Sci-tech innovation brings Chinese laser manufacturer into global prominence: NPC deputy

Driven by relentless scientific and technological innovation, Huagong Tech, a Chinese laser equipment supplier, has transformed from relying on foreign technology to becoming a self-sustaining powerhouse with global influence, said the company's chairman Ma Xinqiang on Saturday.

Headquartered in Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province, Huagong Tech specializes in the development, manufacturing and distribution of laser equipment.

Ma, who also serves as a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), shared the company's inspiring story at a group interview during the ongoing NPC third session.

Laser technology, often hailed as the brightest light, the sharpest knife, and the most precise ruler, is widely used across various industries. From smartphones to cars, 70 percent of the components in these everyday items rely on laser technology for manufacturing and assembly, Ma said.

However, two decades ago, Chinese firms were heavily dependent on imported high-end laser equipment, with even the screws used in laser machines costing three dollars each from foreign suppliers, he recalled.

This challenge was a wake-up call for Ma and his team at Huagong Tech. Determined to overcome technological barriers, they blazed a trail toward self-reliance.

"We successfully developed laser welding equipment for automobile bodies, ending a nearly 40-year foreign technological monopoly and forcing the prices of overseas products to drop by more than 40 percent. Today, we can complete the laser welding of a new energy vehicle's body in just 43 seconds, the fastest in the industry. This product now holds a domestic market share of over 90 percent and have been used in the production of over 45 million vehicles. Meanwhile, we have developed over 100 sets of laser equipment, supporting the production of over 1,000 types of automotive parts and bolstering the exports of China's NEVs worldwide," said the NPC deputy.

Huagong Tech's innovations extend beyond automotive applications.

"Now we have not only achieved self-sufficiency in high-end laser equipment but have also begun exporting our products, winning more orders than international brands. In less than a decade, we have completed an industrialization journey that took foreign industry giants over 30 years. We have achieved more than 70 industry-first milestones in China and spearheaded the formulation of the country's first international standard in the laser industry," Ma said.

The company has emerged as a game-changer in the global laser equipment industry.

"Our products are now sold globally at an annual growth rate of 35 percent, reshaping the global landscape of the laser equipment industry and making sophisticated laser equipment more accessible to more Chinese manufacturing enterprises," he said.

Behind these achievements is the country's unswerving commitment to research and development, with cumulative investments exceeding 10 billion yuan (about 1.38 billion U.S. dollars), even during the most trying times.

"Today, we can say with confidence that China's laser industry has entered the global top tier. However, innovation is a marathon with no finish line. We will continue to work hard, take on challenges, and strive to be a pioneer in high-end equipment innovation," said Ma.

Sci-tech innovation brings Chinese laser manufacturer into global prominence: NPC deputy

Researchers from the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have made new progress in invasive brain-computer interface clinical trials, with the second successful case involving a paralyzed patient.

According to the research team, the patient suffered a spinal cord injury in 2022 that resulted in high paraplegia. After more than a year of rehabilitation, only head and neck movement was possible. In June this year, the patient underwent implantation of a BCI system.

Following two to three weeks of training, the patient was able to control electronic devices such as a computer cursor and a tablet. To meet further needs, researchers expanded the application from two-dimensional digital screens to three-dimensional physical devices. An intelligent wheelchair and a robotic dog became new control targets.

This shift required the system to not only decode simple intentions such as "left" or "right," but also to deliver continuous, stable, and low-latency precise control to cope with complex real-world environments and interactive tasks.

According to an expert, as the patient became more proficient, the level of mental concentration required was significantly reduced.

"The experience is very close to how we normally control our own bodies. Once you are very skilled, it doesn't require much mental effort -- just like being able to chat while driving," said Zhao Zhengtuo, researcher from CEBSIT.

To achieve this, the team made multiple technical breakthroughs.

At the data source level, they developed high-compression, high-fidelity neural data compression technology and innovatively combined different compression methods. This allows effective information to be extracted efficiently even in noisy neural signal environments, improving overall brain-control performance by 15 to 20 percent.

The team also replaced traditional calibration methods with an "online recalibration" technology that silently and continuously fine-tunes decoding parameters in real time to maintain high system performance. Control speed has also been significantly improved, with intentions and actions now almost synchronized.

Notably, the research team has partnered with a local federation for persons with disabilities to enable the patient who can control a computer via the BCI to participate in online data annotation work, such as verifying the accuracy of AI recognition in vending machines. This makes the patient China's first paraplegic to earn income through labor using a brain-computer interface.

Researchers revealed that a third patient has now had a BCI implanted for nearly two months. Future applications will focus on more refined movements.

"[The next step is] to use the intention of finger movements to control robotic fingers to interact with the external world," said Poo Mu-ming, scientific director of CEBSIT, and also a CAS academician.

Chinese researchers complete 2nd successful case in invasive brain-computer interface trial in Shanghai