In 2015, China's industrial economy entered a new normal, with a slowdown in growth rate and a shift in growth drivers. Intelligent manufacturing will become a new growth point. This information was derived from the press conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on the 27th and data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

　 　Economic growth shifts to medium-high speed

　　On the morning of the 27th, financial data of industrial enterprises released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that in 2014, industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide achieved a profit of 6,471.53 billion yuan, an increase of 3.3% over the previous year. The growth rate fell by 2 percentage points compared to January to November and dropped 8.9 percentage points year-on-year. Among them, profits in December were 850.73 billion yuan, down 8% year-on-year, with the decline expanding by 3.8 percentage points compared to November.

　　He Ping, Director of the Industrial Benefits Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that the main reasons for the expanded decline in industrial profits in December include intensified profit decline due to falling prices, significant profit decreases in industries such as petroleum and coal, and accelerated growth in costs and expenses squeezing profit margins.

　　On the same day, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the development of the industrial and communication sectors throughout 2014.

　　Mao Weiming, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out at the press conference that currently, during the transition of economic growth from high speed to medium-high speed, new industries, new business formats, new technologies, and new business models are continuously emerging, with many highlights in industrial development. China's industrial economy is accelerating towards a more advanced form, more complex division of labor, and more reasonable structure, with the driving force for stable economic operation undergoing a normal and orderly transformation.

　　Huang Libin, Deputy Director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that considering various factors comprehensively, the Ministry has set a target of about 8% growth in industrial added value above designated size for 2015. Although this target is somewhat lower than the actual situation in 2014, we believe it is still a considerable goal.

　　Huang Libin stated that as China's economic development enters a new normal, with a shift in growth speed, structural adjustment pains, and transformation of growth drivers, achieving this target will still require arduous efforts.

　 　Intelligent manufacturing will become a breakthrough point

　　Mao Weiming explained that from the growth situation of major industrial sectors in 2014, investment in industries requiring compression and structural adjustment declined significantly, while industries encouraged by the country and requiring accelerated investment grew very rapidly. Among them, the proportion of high-tech industries in the entire industrial economy increased from 12.1% to 12.8% in 2014. "This is what we hope for."

　　According to the latest data released by the two ministries, achieving a transformation of growth drivers in 2015 and developing intelligent manufacturing will become an important breakthrough.

　　He Ping pointed out that in 2014, profits in the equipment manufacturing industry grew by 12.4%, and high-tech manufacturing grew by 15.5%, with growth rates 5.9 and 9 percentage points higher than the entire manufacturing industry respectively, indicating that transformation and upgrading promote quality and efficiency improvement.

　　Mao Weiming pointed out at the press conference that in 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to implement a pilot demonstration special action for intelligent manufacturing and develop the industrial internet.

　　According to the introduction, other leading countries worldwide have raised the integration of industrialization and informatization to an unprecedented level. For example, Germany proposed Industry 4.0, and the United States proposed the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, essentially using the information industry to drive manufacturing, readjusting and redeploying high-end manufacturing to create new competitive advantages for national manufacturing.

　　Against this background, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has determined to "take intelligent manufacturing as a breakthrough point and vigorously promote the deep integration of industrialization and informatization," indicating plans to study and demonstrate the implementation of a national-level major intelligent manufacturing project, initially organizing a three-year special action plan and implementing a pilot demonstration special action for intelligent manufacturing.

　　Experts say that intelligent manufacturing is an inevitable trend in the development of manufacturing and the inevitable direction for the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. Currently, a new generation of robots and intelligent manufacturing technologies centered on "human-machine integration," "artificial intelligence," and "smart manufacturing" are quietly driving a new round of industrial revolution.