By Ren Ping, People’s Daily

Despite the ongoing global economic headwinds, recent data from two key sectors provide compelling evidence of China’s resilient economic trajectory.

On May 12, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that, for the first time ever, both production and sales of automobiles in China surpassed 10 million units in the first four months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 12.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively. Among these, exports of new energy vehicles (NEVs) reached 642,000 units, up 52.6 percent from a year ago.

The robust performance of the auto sector, a strategic and pillar industry, reflects the deeper logic behind China’s high-quality development.

Additionally, customs data released on May 9 showed that China’s total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms expanded 2.4 percent year on year in the first four months of this year. In April alone, China’s foreign trade was up 5.6 percent year on year, with exports rising 9.3 percent.

Despite global uncertainties, particularly in trade, China’s manufacturing and innovation strengths have allowed the country to sustain its economic momentum.

Reuters reported that China’s factory output showed surprising resilience in April, a sign that government support measures may have cushioned the impact of a trade war with the United States.

Together, these data points not only reflect the resilience of the Chinese economy but also its promising outlook for the future.

China’s confidence in tackling risks and challenges stems from effective macroeconomic policy and capable governance.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the total number of applications for auto trade-in subsidies in China exceeded 10 million by May 11, under a mass renewal program initiated in 2024. International media outlets said this program has been particularly effective in counteracting the negative effect of U.S. tariffs on consumer confidence.

Beyond facilitating millions of vehicle upgrades, the program has significantly boosted sales of durable goods. In the first quarter, the policy helped drive a 19 percent year-on-year increase in investment in equipment and tools, and contributed to a 4.6 percent rise in total retail sales of consumer goods.

Moreover, the synergy between technological innovation and industrial upgrading is unlocking new momentum.

China’s auto industry today is experiencing a surge in technological innovation, with major advancements being made in electric vehicle (EV) technology.

For instance, Chinese EV battery giant CATL recently launched a new brand for its sodium-ion battery with a life cycle of over 10,000 charges and performance evenin extreme temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius. Inside a welding workshop of Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) in Yichang, cemtral China’sHubei province, over 500 robots work in sync, producing a new car every 52 seconds.

The shift toward high-end, intelligent, and green production is rapidly becoming standard practice. A more dynamic equilibrium — where supply responds to demand and demand drives new supply — has transitioned from a theoretical ideal to practical reality.

At the recently concluded 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition(Auto Shanghai 2025), over 100 new models made their global debut, with over 70 percent being NEVs. Cutting-edge technologies were everywhere at the event. As Germany’s Die Welt commented, anyone visiting Auto Shanghai 2025 would feel that the future has already come to China.

From technology importer to exporter, from attracting investment to making overseas investment, and from adapting to standards to setting them, China is gaining new competitive advantages and expanding its role in global cooperation.

In the first four months of 2024, China’s high-tech exports rose 7.4 percent year on year, accounting for around 20 percent of the country’s total exports and contributing to a 1.3percentage point rise in overall export growth. This thriving “innovation ecosystem” is central to China’s ability to navigate economic cycles and mitigate risks.

Green and low-carbon development is not only a long-term solution to environmental challenges but also a global trend. From January to April, China’s NEV output and sales both exceeded 4 million units, marking a year-on-year growth of over 45 percent.

Chinese NEV manufacturers are intensifying efforts in renewable energy, energy efficiency, material recycling, and technological upgrades to reduce carbon emissions throughout the supply chain. NEVs are now ubiquitous on Chinese streets, and more and more young Chinese are choosing NEVs as their first cars.This symbiotic relationship between green production and green lifestyles is accelerating.

Besides, Chinese manufacturing and global demand are also mutually reinforcing.

In the first quarter of this year, major destinations for Chinese auto exports included Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Australia. A popular Brazilian auto influencer recently remarked that Chinese NEVs are becoming a new choice for car buyers in Brazil. Ricardo Bastos, president of the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles, emphasized: “We need clean energy to replace fossil fuels. This industrial transformation is sweeping the world.”

