The machinery industry is an industry that specializes in providing technical equipment. It has wide industrial coverage, many product types, complex product structures, and long industrial chains. It is a basic, strategic and pillar industry for the development of the national economy, and it is also the ‘ballast stone’ of the industrial economy.
This year’s “Government Work Report” proposed optimizing and upgrading traditional industries.
Xu Niansha, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the China Machinery Industry Federation, said that as a traditional advantageous industry, the machinery industry is standing at a key node of a new round of industrial transformation, shifting from scale expansion to quality improvement, and accelerating the reshaping of development advantages through high-end equipment breakthroughs, digital technology empowerment and industrial chain reconstruction.
The industrial foundation continues to be consolidated.
‘When an aircraft is soaring at an altitude of 10,000 meters, the temperature of the aero-engine operating is as high as several thousand degrees Celsius, which requires the precision of turbine disk parts to be thinner than one-tenth of a human hair, and the processing requirements are extremely strict.
’ Lin Lugao, chairman of Zhejiang Changer Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., said that in order to overcome such equipment technical problems, they held the determination of ‘sharpening a sword in ten years’ and after 12 years of hard investment, they successfully developed a broaching machine for wheel disk tongue and groove processing such as aircraft engines, which solved the technical problem of wheel disk tongue and groove broaching in my country.
Changer Company’s continuous research and independent innovation practices are the epitome of my country’s high-end equipment accelerating breakthroughs in key core technologies and enhancing industrial competitiveness.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the machinery industry accelerated its efforts to make up for shortcomings and forge long boards, and the industrial foundation continued to be consolidated.
In terms of independent control of core basic components, my country has initially mastered the design and manufacturing technology of wind power speed-increasing boxes below 20 MW, and key products such as high-performance fasteners for high-speed rail and nuclear power equipment have successfully rolled off the production line, filling domestic gaps; in terms of upgrading basic manufacturing processes, my country has conquered the super-large component
Precision forming, ultra-thin strip precision cold rolling and other technologies have promoted the comprehensive improvement of independent manufacturing capabilities of high-end equipment; the innovation force with enterprises as the main body has accelerated, and 527 individual champion companies and more than 5,000 specialized and new “little giant” companies have become the backbone of industry innovation.
One breakthrough after another confirms the strong momentum shown by the machinery industry in a complex environment.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, the average annual growth rate of the added value of the machinery industry reached 7.4%.
The number of enterprises above designated size increased from 92,000 to 137,000, with total assets exceeding 40 trillion yuan.
In 2025, the operating income of enterprises above designated size in the machinery industry will exceed the 33 trillion yuan mark, accounting for 23.9% of the national industry.
Xu Niansha said that since the ’14th Five-Year Plan’, the entire industry has thoroughly implemented the requirements for high-quality development and made remarkable achievements in industrial scale, innovation capabilities, and international competitiveness, laying a solid foundation for promoting new industrialization.
Deepen and expand “artificial intelligence +”.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence is accelerating its deep integration with the real economy, profoundly changing the manufacturing production model and economic form, and becoming a key variable driving industrial upgrading and reshaping the global landscape.
The AI intelligent nesting system automatically generates nesting diagrams based on optimal utilization, cutting robots equipped with robot vision cut steel plates into different shapes, and robotic arms perform automatic sorting… In Changsha Factory No. 18 of Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Sany Group Co., Ltd., nine major processes and 32 typical scenarios have realized intelligent operations, with manufacturing capacity increased by 123% and unit manufacturing costs reduced by 29%.
Fu Weizhong, director of Sany Group, said, ‘R&D innovation is the first driving force, customer orientation is the guide to action, and electronic intelligence leadership is the key to victory.’
The acceleration of intelligent applications is inseparable from the continuous advancement of top-level design.
In August 2025, 8 departments jointly issued the “Implementation Plan for the Digital Transformation of the Machinery Industry (2025-2030)”. From the two aspects of the digital transformation of the machinery industry itself and empowering the digital transformation of other industries, focusing on the three major areas of intelligent equipment, intelligent manufacturing and intelligent services, the “Four Major Actions” were implemented and 12 key tasks were proposed to accelerate the pace of digital transformation and intelligent upgrading of the machinery industry and promote high-quality development of the machinery industry.
