Industrial parks are bustling with activity, major projects are advancing steadily, and local companies have full order books with ample production capacity. This vibrant scene paints a clear picture of Wuxi's industrial economy performance for the first half of 2024. From January to June, the city's value-added industrial output for enterprises above a designated size grew by 5.0% year-on-year, with new growth drivers playing a prominent role. Specifically, the equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors saw increases of 6.9% and 10.0%, respectively. New quality productive forces are shouldering the responsibility of stabilizing and improving the city's economy, enhancing its internal resilience. This orderly transition between old and new drivers is accumulating momentum for long-term growth.
Structural optimization is accelerating the rise of new quality productive forces. Which industries are contributing the most to this growth? Examining Wuxi's industrial semi-annual report, it's clear that the "465" modern industrial cluster is releasing its momentum. In the first half of the year, revenue from this cluster grew by 6.0% year-on-year, while the future industries segment saw a surge of 30.6%. The strategic emerging industries' value-added output for enterprises above a designated size also increased by 6.0%, signaling the rapid ascent of both emerging and future-oriented growth drivers.
As Wuxi's flagship industry, the integrated circuit sector has shown remarkable strength. From January to June, its revenue grew by 16.3% year-on-year, while operating profit skyrocketed by 55.8%. The wave of AI technology is a key driver behind this trend. The domestic AI industry's development demands higher levels of computing density, power consumption, and cooling for integrated GPU computing equipment, explained Gao Qi, product manager at Hongchuangsheng'an, an intelligent computing equipment manufacturer. As global demand for AI servers, data centers, and high-performance computing remains robust, the company has been expanding its product portfolio since the start of the year, leading to a 100% increase in order volume. This industry heat is also flowing into the capital markets, with local companies like Saiying Electronics and Shenghejingwei listing on the stock market, and Huahong Micro returning to a market capitalization of over 100 billion yuan this year.
While traditional industries are improving in quality and efficiency, new industries are also expanding. In the first half of the year, future industries such as artificial intelligence, embodied intelligent robots, and the low-altitude economy achieved double-digit revenue growth, accelerating the release of their industrial value. Take commercial aerospace as an example. In May, the first rocket mass production factory in China, based on high-strength stainless steel and intelligent laser manufacturing technology, was officially put into operation in Wuxi by LandSpace. Once completed, it will provide assembly, testing, and supporting capabilities for the Zhuque-3 launch vehicle, enabling a launch frequency of 20 times per year. A few kilometers away, the commercial satellite intelligent production line of Weina Aerospace is also in trial production, with six satellites already rolled off the line. This line's designed annual capacity exceeds 150 satellites. With 116 enterprises above a designated size in the commercial aerospace supply chain achieving a 22.1% revenue growth in the first half of the year, industry insiders believe Wuxi could become one of the busiest commercial aerospace hubs in China. Furthermore, the AI industry saw a 33.4% revenue increase in the first half, creating a demonstration effect. Recently, Wuxi was awarded a national-level industry gold medal, being designated as a National Pilot Zone for AI Industry Innovation and Application, tasked with exploring new paths for AI industry innovation and application on a national scale.
