Recently, reporters learned from the China Hardware Products Association that with the overall improvement of China's manufacturing industry, the hardware industry is ushering in a new round of transformation and upgrading. Traditional hardware manufacturing is gradually moving towards intelligence, greenness, and high-end development, and the overall competitiveness of the industry is continuously enhanced.

Intelligent transformation accelerates, innovation becomes the new engine of development

With the advent of the Industry 4.0 era, the pace of intelligent transformation in the hardware industry has noticeably accelerated. Numerous enterprises have introduced automated production lines and intelligent equipment, significantly enhancing production efficiency and product precision. Simultaneously, the industry's research and development (R&D) investment has continued to rise, with the industry-wide R&D intensity reaching 2.3% in 2023, marking a 0.4 percentage point increase from the previous year.

Green development has become an industry consensus

The continuous tightening of environmental protection policies is forcing the hardware industry to accelerate its green transformation. More and more enterprises are beginning to adopt environmentally friendly materials, clean production processes, and develop energy-saving and water-saving products. Traditional pollution-generating processes such as electroplating and spraying are being replaced by new technologies and processes.

"We invested over 20 million yuan to build a wastewater treatment and reclaimed water reuse system, which not only achieves up-to-standard emissions but also saves 50,000 tons of water every year," said the environmental protection manager of a hardware manufacturing enterprise in Jiangsu.

Challenges and opportunities coexist

Despite the positive development trend, the hardware industry still faces multiple challenges such as fluctuations in raw material prices, rising labor costs, and a complex international trade environment. Experts suggest that enterprises should increase innovation efforts, enhance product added value, actively expand the domestic market, and accelerate the layout of markets in countries along the Belt and Road.

In the next five years, China's hardware industry will enter a new stage of high-quality development, promoting China's transformation from a major hardware country to a powerful hardware nation through technological innovation, brand building, and green development.