Innovation fuels dynamic growth

Manufacturing powerhouse Changsha of Hunan province is gearing up its innovative resources to develop into a world research and development center.

On Sept 13, Sunward Intelligent Equipment held its international bulk delivery ceremony at Sunward Industrial City in northwest Changsha, showcasing trucks loaded with tons of construction machinery destined for other countries and regions, including Europe, Australia, Africa and Indonesia.

As a made-in-China brand, Sunward Intelligent is a pioneer in the global engineering machinery marketplace and has fully utilized its innovative advantages to overcome technical challenges and achieve milestones in cutting-edge research.

Hunan CHMM-Sunwards New Material, a subsidiary of Sunward Intelligent, has established an R&D center in Changsha to support the R&D of new energy technologies for construction machinery. Teamed with colleges including Tsinghua University, Central South University and Hunan University, CHMM-Sunwards has conducted more than 1,000 experiments focusing on the R&D of ultra-high-temperature equipment and process development in the field of new energy and new materials, which has helped tackle a century-old challenge in the continuous production of high-temperature artificial graphite equipment.

SEG Automotive, a German auto parts manufacturer that set up its Chinese headquarters in Changsha, has invested 3 billion yuan ($420.38 million) to build its global R&D center for new energy products and technologies.

The center, which commenced construction earlier this year, covers more than 13,000 square meters and will serve as SEG China's electric research and testing hub, as well as providing R&D, trial production and performance testing for its global electric system and product technology.

The establishment of Changsha R&D centers by companies such as Sunward and SEG has injected new impetus into the city's industrial transformation, in line with its initiative to become a global R&D center, local officials said. According to the city's plan, Changsha has mapped out a strategy that mobilizes global resources and rewards research results to the globe, and it will look for more foreign investment, combined with Changsha's industries and development strength, to achieve that goal.

At the inauguration ceremony for constructing Changsha as a global R&D center in early September, 18 projects for establishing R&D centers were unveiled, and 16 were signed. In cooperation with leading businesses, scientific research institutions and colleges, the projects involve industries and fields such as advanced manufacturing, computing, healthcare, new energy, and artificial intelligence.

Among them, German adhesives manufacturer Klebchemie M.G. Becker GmbH & Co. KG and Chinese brand Banfert New Materials have signed a cooperation agreement to invest about 200 million yuan to build a polyurethane hot melt and adhesive R&D center and production base with an estimated annual production capacity of 20,000 metric tons in Changsha.

Another project, a net-zero new materials laboratory jointly established by German manufacturing giants Zurbrueggen, Hoermann and Sievert, aims to leverage the advantages of international platforms to attract more overseas and local top-level talents. The laboratory will focus on eco-friendly new material system solutions and products, aiming to become a leading research and innovation model in the zero-carbon and energy-saving building materials industry in Changsha.

Wu Guiying, Party secretary of Changsha, said: "Give the best plots to research institutions, and the best scenery to researchers."

Meanwhile, the number of foreign investors flocking to Changsha has dramatically increased. In 2022, the city's paid-in foreign capital reached $3.1 billion, up 54.4 percent year-on-year, ranking it first among cities in Central China.