By embracing the opportunities presented by digital and green transformation and by leveraging both global and domestic markets, Chinese smart manufacturing is not only meeting people’s aspirations for a better life but also playing a pivotal role in the global transition to clean mobility.

By Zhang Xiaodong, Guo Yue, Li Yanan, People’s Daily

In a smart agriculture pavilion at the Xinjiang Agricultural Expo Park in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, rows of leafy greens flourish on a mobile, multi-layered vertical growing system. It’s a vivid display of how advanced agricultural technology is reshaping farming practices in the region.

According to Yan Ji, director of the pavilion, the system’s artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms process over 100,000 data points per second, automatically adjusting devices such as wet curtain fans, shading screens, and supplemental lighting. This keeps environmental conditions stable and shortens the growth cycle for leafy vegetables from the usual 70 days to just 18 to 25 days.

By integrating frontier technologies such as spiral bio-mimetic cultivation, container farming, vertical rail systems, and reciprocating rotary racks, the smart agriculture pavilion supports three cultivation modes: vertical, circular planar, and traction-based systems. These approaches significantly boost crop output per unit of land. All equipment isinterconnected via a 5G network and centrally controlled, enabling full automation from seeding to harvest while reducing labor and saving water and fertilizer.

Today, the facility produces 100 tons of leafy vegetables and 70 tons of tomatoes annually. “Over 90% of the equipment used here is domestically made, and we’ve secured more than 50 patents,” Yan said.

The Xinjiang Agricultural Expo Park has introduced over 2,000 new crop varieties, technologies, and sets of equipment. More than 100 scientific research achievements have been put into practical use or demonstrated, and over 30 original patents have been filed.

At the production base of Xinjiang Boshiran Intelligent Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd., the pace of smart manufacturing is equally impressive.

Inside the facility, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) follow preset routes, scanning QR codes and transporting materials from warehouses to assembly lines, where cotton harvesters are being assembled in an orderly fashion. A large digital display tracks real-time data on equipment status, daily energy consumption, and product quality.

“The addition of laser cutters and large CNC (computer numerical control) machines has greatly enhanced both efficiency and product quality,” said Wu Yongcheng, director of the general manager’s office.

“In 2024, our cotton harvesters accounted for nearly 50% of the domestic market,” said Zeng Xiaowen, director of the company’s after-sales service center. “We’re also expanding globally, with our four-row and six-row cotton harvesters now being exported to Central Asia, Australia, Egypt, and other markets.”

By the end of 2024, the level of mechanization in plowing, planting, and harvesting across Xinjiang reached 90 percent, placing the region among the national leaders in agricultural modernization.

Today, farmers in Xinjiang can be seen in crisp shirts while operating drones in the fields as a new generation of high-tech agriculture is taking root.

With the support of agricultural drones, the Internet of Things (IoT), and intelligent farm management systems, two young farmers born in the 1990s, Ai Haipeng and Ling Lei, manage several thousand mu (1 mu≈667 square meters) of cotton fields in Yuli county, Mongolian autonomous prefecture of Bayingolin in Xinjiang.

At first, their ambitions faced skepticism from local cotton growers who had been farming for decades. “Managing 3,000 mu of cotton typically requires a team of 20 or 30 people,” they were told. “How can two guys with no farming experience possibly handle it?”

Yet they proved the doubters wrong. By adopting a technique called “cotton-wheat strip intercropping,” they have significantly improved seedling emergence rates and harvest efficiency. They apply pesticides using drones, reducing chemical use and lowering costs. Remote sensing drones are used to monitor crop height and precisely track plant growth, while intelligent integrated water and fertilizer systems minimize fertilizer use. Not only do they manage the fields well, they have also achieved higher-than-average yields.

Hundreds of kilometers away, in Manas county of Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, field management is also undergoing a revolution powered by smart technology.

May is typically the busiest time of year in the cotton fields, but this year, almost no presence of farmers could be found in the fields in Manas. Instead, intelligent sprayers were moving methodically through rows of cotton.

“Our village has a modern agricultural cooperative,” said Song Guolin, a major cotton grower in Shangzhuangzi village, Letuyi township, Manas county. “All our tractors are equipped with satellite-guided autopilot systems, precision seeders, and intelligent spraying machines. From planting to harvesting, it’s all done by machines.”

