Look at the New Look of These "First Factories" (Economic Focus)

(Original Title: From the “First Five-Year Plan” to the “Fifteen-Five Plan,” Striving with Full Effort and Riding the Momentum—A Look at the New Faces of These “First Factories” (Economic Focus))

The “Fifteen-Five” Plan Outline proposes optimizing and upgrading traditional industries. Traditional industries are the backbone of China’s industrial system, accounting for about 80% of the added value in manufacturing. Improving and upgrading these industries is an essential foundation for accelerating the development of new quality productivity.

How can traditional industries upgrade and develop towards new and better directions? There is no waiting for brilliance; only creating brilliance through action. Those old factories engraved with the marks of the times are now full of energy and riding the momentum. Recently, reporters visited the “First Factories” from the “First Five-Year Plan” period, such as FAW, China First Heavy Industries, and China First Tractor, to see how they are cultivating new momentum and setting sail again in the first year of the “Fifteen-Five” plan.

—Editor

China FAW Group Corporation—

Building Brands, Upgrading Intelligent Manufacturing of Domestic Good Cars

Reporter: Men Jiewei

Changchun, Jilin—At FAW Hongqi Prosperity Factory, industrial robot arms extend and rotate, with cars moving forward along conveyor systems. Every 54 seconds, a new energy vehicle rolls off the production line.

“Through digital and intelligent upgrades, the factory has improved production efficiency and achieved mixed-line production of different models,” said Zhang Guolong, Senior Director of Assembly Technology at FAW Engineering Technology Department. On average, about 1,000 cars are produced daily at the Hongqi Prosperity Factory.

From the past clacking sound of wrenches in workshops to the efficient operation of various industrial robots today, FAW regards innovation as its primary driving force, promoting high-quality development.

On July 15, 1953, as a key construction project during China’s “First Five-Year Plan,” the First Automobile Manufacturing Plant held its groundbreaking ceremony in Changchun. Three years later, China’s first domestically produced car, the “Jiefang” truck, rolled off the line here, ending China’s history of being unable to manufacture cars. “Workers worked tirelessly for 33 days, manually forging China’s first high-end car, the ‘Hongqi’,” said Xu Dongming, Director of the FAW Hongqi Cultural Exhibition Hall.

Growing alongside China’s automotive industry, FAW has continued to explore and advance during its period of innovative development. By 2025, FAW’s vehicle sales are expected to exceed 3.3 million units, with domestic brand car sales surpassing 940,000 units, a 15% increase year-on-year; sales of new energy vehicles are projected to exceed 366,000 units, a 71.4% increase.

Innovative transformation is revitalizing vitality. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, FAW has overcome more than 1,500 key core technologies, applied for over 22,000 invention patents; completed the trial production and verification of 66Ah all-solid-state batteries, with major indicators leading internationally; jointly developed China’s first advanced process multi-domain fusion chip—“Hongqi No. 1”—successfully lit up; deeply integrated artificial intelligence into production, operations, and services, accelerating development on the new track of automotive industry transformation through a series of intelligent practices.

Rolling wheels and honking horns. At Changchun International Land Port, FAW-produced new energy vehicles are transported via China-Europe trains to Europe. FAW actively participates in high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, with business coverage in over 100 countries and regions, and its brand influence continues to grow.

To promote high-quality development of China’s automotive manufacturing industry, it is necessary to strengthen independent R&D of key core technologies and components, and to build strong national brands. “Looking ahead to the ‘Fifteen-Five,’ FAW has launched a comprehensive three-year action for new breakthroughs in transformation and development, and is accelerating toward becoming a world-class mobility technology company,” said a relevant FAW official.

China First Heavy Industries Group Co., Ltd.—

Building Heavy Equipment, Integrating into Global Industrial and Supply Chains

Reporter: Liu Mengdan

At China First Heavy Industries’ production base in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, a ceremony was recently held for the completion of China’s first domestically developed standard 1-million-level conventional island forging low-pressure rotor. As the red cloth was slowly unveiled, the core component of the nuclear power conventional island appeared, with the surface of the giant forging shining like a mirror.

The manufacturing process of the conventional island forging low-pressure rotor is complex and demands strict capabilities. “China First Heavy Industries has overcome multiple technical challenges, including large steel ingot smelting, grain refinement, and precision control, laying a solid foundation for the localization of core equipment in China’s nuclear power conventional islands,” said Song Chuanbao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of the Materials Industry Department.

