"Except for the sales of shield tunneling machines engaged in tunnel engineering, the sales of other metallurgical, mining, building materials, coal and other equipment in China have all declined, and market demand has decreased by 60% to 70%." said the relevant person in charge of a heavy equipment manufacturing enterprise in the north.

The common feeling among many manufacturing companies in the interview is that market demand has not improved yet. At the same time, enterprises are accelerating their pace of innovation, transformation, and adjustment. In the context of a cold market, products representing the direction of industrial upgrading have already achieved good market response. For example, environmental protection equipment, medical devices, new energy equipment, robot products, new home appliances, etc. still show a good development trend.

The reporter learned from authoritative departments that multiple new policies leading the development of the manufacturing industry through innovation will be introduced this year, supporting the high-end manufacturing industry.

Current situation: Traditional industries still face downward pressure

"We are significantly affected by the overall environment," the head of a major technology and equipment enterprise located in Shenyang told reporters. The heavy chemical industry in various regions has excess production capacity, and most of the service targets of the enterprise have reduced investment. The company has received significantly fewer orders for new manufacturing equipment compared to previous years.

In the past year, the main business sectors of the enterprise, except for nuclear power equipment, have all shrunk in petroleum, chemical, coal chemical, metallurgical and other equipment. "The newly launched investment projects in these industries are almost zero, and the expansion and renovation projects are also very few, with a particularly insufficient demand for new equipment." The above-mentioned person in charge said that although the business sectors such as wind power products remain stable, their proportion in the company's products is too small and their supporting role is not strong.

Another byproduct brought about by the downturn in downstream industries is the high accounts receivable. It is reported that some downstream metallurgical, coal chemical, and petrochemical enterprises have suspended investment projects due to policy, environmental protection, and market reasons after ordering their equipment, and are unable to pay the final payment for the equipment. Some completed large equipment can only be stacked in the enterprise warehouse.

Industry insiders point out that after the decline in market demand and intensified competition, problems in the equipment manufacturing industry have been exposed, such as low industrial levels and most enterprises being in the middle and low end of the value chain; Enterprises are "small, scattered, and low", making it difficult to adapt to international competition; Weak concept of technological innovation and insufficient ability for independent innovation; The level of basic materials, basic components, and basic industry is not yet high enough.

According to statistics from the Equipment Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the industrial added value of equipment manufacturing enterprises above designated size in China increased by 5.5% year-on-year in 2015, a decrease of 4.5 percentage points from the previous year; The completed export delivery value decreased by 2.78%, a decrease of 9.53 percentage points from the previous year; The total profit increased by 2.52%, a decrease of 8.68 percentage points from the previous year.

The common feeling among many companies in the interview is that market demand has not improved yet. From the perspective of the home appliance industry, China's home appliance industry has ended high growth and entered a period of adjustment. Data shows that in the past year, due to the impact of macroeconomic conditions, the industry has been under greater pressure, and the overall scale growth has slowed down. Jiang Feng, Chairman of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, told reporters that in 2015, the main business revenue of China's electricity industry (excluding audiovisual products such as televisions) was 1408.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.4%, and exports decreased by 2.7%. Compared with the high growth in the past decade, this situation is unprecedented.

At the beginning of 2016, the market environment also showed signs of being cooler. According to data provided by Zhongyikang, an authoritative market research company in the domestic home appliance industry, the total retail sales of Suning and Gome, two major home appliance retailers, decreased by 15.8% from the first week to the seventh week of this year. "Affected by the global economy, domestic residential market, and the consumption cycle of large appliances, the market situation in 2016 is still not optimistic," said Jiang Feng.

Highlight environmental protection and new home appliances grow against the trend

Although the market is generally cold, leveraging the advantage of early layout, transformation, and upgrading, some products representing the direction of industrial upgrading have entered the market and achieved good results, further promoting the upgrading of the consumer market.

