Smart manufacturing has been a buzzword during this year’s Two Sessions in China, where delegates put forward proposals to upgrade manufacturing in the country under new-quality productive forces.
As per a recent report by Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics IMD Business School, China is the world’s sole manufacturing superpower and its production exceeds that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined.
The article noted that six nations manufacture at least 3% of the world total, with China taking a leading role, followed by the US, Japan, Germany, India, and South Korea. In terms of gross production, China’s share is three times the US’ share, six times Japan’s, and nine times Germany’s.
The author added that there has been a remarkable, historical, world-shaping asymmetry in supply chain reliance between China and other major manufacturing countries. All the major manufacturers in the world source at least 2% of all their industrial inputs from China, and that decoupling from China, as suggested by some politicians, would be very difficult, costly and disruptive.