Since the 1950s, China First Heavy Industries has borne the mission of “building heavy equipment for the motherland.” In 1958, the company produced China’s first batch of steel and iron. In the early days of construction, “without lifting equipment, workers in temperatures below -30°C shouted slogans, pulling chains and moving parts weighing hundreds of kilograms, fully committed to production,” said Chi Hai, Chief Technician of the Milling Workshop at China First Heavy Industries’ Mechanical Equipment Manufacturing Plant.

Walking into the production workshop, a new batch of nuclear power main pump forgings is being manufactured. “Building heavy equipment requires craftsmanship and innovation from all staff,” said Liu Boming, a national model worker and chief forging technician at China First Heavy Industries’ forging factory. “We conducted over a hundred simulation tests, with each data point requiring extreme precision.”

To encourage exploration and innovation, “the company selects technical and skilled leaders, providing honors and material rewards, which stimulates everyone’s enthusiasm for innovation,” Liu Boming added. Over the past 70 years, China First Heavy Industries has supplied 6 million tons of machinery products for national economic construction, filled 624 gaps in domestic industrial technology, and developed 452 new products. With more advanced technology and better services, it has deeply integrated into the global industrial and supply chains. In December last year, two EO/EG reactors for the China-Poly-Gulf of Suez Ethylene Project, manufactured by China First Heavy Industries, set sail from the Dalian nuclear power petrochemical equipment manufacturing base. “China First Heavy Industries has become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of ethylene oxide reactors,” said Feng Dongxu, Secretary of the Party Committee, Director, and General Manager of China First Heavy Industries’ nuclear power and petrochemical division.

“Looking ahead to the ‘Fifteen-Five,’ the group will focus on high-end equipment, high-end materials, and new energy development, actively enhancing core competitiveness, promoting value addition, technological leadership, industrial upgrading, reform empowerment, and talent development,” said a relevant official.

China First Tractor Group Co., Ltd.—

Focusing on R&D, Expanding the Market for New Agricultural Machinery

Reporter: Zhang Wenhao

Heavy chassis are transported by automated guided vehicles to the assembly line; truss robots lift large tires and precisely place them on the frame… In the assembly workshop of China First Tractor Group in Luoyang, Henan, an average of one “Dongfanghong” tractor rolls off the line every three minutes.

“This batch of products is our newly developed heavy-duty, power-shift tractors based on large-scale farm operation scenarios. They are not only large and powerful but also smarter and more efficient,” said Wang Yuzhe, Director of Product R&D at China First Tractor.

Founded in 1955 as the original First Tractor Factory in Luoyang, the company broke ground in 1955. In 1958, the first tractor rolled off the line, marking the beginning of China’s agricultural mechanization.

Walking into the farm machinery museum inside the factory, the Dongfanghong Model 54 tracked tractor is on display. As China’s first self-developed “Iron Bull,” it witnessed the development of this “First Five-Year Plan” old factory. “In the past, without specialized equipment, the factory relied on manual labor—pulling, lifting, moving, and shaking,” explained guide Zhang Ying.

During the early days of reform and opening up, with the implementation of the household contract responsibility system, rural land was divided into small plots. “The factory adjusted its R&D approach in time and produced the first generation of small-power wheeled tractors,” said Xue Zhifei, a national model worker and senior engineer at China First Tractor. “For example, the Dongfanghong 15-horsepower small four-wheel tractor can be used for plowing during busy farming seasons and for transportation during off-season, gaining market recognition.” Today, China First Tractor develops products for various scenarios, including hilly and mountainous areas, dry and paddy fields, and horticulture.

“A single large horsepower wheeled tractor contains over a thousand parts. Behind each machine is a vast supply chain system,” Xue Zhifei said. In Luoyang, more than 200 companies supply parts for China First Tractor.

At the Henan Dongfanghong (Luoyang) International Land Port, containers from the China-Central Asia train are slowly departing, carrying the latest tractors and parts produced by China First Tractor to Kazakhstan. “Currently, our products are exported to over 100 countries and regions,” said Dan Chunyu, Vice General Manager of China First Tractor’s international trade company.

“Focusing on technological development directions such as intelligent control, efficient operation, energy saving, and environmental protection, we are tackling key ‘bottleneck’ technologies,” said a company official. “In the ‘Fifteen-Five,’ we will accelerate the R&D and application of high-end intelligent tractors with large horsepower, stepless transmission, power shift, and hybrid power, helping domestic agricultural machinery move toward high-quality development.”