibaba, it won't talk about the integration of informationization and industrialization. If you go to see Huawei, it won't talk about the integration of informationization and industrialization. Why? Because needless to say, it's already very harmonious. However, a large number of our enterprises are still discussing whether to use the Internet for sales, as if opening an online shop can sell things online. This obviously regards the Internet as a simple tool.
I must make it clear that it is impossible to bring competitive advantages to enterprises if the Internet is used as a tool, because "Internet" and "Internet" are not strategies. What the Internet has changed is the way of thinking of the whole industry. Everyone should embrace the internet, but they don't think they have been transformed and upgraded. That's not the case at all.
Building an industrial ecosystem also includes basic ability, quality brand and green manufacturing. These three aspects will not cause problems in understanding, because mature ideas have been realized by enterprises, and I just emphasize them briefly here. With regard to strengthening industrial infrastructure construction, it is necessary to analyze clearly the basic composition, basic technology, basic materials and technical basis that restrict the improvement of industrial innovation ability for each industry, and solve it as soon as possible through Industry-University-Research cooperation. Wenzhou has a profound lesson on brand quality. In the 1990s, Wenzhou set fire to leather shoes in Wulin Square in Hangzhou, which made Wenzhou embark on the road of establishing the city by quality. Wenzhou light industry can only create high added value through brand and quality. From a big perspective, only by building brand or quality can we solve the international image of China's manufacturing industry, make China's enterprises recognized by the world, and make our corporate social responsibility recognized internationally. With regard to green manufacturing, everyone has realized the disastrous impact of traditional manufacturing methods, and the current environment has made it difficult for us to survive. To do a good job in green manufacturing, it is necessary to strictly regulate enterprises from the law and establish an efficient, clean and circular manufacturing system.
4. Strategic breakthrough of "Made in China 2025"
What needs to be further clarified is whether our industry can fully catch up after the completion of this system. It doesn't have to be like this. Because the whole global industrial division of labor is becoming more and more obvious, such as the most powerful core basic software in the United States, it is very, very difficult for us to catch up with the United States in this respect, just as it is very, very difficult for the United States to catch up with Germany in traditional equipment manufacturing. Therefore, we must analyze and foresee the industries with nonlinear and revolutionary changes in industrial technology in the future, and find out the strategic breakthrough point for China to catch up with such industries, that is, the strategic breakthrough point. Therefore, the sixth task in Made in China 20 15 is the breakthrough of key industries.
Wenzhou's industrial breakthrough should adhere to its own advantages. I compared the clothing industry in China with that in Italy. French and Italian can provide world-class high-end luxury goods, such as Hermes, Dzheniya and Burberry. Silk scarves, clothing, shoes and hats are the traditional advantages of Wenzhou. In this sense, I think the industrial structure of Wenzhou is actually very good. Another advantage of these industries is that there will never be a sunset. As long as someone is alive, they have to wear clothes. As long as someone is alive, they have to wear leather shoes. In fact, as you can see, some European countries still haven't given up their clothing and leather shoemaking industries, so we shouldn't give up traditional manufacturing industries for the sake of so-called strategic emerging industries.
Sticking to traditional industries is not to give up the Internet and big data. It is the development of the Internet that makes traditional industries more powerful. The key is to have the enterprise's own strategy. I remember that 30 years ago, our entrepreneurs in Zhejiang had a very good saying, "I won't move in the southeast, northwest and northwest", which was about insisting on being the core competitiveness and unique ability of enterprises and not being fooled by slogans and fashionable concepts. I read Ren Zheng Fei's speech. He said, "We don't engage in the so-called Internet, and we don't create concepts. We are the spirit of Forrest Gump. " What is Forrest Gump spirit? In the process of Huawei's doing, three words, silly, silly, silly. What do you mean stupid? I will concentrate on my technology, my intellectual property rights, whether you are outside the internet or outside the informationization. When we make clear the key points of strategic breakthrough, we must do these industries well for decades and walk in the forefront of the world.
5. The strategic path of "Made in China 2025"
In order to catch up with the innovation in key areas, the manufacturing industry in our country and region needs to find an effective strategic path. Here I combine Made in China 2025 to analyze three important paths from the perspective of government policy, namely the future strength of the government.
The first aspect is to further promote the structural transformation and adjustment of manufacturing industry. Structural adjustment is a road that China will continue to take in the next 30 years. Why is structural adjustment so important and should continue? It is easy to understand that our trade relationship with the United States has actually appreciated by nearly 40% with the adjustment of RMB from the original 1: 10 to the present 1: 6.4. But why does China-US trade still maintain a high trade surplus? The reason is not the exchange rate, not the simple appreciation or depreciation of RMB, but our industrial structure.