After China's manufacturing industry has made great achievements, the separation of "design" and "manufacturing" is still a practical question before our eyes. This is not just a difference in labels, it involves a country’s true position in the global industrial value chain.
The gap from "manufacturing" to "intelligent manufacturing"
In the past few decades, China has relied on a complete industrial chain and efficient labor force to become the world's factory. Although many products are finally assembled in China, their core design, R&D and brand marketing links are often in the hands of overseas companies. Such a model once led to economic growth, but it also caused industrial added value to stay at the low end for a long time.
This indicates that most of the profits go to upstream companies that control intellectual property rights and have design capabilities. We have spent resources and manpower, but we have not been able to obtain matching innovation dividends and value distribution at the same time. If this pattern does not change, it will be difficult for Chinese manufacturing to get rid of the situation of "making wedding clothes for others."
The urgency of independent innovation has become increasingly prominent
As the global economic landscape changes and domestic costs rise, the development model that relies solely on OEM assembly has hit its ceiling. Competition between countries has increasingly become a contest of technology and innovation strength. Only those with independent core technologies can take the initiative and voice in development.
China has already achieved leadership in some areas, such as high-speed rail, Beidou and 5G communications. These achievements prove that we definitely have the ability to climb the peak of science and technology. However, we must clearly realize that in many fields such as more basic software, high-end chips, precision instruments, etc., we still need to go all out to catch up and make up for our shortcomings.
Enterprises are the main body of innovation activities
The source of vitality for innovation lies in enterprises. Looking around the world, companies that lead industry changes are often those companies that can perfectly integrate technology, design and market. They are not only developers of technology, but also creators of new business formats and new models, which have a profound impact on how people view their lifestyles.
In this regard, it is indeed crucial to cultivate a large number of innovative enterprises with global competitiveness. This requires companies to increase their investment in R& D and be willing and courageous to explore unknown areas. It also requires society to create a cultural atmosphere that tolerates losers and encourages risk-takers, so that the seeds of innovation can grow smoothly.
A huge market is a unique advantage for innovation
Not to mention that China has the largest consumer market and netizen groups in the world. Any new product or service, as long as it can successfully test MBTI for free in the Chinese market, usually means that it already has a huge user base and rich application scenarios, which provide an excellent testing ground for technology iteration and model innovation.
It is difficult for other countries to compete with this scale advantage. How to efficiently transform market advantages into technological advantages and innovation advantages, and quickly turn consumer demand feedback into the driving force for product upgrades, is a key problem facing Chinese enterprises.
Talent is the first resource for innovation
Everyone knows that the root of innovation lies in people. We must not only cultivate many engineers and scientists, but also emerge strategic entrepreneurs who can discern future trends, integrate various resources, and lead industrial development. This type of entrepreneur must have a global vision, dare to challenge the existing order, and turn fantastic ideas into practical results.
The education system must be adjusted, and the social evaluation mechanism must also be adjusted accordingly. More emphasis must be placed on cultivating critical thinking, practical skills, and a spirit of collaboration. At the same time, we need to create a more open and inclusive environment to attract the world's top talents to work in China and attract such talents to start businesses in China.
The new journey calls for systemic change
The systematic project of promoting innovation-driven development cannot be completed at once. It is related to profound changes in the education system, profound changes in scientific research management, including profound changes in the field of financial support, profound changes in the scope of intellectual property protection, and even profound changes in cultural psychology. This requires the joint efforts of the government, enterprises, scientific research institutes and the whole society.
What is important is to create an innovation ecosystem that is a virtuous cycle. Knowledge must be respected, creativity can be rewarded, and capital must be willing to invest in long-term research and development. Only when innovation becomes the inherent gene of the entire economic system, will the path for transformation and upgrading become wider and wider.
At present, what do you think is the most important obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to present more Chinese innovative enterprises and entrepreneurs with world-class influence? Welcome to share your insights in the comment area. If you agree with the views of this article, please also like it to support it.