Even spraying schedules are automated. “We have sensors in the cotton fields that collect environmental data. Technicians analyze that information to tell us exactly when to spray,” said Xu Rongwen, a farmer in Guangfeng village, Guangdongdi township. “Technologyacts like a ‘nanny’ for our fields. It makes farming easier and gives us confidence,” Xu added

By Li Xinping, People’s Daily

Towering wind turbines now dot the landscape across China. As the wind picks up, their enormous blades – measuring tens of meters long and weighing several tons – rotate gracefully, converting breezes into energy. None of this would be possible without a set of crucial components: the bearings.

“Years ago, a leading Chinese wind power company planned to deploy wind turbines along the coast and, based on past experience, initially chose foreign suppliers. But when those suppliers failed to deliver, we stepped in,” said Liu Haojie, an engineer at the technology center of Luoyang Bearing Group Co., Ltd. (LYC).

“Leveraging China’s only national key laboratory for aerospace precision bearings, we successfully developed in record time the main bearing for the world’s then-largest 16-megawatt wind turbine, with several technical indicators reaching world-leading levels,” Liu explained.

Every memberof Liu’s team still takes pride in the project. “The turbines equipped with our bearings set a global single-day power generation record at the time, and have withstood multiple typhoons. They are still running smoothly today,” he said.

Known as the “joints” of industry, bearings are essential to nearly any machine or device that involves rotation. Starting from humble beginnings, manually crafting basic bearings with imported tools, LYC has, over its 70-year history, grown into a manufacturer of over 30,000 types of bearings across nine major categories, providing vital support for China’s industrial strength on land, sea, and in space.

LYC’s development mirrors the broader transformation of China’s bearing industry. According to the China Bearing Industry Association, the industry achieved a record revenue of 231.5 billion yuan ($32.13 billion) in 2024, up 6.2% year on year, with total output of 33.7 billion bearing units, a 17.3% increase.

In the first quarter of 2025, 160 major bearing enterprises in China reported a combined industrial output of 25.4 billion yuan, up 11.14% from a year ago. They achieved 7.63 billion yuan in industrial added value, up 10.97%.

From micro machinery to massive equipment, bearings are everywhere, and Chinese-made bearings are moving rapidly up the value chain.

On April 24, the Shenzhou-20 manned spacecraft was sent to space atop a Long March-2F Y20 carrier rocket, once again showcased the reliability of China’s homegrown bearings.

Key components of the rocket’s propulsion system, such as three-point contact ball bearings developed by Luoyang Bearing Research Institute Co., Ltd. (ZYS) under Sinomach Precision Industry Group Co., Ltd., played a vital role in ensuring this launch.

For the spacecraft itself, ZYS designed high-precision, low-noise, self-lubricating bearings tailored for the drive system, ensuringthe reliable operation ofkey rotating mechanisms.

In recent years, Chinese bearing manufacturers have provided high-quality products for the Shenzhou spacecraft series and the Long March rockets. LYC also developed the precision bearings for the FAST – the 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, the world’s largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope, helping it achieve unmatched sensitivity and accuracy. Their products also enabled the radio telescope on Changbai Mountain to guide lunar probes with high directional precision.

In March 2024, the main bearings and gearbox bearings for the world’s first 25 MW wind turbine rolled off the production line at Luoyang Bearing Science and Technology Co., Ltd., marking the first applicationin a wind turbine of such large single-unit capacity.

Once heavily dependent on imports, China can now independently design and manufacture critical components for ultra-large wind turbines. This marks a significant leap toward ensuring full autonomy in the wind energy supply chain and safeguarding the industry’s security.

From dancing and marathon running to twisting screws, robots can perform complex, fluid motions with the help of precision bearings that support rotation and minimize friction.

“14 years ago, we started from scratch. After countless trials and improvements, we finally mastered the core technologies for robot bearings,” said Wu Qiaoling, general manager of Luoyang Hongyuan Bearing Technology Co., Ltd. Since 2020, their products have expanded into overseas markets including Japan.