China's Belt and Road cooperation has gotten off to a good start in the first quarter of this year, featuring high-quality development, enrichment of cooperation, drastic rise in investment, and enhancement of green stewardship, said a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Yang Tao, director general of the Comprehensive Department of the MOFCOM, told the media that the country's high-quality Belt and Road cooperation has made new achievements in the first quarter of this year in four aspects.
"In the first quarter, China's total import and export of goods with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) exceeded 4.8 trillion yuan, up 5.5 percent, 0.5 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of foreign trade, and accounting for 47.4 percent of the total import and export value. In terms of exports, we exported high-tech products such as electronic information, instrumentation, and equipment manufacturing that are closely related to enterprise production, as well as consumer goods such as household appliances and clothing that meet the needs of people's livelihood. In terms of imports, we actively share the opportunities brought by China's big market with participating countries. The imported energy and mineral products, integrated circuits, auto parts and other industrial products from participating countries in the first quarter constantly grew," he said.
"In the first quarter, the non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) in participating countries reached 54.32 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent and accounting for 22.4 percent of the total ODI in this period," Yang said.
"In the first quarter, the completed turnover of our contracted projects grew by 7.9 percent year on year to 184.6 billion yuan. We put extra emphasis on green and environmental protection in cooperation projects. The completed turnover of energy conservation and environmental protection projects increased by 18.4 percent in the first quarter, exceeding the overall growth rate by 12 percentage points," he added.
Plus, China has made progress in pushing for free trade areas with ASEAN countries and Honduras, as well as in emerging sectors with Angola and the Maldives.
China achieves good start in high-quality BRI cooperation in Q1: official
China's AI-powered factories are driving the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry, marked by the rapid rise of "lighthouse factories," the world's most advanced production facilities.
This year, the World Economic Forum recognized 189 lighthouse factories worldwide, with an impressive 80 based in China.
One of them is a chiller factory operated by Chinese home appliances maker Midea Group in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, which has leveraged AI technologies to streamline complex processes, and enhance design and planning efficiencies.
The factory specializes in large central air conditioning systems, widely used in airports and industrial plants, with 80 percent of its products customized. To meet rising demand and the shift toward tailored orders, it integrates AI algorithms with its self-developed chiller selector data platform and smart management system, to optimize selection and design.
According to Sam Luo, research and development director of Midea Building Technologies Chiller Product Company, once they know a client's needs, they will input data into the system, which has significantly shortened product design time from at least a week to within an hour.
"This boosts efficiency, reduces error rate, and makes it easier for standardized production later on," he added.
Meanwhile, technicians use augmented reality (AR) glasses to efficiently complete hundreds of intricate wiring tasks in the production of core components.
The AR technology also assists in technician training, said Huang Xuesong, manufacturing center director of Midea Building Technologies Chiller Product Company.
"This technology helps our employees learn skills more quickly. It helps improve the wiring pass rate by 30 percent. What used to take a skilled worker about 30 to 45 days to master now takes basically seven days," he said.
Inside the factory's smart production workshop, an advanced digital management platform uses big data and simulation technologies for real-time monitoring, while automated equipment precisely allocates materials.
The plant also utilizes industrial robots for welding large components and deploys numerous sensors to collect data, alongside advanced AI technologies such as machine learning, to optimize production processes.
Local officials said the Midea factory's innovations in smart manufacturing are crucial for stimulating digital transformation among other enterprises across Chongqing.
"Midea's 'lighthouse factory', as the municipality's first lighthouse factory, sets a great example for other small and medium-sized enterprises and the whole industrial chain, to apply AI across multiple scenarios, to boost the overall competitiveness of Chongqing's manufacturing businesses," said Zuo Yijun, director of intelligent technology division at Chongqing Municipal Economic And Information Commission.
China's AI-powered factories drive digital transformation in manufacturing
