Recently, the reporter learned from the Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology that in 2023, Zhejiang achieved an added value of 1307.01 billion yuan for enterprises above designated size in 17 key traditional manufacturing industries, an increase of 6.8% compared to the previous year; and a total profit of 312.99 billion yuan, an increase of 0.1% compared to the previous year. The profit growth rate has turned from negative to positive for the first time in nearly two years.
The data shows that traditional manufacturing plays an increasingly significant role in supporting industry. In 2023, the 17 key traditional manufacturing industries in Zhejiang showed an overall stable trend of "production and sales growth with profit recovery", while the proportion of total output value remained stable at around 61% for enterprises above designated size in traditional manufacturing industries. Especially since September last year, the cumulative growth rate of industrial added value has been higher than the provincial average for four consecutive months in the 17 key traditional manufacturing industries.
The profitability is steadily improving. The growth rate of total profits in the 17 industries showed an overall trend of "10 positive and 7 negative". Among them, 7 industries such as low-voltage electrical and automotive components achieved positive growth for 6 consecutive months, accelerating the recovery of industrial profits.
Traditional industries do not mean backward productivity. Since last year, starting from the reality of local conditions, Zhejiang has provided classified guidance to enhance the transformation of traditional industries, and integrated six key traditional industries into the "415X" advanced manufacturing cluster cultivation projects to promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of industries, achieving significant results. Take the automotive parts industry for example. The cumulative growth rate in industrial added value for enterprises above designated size remained above 17% for nine consecutive months last year, and reached 19.7% for the whole year.
"The transformation and upgrading of traditional industries is a key link in stimulating new quality productivity," said an official of the Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology. Against the backdrop of rising factor costs and tightening resource constraints, the comparative advantages of traditional industries are gradually disappearing. Only by taking the path of deep transformation and upgrading, and relying on technological and factor innovation, can we generate new quality productivity and reshape new competitive advantages.
In the whole province of Zhejiang, the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries are steadily advancing. Last year, Zhejiang implemented a smart improvement action for enterprises, creating 193 intelligent factories (digital workshops) and 20 future factories. In terms of R&D investment, the 17 key traditional manufacturing industries have shown no weakness in innovation investment. The industrial R&D expenditure reached 189.40 billion yuan for enterprises above designated size, an increase of 9.1% compared to the previous year. By industry, the total labor productivity of 13 industries was higher than the average level of key traditional manufacturing industries in the province (271,000 yuan per capita yearly), with the chemical industry leading the province throughout the year (2.02 million yuan per capita yearly).