In a clean and tidy factory workshop, a large and winding beverage production line stretches from the distant filling pool; beside the production line, about twenty workers occasionally pick up products on the conveyor belt for inspection; at the end of the line, a robotic arm rotates left and right, neatly stacking boxes of beverages being conveyed; then a forklift quickly comes over to transport the stacked beverages for loading.

　　This is the production workshop for one of the main products of Fujian Minzhong Organic Food Co., Ltd. — loquat moisturizing tea beverage. After implementing machine replacement in the new factory building, the quiet, clean, orderly, and efficient automated production has replaced the noisy, chaotic, and bustling old production line.

　　"After replacing machines for workers, our company's production process has basically been automated." Lin Meixi, head of the development department of Fujian Minzhong Organic Food Co., Ltd., a "national key leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization" producing dried vegetables and beverages, told reporters that due to difficulties in recruiting workers and high labor costs, the company began building a fully automated new factory in 2011. "There is a process of removing impurities in dried vegetable processing, which used to rely entirely on manual picking. Now, except for more than a hundred people performing the final screening and quality control, other screening and sorting are completed through automated equipment."

　　Faced with multiple factors such as difficulty in recruiting workers, high labor costs, and thin profits, manufacturing enterprises along China's coast have gradually begun to implement transformation and upgrading through machine replacement in recent years. Industry leaders like Minzhong Food have already seen certain results from machine replacement.

　　"Just in the dried vegetable screening process, our factory has saved seven to eight hundred workers, and production efficiency has increased tenfold." Lin Meixi gave reporters an account book, "The renovated production line has reduced production costs by more than ten to twenty percent compared to before, and the labor demand basically meets production needs, enhancing the competitiveness of the company's orders."

　　"Machine replacement is the only way for Chinese manufacturing enterprises to solve difficulties in recruiting workers, high labor costs, and achieve transformation and upgrading." Lu Qinghan, director of the Industry Section of the Putian Municipal Economic and Trade Commission, said that this point has already formed a strong consensus among both the government and the business community.

　　"It is absolutely impossible to survive without moving towards automation. Other companies are all installing equipment; if you don't, costs won't come down, and you may be eliminated," said Lin Meixi. "In the future, when we install equipment, we will install the best automated equipment."

　　However, compared with some industry-leading enterprises making large investments, most small and medium-sized enterprises have a much slower pace in machine replacement.

　　In the busy sewing workshop of Putian Changfeng Sporting Goods Co., Ltd., several workers are carefully operating newly installed semi-automatic sewing machines. One worker inputs the programmed instructions into the computer, and the sewing machine automatically creates various complex patterns on the shoe upper.

　　"For patterns with bends, using the current fully manual equipment, you have to stop at the bend, turn the fabric, and then proceed to the next step. But with this semi-automatic equipment, once you place the fabric, the sewing machine can automatically create the pattern you set." Lin Weifeng, head of Changfeng Sporting Goods Company, told reporters that in 2013 and 2014, he invested more than 400,000 yuan to purchase nine semi-automatic sewing machines.

　　The new equipment has improved efficiency, saved labor, and increased the yield rate, making it very practical. However, Lin Weifeng said that currently, all companies have to tighten their belts, and machine replacement can only proceed slowly.

　　"Our willingness is very strong. In recent years, we want to replace all old equipment and fully automate shoe upper production. But it is estimated that this will require an investment of 30 million yuan, so I can only proceed step by step, which may be a relatively long process." Lin Weifeng said, "Under the current economic situation, cash is king for enterprises, and steady development is necessary."