Both quantity and quality are improving, creating a vibrant ecosystem of enterprises. The steady improvement of the industrial economy is grounded in the rising quality and efficiency of industrial development. Leveraging the leadership of key enterprises and the gradient support of quality firms, Wuxi has built a solid foundation to withstand pressure and hedge against external risks. In the latest global shipbuilding order book rankings, Jiangyin-based Yangzijiang Shipbuilding secured the fourth position globally with 8.383 million compensated gross tons (CGT). In recent years, the company has promoted intelligent transformation and digitalization, focusing on developing new technologies, processes, and high-tech products, with many technologies filling domestic and international gaps. Currently, the company holds total orders exceeding 150 billion yuan, with clean energy vessels accounting for nearly 70% of the portfolio, covering a full range of container ships, various oil tankers, and gas carriers, with delivery schedules extending to 2030. Its Yangzijiang Hongyuan high-end clean energy shipbuilding base, with a total investment of 3 billion yuan, is expected to be fully completed by the end of this year, potentially achieving annual output value exceeding 10 billion yuan. In the first half of the year, leading enterprises like Envision Energy, Far East Cable, SAIC Maxus, and JCET Group performed well, steadily improving in quality and efficiency. While these large players stabilize market confidence with their stable production capacity and orders, the long-term resilience of the city's industrial economy lies in the flourishing development of its small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the first half of the year, Wuxi focused on the gradient cultivation of high-quality enterprises, regularly visiting key enterprises to coordinate and resolve over 110 enterprise issues. The city's industrial and information technology system organized a total of 70 industrial chain matching activities, involving over 3,500 companies (times), leading to intended orders totaling more than 3 billion yuan. During the "SME Service Week" in Wuxi, the "Innovation-Driven, Sowing the Future" innovation achievement seeding event, hosted by the SME Development Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, landed in Wuxi, bringing a batch of innovation achievements from universities across the country to assist local industrial development. With policy support and effective services, enterprises are more motivated to enhance their development momentum through technological innovation, digital transformation, and industrial chain optimization. Wuxi Hengtian Enterprise has persisted in improving product yield and seizing market opportunities through digital transformation. This year, the company embraced the AI technology wave, launching the "Hengtian AI High-End Textile Intelligent Agent." Data shows that AI empowerment has increased data processing efficiency by over 60%, shortened the development cycle for new AI applications by over 70%, and improved the return on investment from AI-related spending by 35%, significantly reducing operational costs.
Investment is accelerating, empowering industries to climb higher. On Wuxi's industrial landscape, the silhouettes of rapidly advancing projects are outlining the city's future. The Finisar optical transceiver module project has completed its annual investment, with some process equipment now installed and awaiting commissioning. Once operational, it will produce 10 million units per year of 800G and 1.6T optical transceiver modules, effectively filling the gap in high-end optical communication components. The Binhu Aerospace Manufacturing Equipment Industrial Park project is now over 60% complete, with construction and tenant recruitment proceeding simultaneously, and high-quality entities like Jitui Zhichuang have already confirmed their participation. The Huierxin new energy smart assembly R&D and manufacturing project, which started construction in December last year, has taken only six months to see the massive steel structure factory take shape. Once operational, it is expected to achieve an annual output value of 10 million yuan per mu. The city's industrial investment and technical transformation investment growth rates in the first half of the year both exceeded the provincial average. More importantly, the investment structure is optimizing. On one hand, existing enterprises are steadily expanding production capacity, with a series of second and third-phase projects from companies like De Lijia and Parker landing one after another. On the other hand, enterprises are showing strong enthusiasm for technological transformation, with technical transformation investment growing by 11.4% year-on-year. As the first large-scale integrated enterprise in China to specialize in the production of battery aluminum foil, Jiangyin Xinren Aluminum Foil Technology Co., Ltd. has invested a total of about 2 billion yuan in recent years to expand production and upgrade technology, laying a solid foundation for seizing the next wave of market dividends. A company representative stated that through its smart manufacturing and digital platform, the company's production capacity has doubled, with orders booked for the next two months. It is noteworthy that since the beginning of this year, Wuxi has sorted out the development status of enterprises and established a "two repositories and five lists" framework. Many high-quality projects have been successfully landed through one-on-one visits and targeted assistance. Jiangyin Sate Precision, as one of the few companies in the country capable of stably supplying precision machining tools in bulk, has reached full production capacity and urgently needs land for expansion. The company previously planned to implement a project for producing gear tools for harmonic reducers used in robot joints, with a total planned investment of 1 billion yuan and requiring 100 mu of land. The relevant departments in Jiangyin promptly implemented a three-step solution: providing temporary rental workshops, relocating to adjacent areas, and selecting an alternative site, ultimately keeping the project local. From simply building factories to expanding production lines and upgrading technology, a development philosophy focused on high-value-added, long-term profitable high-quality tracks is becoming increasingly clear. Following this path, the city's industry is steadily climbing higher.
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