Innovation enhances Yantai's manufacturing competitiveness

Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, is well on its way to developing into a high-tech manufacturing city by updating industrial structure and promoting innovation.

The city has rolled out an ambitious development plan for its industries, setting a target of generating industrial operating revenues of more than 2 trillion yuan by 2020.

The plan anticipates that by then the city will have seven key industries as major drivers of economic growth generating hundreds of millions of yuan per year.

The industries identified in the plan are information technology, food processing, non-ferrous metals and precious metals, high-end new chemical materials, equipment manufacturing, automobiles, and medical and health care.

The city's innovation in core technologies has helped manufacturing enterprises become more competitive.

Yantai held the first international 3D Printing Industry Conference on Dec 25 where Yantai-made 3D-printed machines debuted as one of the latest technological achievements in Shangdong province. 

Blue Whale 1 — the ultra-deep-water semisubmersible drilling rig built by the nation's largest semisubmersible platform manufacturer, China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore — conducted successful tests in the South China Sea in May.

Yantai-based Wanhua Chemical Group has broken the global monopoly in MDI - Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate - core technological competence.

Several Fortune 500 companies announced plans to invest in new projects in Yantai during the first half of 2017. More than 100 of the world's top 500 companies now operate in the city, including Mitsubishi, LG Electronics and Foxconn.

The city is also home to five industrial clusters worth over 100 billion yuan, including hubs for automotive and auto part companies, electronics and information technology firms.

Based on the fruitful development of its industries, Yantai is speeding up its promotion of manufacturing innovation and updating in 2018.

The city is planning to build manufacturing research institutes and industrial parks, strengthen international cooperation and promote construction of innovative laboratories, international workshops and new universities.

It is expected to develop itself into a competitive manufacturing city that provides a favorable environment for the development of high-tech industries.

             China Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore builds Blue Whale 1, the ultra-deep-water semisubmersible drilling rig. [Photo by Yang Bing/ chinanews.com]