According to Hu Xiaohong, Director of the Information Consulting Department of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, taking variable frequency products as an example, their popularity is extending from air conditioning to washing machines and refrigerators. From 2013 to 2015, the proportion of retail sales of variable frequency air conditioners increased from 54% to 61.8%, the proportion of variable frequency washing machines increased from about 20% to 36.9%, and the proportion of variable frequency refrigerators increased from 12% to 20.8%.

"The potential of the consumer market is very strong, and the key is whether there are products that can improve the quality of life of consumers," the head of a domestic brand home appliance enterprise told reporters.

At the same time, the household appliance industry has achieved the transformation of marketing mode brought by Internet plus. According to data from Aowei Cloud Network, from January to November 2015, the online retail sales of refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners in Dajia Electric increased by 60% to 70% compared to the previous year, while the online sales of kitchen appliances doubled.

The person in charge of the technology and equipment enterprise located in Shenyang mentioned above said that with higher requirements from the country for environmental protection, safety production, and efficiency improvement, a large number of equipment needs to be upgraded and renovated, and their daily maintenance and repair business is also increasing. The customer service company of the group achieved a service revenue of over 800 million yuan last year, becoming one of the few profit growth sectors of the group.

Another sanitation equipment manufacturing base located in Fuxin, Liaoning is bustling with activity. "The traditional equipment market has experienced a significant decline, but the market for sanitation equipment such as snow removal and cleaning, as well as waste treatment equipment, has shown a good growth trend in recent years, making it the company's choice to transform into this field. The company's head told reporters that the company is currently developing 15 new products, and 8 new products will be mass-produced this summer, especially the specialized waste cleaning equipment designed for rural environmental renovation in Northeast China. It is expected that the market size will reach tens of billions of yuan within 5 years.".

Shi Yong, Vice President of the Machinery Industry Information Research Institute, stated that the current large-scale equipment used for infrastructure and heavy chemical industry construction is sluggish, but environmental protection equipment, medical devices, new energy equipment, robot products, new home appliances, etc. still show good development momentum.

A new policy of promoting innovation and leading development will emerge within the year

The reporter learned from authoritative departments such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission that China will introduce a series of innovation led development policies this year to further strengthen the high-end manufacturing industry. It is reported that in 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will launch over 30 specific policies based on the above work goals. The focus of the work includes: fully implementing "Made in China 2025", with specific measures including accelerating the preparation and launch of 11 key project implementation plans, important plans, and action plans in accordance with the deployment of the State Council; Simultaneously promoting the construction of national manufacturing innovation centers, intelligent manufacturing, industrial strengthening, green manufacturing, and high-end equipment innovation in five major projects; The guidance on the integrated development of "Made in China 2025" and "Internet plus" was issued to closely integrate manufacturing, "Internet plus" and "mass entrepreneurship and innovation".

In 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will also start with supply side structural reform and launch a series of measures to stabilize industrial economic growth, including: formulating guiding opinions on the implementation of policies for six major industries, or a three-year action plan; Initiate a new round of major technological transformation and upgrading projects, focusing on the needs of traditional industries for transformation and upgrading, and implement a number of major technological transformation projects; Carry out a special action to improve the supply of consumer goods, and implement the "three product strategy" with increasing variety, improving quality, and creating brands as the content; Promote the expansion of the use of green building materials, steel structures, and aluminum profiles in various fields, and implement a promotion plan for new energy vehicles.

Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei also revealed that in order to further optimize the industrial structure and continue to promote the resolution of severe overcapacity, it is also one of the key tasks of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology this year. To this end, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is working with the National Development and Reform Commission to develop specific implementation plans to actively and prudently address the issue of "zombie enterprises"; Secondly, we will also promote the exit of inefficient production capacity, and implement orderly exit of production capacity in accordance with laws and regulations for enterprises that fail to meet energy consumption, environmental protection, safety, and production standards; Thirdly, encourage eligible enterprises to carry out cross industry and cross regional mergers and reorganizations; Finally, any form of approval for new capacity projects in industries with severe overcapacity will also be stopped.