The standard system and quality brand building around intelligent applications are also gradually improving.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, 4,487 national standards and machinery industry standard plans were approved and released, and the international standard conversion rate reached more than 93%; the pass rate of national supervision and spot inspections of mechanical products increased from 87.5% in 2021 to 92.1% in 2024.
The deep integration of ‘artificial intelligence + scene’ promotes the machinery industry to accelerate towards digitalization and intelligence.
Data shows that as of 2024, the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools in the machinery industry will exceed 90%, and more than 80 machinery companies have been selected as outstanding smart factories.
During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, 277 energy-saving technologies and 490 specifications and models of energy-saving equipment were selected into the national recommended catalog. The production and sales of new energy vehicles, electric engineering machinery, new energy agricultural machinery, etc. increased significantly.
Xu Niansha said that the next step should be to deepen the expansion of “artificial intelligence +”, promote the quality and upgrading of new technology-enabled industries, and promote the accelerated transformation of industries into high-end, intelligent, green, and integrated industries.
At the same time, vigorously develop service-oriented manufacturing, focus on the deep integration of manufacturing and services, focus on promoting typical models such as shared manufacturing, personalized customization, full life cycle management, and general integrated general contracting, carry out common technology research and development such as demand sensing, integrated R&D and design, cultivate leading service-oriented manufacturing brands and innovative development highlands, and reshape the value chain with digital intelligence empowerment.
Forward-looking layout of future industries.
The “15th Five-Year Plan” period is a critical period for basically realizing new industrialization.
The machinery industry is anchoring the direction of intelligence, greenness, and integration, striving to build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone, and continuously releasing more development potential.
Currently, a batch of replicable and scalable practical samples are being implemented in key industries and key enterprises at an accelerated pace.
Taking the field of machine tool equipment as an example, Jinan No. 2 Machine Tool independently developed an efficient dual-five-axis processing intelligent production line for new energy vehicle integrated die-casting chassis. It has broken the dependence on imports in new energy vehicle integrated die-casting technology and has been applied in batches.
The relevant person in charge of Jinan No. 2 Machine Tool said that in the next step, the company will promote key projects such as the future science and technology innovation center, D6 lighthouse factory, and industrial mother machine industrial park with high standards, accelerate the systematic changes in the R&D system, manufacturing system, and operation management, and build a high-end manufacturing base for industrial mother machines.
The key to the transformation and upgrading of the machinery industry lies in the transformation of the ‘three modernizations’.
In terms of intelligent transformation, the “artificial intelligence +” action continues to deepen, and the construction of a number of outstanding smart factories and smart supply chains is accelerated, and digital transformation will leap from “popularization” to “deepening”; in terms of green transformation, with the fact that key industries are improving quality, reducing costs and reducing carbon emissions, and the construction of zero-carbon factories is further promoted, green growth points such as new energy vehicles and hydrogen energy equipment are growing; in terms of integrated transformation, the integration of advanced manufacturing and modern service industries continues to deepen, and new models such as full life cycle management and system integration are booming.
On the implementation path, Luo Junjie, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of the China Machinery Industry Federation, suggested strengthening the rebuilding of the industrial base and focusing on weak links such as industrial motherboards, high-end chips, and basic software.
At the same time, we will strengthen research on major technical equipment and promote the research and development of iconic products such as high-end medical equipment, precision instruments, and advanced agricultural machinery and equipment.
In addition, we will strengthen quality brand building and enhance the international reputation of ‘Made in China’.
The “15th Five-Year Plan” outline proposes a forward-looking layout of future industries.
Luo Junjie said that the relationship between the equipment manufacturing industry and future industries is the ‘base’ and the ‘spire’. The equipment manufacturing industry provides equipment support and manufacturing capabilities for the future industry, and the future industry injects innovation momentum into the equipment manufacturing industry.
To this end, future industrial development should be supported through equipment manufacturing.
Xu Niansha said that the machinery industry will build an industrial system that is independent, controllable, safe, reliable, and highly competitive, forming a good pattern of upgrading traditional industries, leading emerging industries, and future industrial layout, playing a more important supporting role in building a manufacturing power, realizing new industrialization, and showing greater achievements in the new journey of Chinese-style modernization.
