China leads global tech evolution with lighthouse factories

China

China leads global tech evolution with lighthouse factories

2024-09-28 17:06 Last Updated At：23:17

China's manufacturing prowess has placed it at the forefront of global technological advancements, driving the sector towards smarter and more eco-friendly practices.

"Lighthouse" is the designation given to factories that have evolved and successfully implemented Fourth Industrial Revolution technology. Currently China boasts around 40 percent of the global lighthouse factories, ranking first in the world.

In the 100,000 square meter manufacturing plant of Sany Group in Hunan Province, the maximum output has been as high as 800 trucks per month since 2021.

Yao Zhiheng, director of Intelligent Manufacturing of Sany Group, likens the production of pump trucks to the art of tailored suits, but with a futuristic twist. The key to this innovation is the main control room.

"In the control room, we allocate specific tasks to the operating machines through our advanced systems – transforming steel plates into diverse, customized parts with remarkable efficiency," said Yao.

Efficiency is key, and the factory's smart optimization techniques have boosted steel utilization rates from 70 percent to over 80 percent, leading to significant cost savings.

"By increasing steel utilization by just one percentage point, we're able to reduce our costs by nearly 20 million yuan, about 2.8 million U.S. dollars," said Yao.

From cutting to welding to assembling, the factory's nine major manufacturing processes and 32 production scenarios have achieved full automation.

"The company's digitalization efforts span 368 projects with a total investment of 664 million yuan(about 95 million US dollars). These projects aim to foster high-quality development and align with our country's push for new industrialization," said Jiang Qingbin, vice president of Sany Group.

However, Jiang acknowledges that the heavy industry's upgrade path is not without challenges.

"We still face challenges like meeting diverse demands on assembly lines and information barriers across industrial chains," said Jiang.

But Jiang remains confident that China's ongoing reforms aimed at integrating the real and digital economies will help overcome these obstacles.

As China's manufacturing sector continues to lead the world in technological advancements, factories such as Sany Group stand as beacons of hope for a smarter and more sustainable future.

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.

The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.

Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.