(Data source: 2021 China Manufacturing Power Development Index Report; Graphic design: ZHONG Jianli)

By ZHONG Jianli and CAO Xiuying

Against the backdrop of a complex international world order and the COVID-19 pandemic, China has witnessed the largest increase in the manufacturing power development index among major countries in the world, according to a recent report.

The 2021 China's Manufacturing Power Development Index Report, published by the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), China Machinery Research Institute Group, and China Industrial Information Security Development Research Center, shows that China's manufacturing power development index reached 116.02 in 2020, an increase of 5.18 compared with 2019, the largest increase among major economies in the world.

The index consists of four items including scale development, quality and efficiency, structural optimization and sustainable development, which reflects the development level of a country's manufacturing industry.

According to the report, China ranked fourth in 2020, after the U.S., Germany and Japan.

It also indicates that China's manufacturing has shown "resilience," despite the complicated global times especially the COVID-19 pandemic.

"China's manufacturing industry has a complete system and is constantly developing towards the mid to high end. It is accelerating its integration into the global industrial chain, and its competitiveness continues to improve," said Shan Zhongde, a CAE academician.

Shan added that in terms of some specific indicators, from 2015 to 2020, the proportion of the added value of China's manufacturing industry to that of the world has increased from 18.45 percent to 18.70 percent, ranking first among all major economies. China has become the largest exporter of global trade in goods for 11 consecutive years. In 2020, China surpassed Germany for the first time to become the world's largest machinery equipment exporter.

China's manufacturing power in 2020 has been close to that of Japan. Under the premise of no major changes in the domestic and foreign macroeconomic environment, it is expected that China will enter the second tier of global manufacturing powers by 2025, and now it's in the third tier, according to Zhu Gaofeng, also a CAE academician.

But Zhu also noted that China's manufacturing industry still faces the challenge of unbalanced, uncoordinated and insufficient development. To reach the country's goal, the "quality and efficiency" of the industry should be improved.