Xi Jinping Redefines Made in China

　　Understanding contemporary China, Chinese manufacturing provides an excellent window. How is Chinese manufacturing changing? What future awaits Chinese manufacturing?

　　Departing from Xi'an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, the G2017 high-speed train speeds along, its velocity rapidly increasing from 100 kilometers per hour to 300 kilometers per hour, passing through Lanzhou, Urumqi, and Alashankou, all the way to Astana...

　　During his visit to Kazakhstan, President Xi Jinping visited the China Pavilion at the Astana Specialized Expo, inviting President Nazarbayev to experience a high-speed rail simulation. In this extraordinary time-space experience created by technological prowess, people once again felt the charm of Chinese high-speed rail. In fact, the China Pavilion, themed "Future Energy, Green Silk Road," showcased the green future of the "Belt and Road" initiative, leaving a deep impression.

　　In today's world, the definitions of many things are being rewritten. Since the reform and opening up, the label "MADE IN CHINA" has surged across the globe with the flow of goods and information, becoming a widely recognized Chinese symbol. Today, as the world looks at China with new eyes, the image of Chinese manufacturing is also quietly changing.

　　Not long ago, 20 young people from countries along the "Belt and Road" voted for their "New Four Great Inventions of China," with Chinese high-speed rail ranking first, becoming the most sought-after "Chinese specialty" among foreign youth. In the international market, Chinese brands such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Gree, and DJI have emerged, competing with high-cost-performance and high-tech products, attracting more and more fans. Whether it's consumer experience or news reports, it's becoming increasingly clear that Chinese manufacturing is engraving keywords such as quality, excellence, and innovation onto its nameplate. As a BBC reporter exclaimed, "China is no longer a country that can only mass-produce other countries' innovative products."

　　"Promoting the transformation of Chinese manufacturing from "Made in China" to "Created in China," from "China Speed" to "China Quality," and from "China Products" to "China Brands." Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made important remarks on the transformation and upgrading of Chinese manufacturing on many occasions. From these remarks, people can find a path to break through the deadlock and understand the new definition of Chinese manufacturing in this era.

　　Chinese manufacturing should take innovation as its soul. "For a region or an enterprise to break through development bottlenecks and solve deep-seated contradictions and problems, the fundamental solution lies in innovation, and the key lies in scientific and technological strength." China has become the world's largest manufacturing country, but the problems of being large but not strong and having low added value remain prominent. The main crux lies in insufficient innovation capacity and the need to improve technological content. The development of the times has set a new survival baseline for enterprises—only innovators will advance, only innovators will be strong, and only innovators will win.

　　In recent years, the rapid rise of Chinese companies such as Huawei is closely related to their high emphasis on R&D and long-term investment of substantial funds in innovation. In the face of a new round of technological and industrial revolution, innovation is the soul of national progress and the soul of enterprise development and growth. As one entrepreneur said: Innovation is not about defeating competitors, but about competing with tomorrow. By cultivating the soil of innovation, abandoning the old path of relying on low-cost competition, and placing the focus of development on innovation, allowing enterprises to truly become the main body of innovation, Chinese manufacturing can win the market and win the future.

　　Chinese manufacturing should take quality as its lifeblood. "Establish a strong awareness of quality first, launch quality improvement actions, improve quality standards, and strengthen comprehensive quality management." Without excellent quality, a strong manufacturing country cannot be established. From the perspective of development laws, when economic and social development reaches a certain level, economic transformation and upgrading, and consumer upgrading will inevitably require the revitalization of quality to be planned and deployed as a national strategy.

　　Two years after the implementation of "Made in China 2025," seizing the lifeline of quality construction and comprehensively consolidating the foundation of product quality has yielded initial results. Not long ago, a video titled "The performance of Chinese-made bulletproof plates completely fails to cooperate with the plot" went viral online. Even in the eyes of more discerning foreign consumers, the quality of Chinese products has changed dramatically. Looking at "Made in China" with outdated eyes will inevitably lead to embarrassment. However, it should also be clearly recognized that Chinese manufacturing has only just begun to take the path of quality-oriented development, and there is still a long way to go. "Quality first" should not only become a social consensus but also a social action in which everyone from enterprises to consumers participates. By valuing quality as much as life itself and forging world-class brands with the spirit of craftsmanship, Chinese manufacturing can be rejuvenated and continuously bring new surprises to the world. This is also an important focus of supply-side structural reform.

　　Chinese manufacturing should take talent as its foundation. "Innovation-driven development is essentially talent-driven. Whoever possesses first-class innovative talent will possess the advantages and dominance of scientific and technological innovation." Internationally, the enduring success of "Made in Germany" is inseparable from its large number of first-class skilled workers and developed vocational and technical education. From China's reality, a bottleneck restricting the transformation and upgrading of Chinese manufacturing is the shortage of talent. Building a strong manufacturing country requires cultivating and fostering a manufacturing talent team that is sufficient in number, reasonable in structure, excellent in quality, and full of vitality, laying a solid talent foundation for achieving the "three-step" strategic goal of Chinese manufacturing. It takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people. Compared with technological R&D and product innovation, this process requires more determination and patience and calls for the joint efforts of enterprises, the education sector, and government departments.

　　"When you hear the four words "Chinese brand," what is the first thing that comes to mind?" At a forum at Harvard University in the United States, the host asked the audience. One student replied: Opportunity. In the nearly 40 years since the reform and opening up, Chinese manufacturing has grown from "three comes and one compensation" to a "world factory" benefiting the world, reflecting the era of mutual integration and common development between China and the world. Looking to the future, the transformation from a manufacturing giant to a manufacturing powerhouse, climbing up the global value chain, is a new opportunity for China and a new opportunity for the world.