--Dubbedthe"world'sfactory,"southChina'sGuangdongProvinceishometonearly3millionindustrialcompanies.Itisnowacceleratingthedigitaltransformation,exploringpathsfortheupgradingofitsmanufacturingindustry.--Currently,atotalof15,000companiesinGuangdonghaveachieveddigitaltransformationand500,000companieshavegainedaccesstocloudservices,thankstoindustrialinternetplatforms.byXinhuawritersLuHao,XuRuiqing,WuTao,MaXiaochengGUANGZHOU,April5(Xinhua)--Asoutlinedinablueprintforitsdevelopmentinthenextfiveto15years,Chinawillpromotethedeepintegrationofdigitaltechnologyandtherealeconomy,andempowerthetransformationandupgradingoftraditionalindustries,soastospureconomicgrowth.Hailedasthe"world'sfactory,"thesouthernGuangdongProvinceishometonearly3millionindustrialcompanies.Nowthemanufacturinghubisacceleratingitsdigitaltransformation,exploringpathsfortheupgradingofitsmanufacturingindustry."LIGHTHOUSEFACTORY"Onagiantdigitalscreenthatsimulatesthefactory'sdigitaloperationinamicrowaveovenfactoryofMideaGroup,aChinesehomeappliancegiant,inFoshanCityofGuangdong,redalarmsflashtoalertengineerstoanyproblemswithproductionequipment.Thefactoryisoneofthelargestmicrowaveovenproductionbasesintheworld,withanannualproductioncapacityofover44millionunits.About47percentoftheworld'smagnetrons,usedtoemitmicrowaves,areproducedhereeachyear,makingitamajorcomponentsupplierforglobalmicrowaveovenmanufacturers.AstaffmemberworksataworkshopofmicrowaveovenfactoryofMideaGroup,aChinesehomeappliancegiant,inFoshanCity,southChina'sGuangdongProvince,April1,2021.(Xinhua/LiJiale)InMarch,theWorldEconomicForumlistedthefactoryamongthelatestmembersofitsgloballighthousenetwork,whichisintendedtoselectfactoriesleadingthewayintheadoptionandintegrationoffrontiertechnologiesoftheFourthIndustrialRevolution.Todate,atotalof69factoriesacrosstheglobehavebeenlistedaslighthousefactories,includingtwounderMideaGroup,whosehouseholdair-conditioningplantinGuangzhou,capitalofGuangdong,joinedthelistlastyear.ZhouXiaoling,directorofinformationtechnology(IT)withMideaGroup,saidthankstodigitalization,thefactoryhasincreaseditsoverallinternalefficiencyby28percent,improvedproductqualityindicatorsby15percent,andshortenedorderdeliverytimeby53percent."Mideastarteditsdigitaltransformationin2012.Thecorporaterevenueincreasedby150billionyuan(around22.85billionU.S.dollars)whilethenumberofemployeesfellby40,000from2012to2019,"Zhousaid,addingthat"digitaltransformationhasinjectedstrongdevelopmentmomentumintothetraditionalmanufacturingsector."INDUSTRIALINTERNETPLATFORMSInGuangdong,atotalof15,000companieshaveachieveddigitaltransformationand500,000companieshavegainedaccesstocloudservices,thankstoindustrialinternetplatforms,accordingtotheprovince'sdepartmentofindustryandinformationtechnology.PhototakenonApril1,2021showsaworkshopofamicrowaveovenfactoryofMideaGroup,aChinesehomeappliancegiant,inFoshanCity,southChina'sGuangdongProvince.(Xinhua/LiJiale)Inrecentyears,bellwethersintheindustrialinternetfieldsuchasHuawei,Midea,TencentandROOTCLOUDhavegrownrapidly.Theyhavenotonlybecomepathfindersforthedigitaltransformationthemselvesbutalsopromotedthetransformationofalargenumberofsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises.AccordingtoXuZhijun,rotatingchairmanofHuawei,bytheendof2020,thecompanyhadbuiltmorethan40industrialinternetinnovationcentersinChina,providingdigitaltransformationservicesformorethan20,000industrialenterprisesinover30industrialclusters.HeDongdong,chiefexecutiveofficerofROOTCLOUD,anindustrialinternetserviceproviderheadquarteredinGuangzhou,saidbyworkingwithotherleadingcompaniesintheindustry,ROOTCLOUDhascreatedmorethan20industrycloudplatformsconcerningconstructionmachinery,environmentalprotection,textilesandhomefurnishings.Itisnowprovidingdigitaltransformationservicesforcompaniesin81industrialsub-sectors.In2019,ROOTCLOUDlaunchedanindustrychainplatformforcustomizedhomefurnishings.Morethan20companiesinGuangzhou,Foshanandothercitieshaveconnectedwiththeplatform,wheretheycancompletethefront-enddesign,manufacturing,logisticsandtransportationofhomefurnishingswiththehelpoftheinternet,increasingtheiroperatingefficiencydramatically."Digitalizationmarksabigleapforthetraditionalmanufacturingindustry.Since2016,ourbusinessvolumehasbeengrowingby100percenteachyear,whichshowsastrongdemandfordigitaltransformationinthemanufacturingindustry,"Hesaid.CHALLENGESAHEADDespitetheprogressandachievementstodate,thedigitaltransformationofGuangdong'smanufacturingindustrystillfacesarduoustasks.UndatedfilephotoshowsMideaGroup,aChinesehomeappliancegiant,inBeijiaoTownofFoshanCity,southChina'sGuangdongProvince.(PhotobyZhouZhuojie/Xinhua)AccordingtoGeChangwei,directoroftheGuangdongProvincialDevelopmentandReformCommission,onlyone-sixthofthenearly3millionindustrialenterprisesinGuangdonghaveaccesstocloudservices.Mostoftheprovince'sindustrialenterprisesaresmall,mediumandmicro-sizedfirms."Theydarenot,andareunwillingandunabletochange,"saidTuGaokun,directoroftheprovincialdepartmentofindustryandinformationtechnology.Somecompaniesareconcernedaboutthelargeinvestmentandlongreturnperiodsintheindustry,andrelyheavilyonthetraditionaldevelopmentpath,whilesomelacktechnologiesandtalentnecessaryfordigitaltransformation,Tunoted.Tospeedupdigitaltransformation,companiesbelievethatmoreeffortsareneededinindustrialsoftwareresearchandotherkeyfields.Meanwhile,entrepreneursneedtoraisetheirawarenessofdigitalizationandthereshouldbemorevisibleandusabledigitalservicesforsmallandmicro-sizedenterprises.Inthenextstep,TusaidGuangdongwilllaunchtechnologicalresearchprojectsanddemonstrationapplicationsinthefieldsofindustrialsoftware,artificialintelligenceandintelligentmanufacturing,andstrivetoprovidemoretechnologicalsupportforthedigitaltransformationofthemanufacturingindustry,especiallyforsmallandmicro-sizedbusinesses.