In recent years, with the proposal of "China foundry 2025" and "Internet plus", "Industry 4.0" has also become a phenomenon level topic in China. However, looking forward to the future of China's manufacturing industry, it is still necessary to rely on local enterprises to open up a path with Chinese characteristics based on the current economic development situation. "Industry 4.0" does have some valuable reference points, but blindly following and imitating is not advisable.

Industry 4.0 "is a hot topic nowadays, proposed by Germany in 2011 as part of Germany's" National High tech Strategy ". In recent years, with the proposal of "Made in China 2025" and "Internet plus", "Industry 4.0" has also become a phenomenon level topic in China. In this situation, we should take Industry 4.0 with greater caution, as there are many differences between the two countries.

Why was Industry 4.0 introduced?

At present, Industry 4.0 and "Made in China 2025" have been listed as the top priorities of China's national strategic development. According to two recent reports by BCG, the use of Industry 4.0 new technology will increase the production efficiency of Chinese enterprises by 25%, creating an additional 6 trillion yuan in added value and affecting the work of millions of employees. Among them, nine digital industrial technologies, including automatic robots, additive manufacturing, reality enhancement tube technology, simulation technology, horizontal and vertical System integration, Industrial internet of things, cloud computing, network security and Big data analysis, will become the key to the success of Industry 4.0.

Currently, China's economic transformation will inevitably bring challenges to the traditional low-cost manufacturing industry. Manufacturing enterprises can only afford the increasing labor costs by moving upstream in the value chain. And 'Industry 4.0' is an important policy lever for the transformation of China's manufacturing industry. Of course, not all developing countries share China's enthusiasm for Industry 4.0. As the next world factory after China, there are significant differences in attitudes among Southeast Asian countries. In the future, the development differences between these countries may become increasingly significant.

Rational View of "Industry 4.0"

In fact, before the introduction of the concept of "Industry 4.0", China had already prepared for the intelligent and information-based transformation and upgrading of industrial production methods. The integration of the two has the shadow of "Industry 4.0". China's manufacturing industry has developed rapidly in recent years and has already crossed the era of only producing low-end manufacturing products. Although there is still a gap compared horizontally with Germany and Japan in the mid to high end manufacturing industry, vertically, the level of China's manufacturing industry has made a qualitative leap compared to previous years.

Industry 4.0 "was not the active choice of the German government. Its proposal was first stimulated by the" re industrialization "of developed countries, and second, Germany felt the challenges brought by the rise of emerging countries. Therefore, the proposal of "Industry 4.0" is not entirely a manifestation of Germany's leading manufacturing industry, but also a response plan forced by competitors. Therefore, looking forward to the future of China's manufacturing industry, it is necessary to rely on local enterprises to open up a path with Chinese characteristics based on the current economic development situation. "Industry 4.0" indeed has some valuable reference points, but blindly following and imitating is not advisable.

How to develop Industry 4.0?

Today, China's economic development has entered the New normal, and it needs to tap the potential from inside and outside to complete the transformation and upgrading of the economy. Therefore, China's consumer goods industry needs to exert efforts from both the supply and demand sides to carry out a "quality revolution". To win this "quality revolution", we need to call for "craftsmanship" at the spiritual level. Whether it is promoting the return of overseas consumption, exploring potential markets, or promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, Chinese manufacturing is required to improve quality, enrich varieties, establish brands, and overcome the "hard wounds" of poor product quality and performance. Only with quality can there be a future.

The rapid development of Industry 4.0 has brought a consumer era in China that places greater emphasis on fine quality and unique experiences. To some extent, in the process of developing the "Industry 4.0" industry, what Chinese manufacturing and Chinese enterprises lack is not technology, but a calm and composed concept. At present, China's manufacturing industry urgently needs to abandon the development mindset of being eager for quick success and instant benefits. Only in this way can we truly cultivate a large number of "great country craftsmen", form China's craftsmanship spirit, and truly assist in supply side structural reform.

In the construction process of Industry 4.0, there are many layout outlets, including the eight major fields of new generation information technology, high-end CNC machine tools and robots, ocean engineering equipment and high-tech ships, advanced rail transit equipment, energy-saving and new energy vehicles, power equipment, new materials, and the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry, which are the top priorities of the layout.