EMO World Tour stops in Shenyang
Today the EMO World Tour made its second stop in China. This time in the northeastern cultural and economic center Shenyang. With the participation of VDW Managing Director Dr. Wilfried Schäfer (in the picture) together with Dr. Jochen Köckler, Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Messe AG. Both presented to the specialised public everything worth knowing about EMO Hannover, the international innovation show of metal processing.
Shenyang is the capital of Province Liaoning and has a long industrial tradition. In the beginning only the heavy and steel industry settled in Shenyang in the 1920s. Over the years the location grew and attracted more and more companies. Today, the industrial focus is on mechanical engineering, the automotive sector, aerospace and steel production. “Industrial production is the most important economic activity in the region” explains Wang Shutao, Deputy President of the Liaoning Mechanical & Electrical Products Import & Export Association (LNMEA). “With Shenyang Machine Tool Co. Ltd. and Dalian Machine Tool Group Corporation two of the biggest Chinese Machine Tool Builders are located in Shenyang.” “According to the 13th Five-Year Plan, the development focus in the region is on CNC technology, flexible manufacturing and automation”, continues Wang. The LNMEA supports the industry of the province in all trade areas and will organize a trade visitor delegation to EMO Hannover. “The journalist showed great interest in the offer of Match-Making”, Dr. Schäfer explained.
From quantity to quality
China’s economy has been taking a breather in recent years. The growth rates for GDP have settled down in the mid-double-figure range. For 2017 Oxford Economics is predicting a rise of 6.2 per cent. At the same time, the government’s official economic policy, as laid down in the current five-year plan, is focusing once again on the transition from quantitative to qualitative growth. Innovation, sustainability and quality are the watchwords. The intention is to increase capital investment in research and development. Nonetheless, there is quite a bit of uncertainty regarding the future thrust of development for the economy, reflected in subdued consumer spending in the domestic market, and a fall in imports. Exports, too, are down, due to reduced global demand. In this transitional period, the mood in the economy as a whole is quite naturally somewhat cautious. This is being reflected in the level of capital investment by the major user industries for machine tools, which in the current year is forecast to rise by only just over one per cent. There is significantly overproportional activity in the aviation sector, the automotive industry, in medical technology and electrical engineering. In the years ahead, growth rates in capital investment are expected to once again average between two and three per cent.
Foto: VDW