On July 27th, Foshan witnessed the holding of Conference on Manufacturing Digital and Intelligent Transformation and Development, where "Promotion Measures on Digital and Intelligent Transformation and Development for Manufacturing in Foshan" (hereinafter referred to as "the Measures") was released. Targeted at high-quality growth of local manufacturing industry, the city government will lean stronger supports towards enterprises amid digital, networking, and intelligent upgrading.

As a major manufacturing city, Foshan gives top priority to upgrading manufacturing industry and regards it as a fundamental mission. The Measures came as a result to showcase their resolution in leading more changes in industrial upgrading.

KUKA robots working in intelligent workshops at Midea

According to the Measures, Foshan works to level up policy supports in five areas: 1) pushing forward digitalization and intelligence process among manufacturing enterprises; 2) increasing financial support; 3) pushing forward digitalization and intelligence process among industrial clusters; 4) improving the capacity for more digitalization and intelligence supply; 5) optimizing public digital and intelligent services. All measures are essential to reducing costs, coping with a shortage of technical talents and, most importantly, shaping a positive ecology for manufacturing digital and intelligent transformation.

Based on varied levels of digital intelligence, a few forms of demonstration projects are encouraged, including digital/intelligent factories, digital/intelligent workshops, industrial Internet demonstration projects and digital/intelligent transformation demonstration projects, which can be modeled after by manufacturing enterprises of different sectors, scales, and development stages. On top of that, stronger incentives will also be pooled to facilitate massive digital transformation among small and medium-sized enterprises.

As mentioned in the Measures, Foshan will certify a maximum of 30 digital/intelligent demonstration factories, 100 digital/intelligent demonstration workshops and 30 industrial Internet demonstration projects on a yearly basis. Specifically, there should be a maximum of 10 first-class digital/intelligent demonstration factories (with a one-time reward of 20 million yuan at most), a maximum of 10 second-class digital/intelligent demonstration factories (with a one-time reward of 15 million yuan at most) and a maximum of 10 third-class digital/intelligent demonstration factories (with a one-time reward of 10 million yuan at most).

Galanz sees improved productivity through Intelligence transformation

Foshan will continue its supports in fixed asset investment in ways that facilitate technological transformation of industrial enterprises, by funding a guaranteed share of 10% in fixed asset investments in digital equipment and its supporting devices, digital systems, industrial control software and other digital and intelligent transformation. Funding policies for other types of fixed asset investment remained the same. As of industrial enterprises above state designated scale, they can receive up to 100 million yuan in total fixed investment per year for their cause of technological transformation, while others up to 60 million yuan per year.

Reportedly, the Measures will be valid from August 24, 2021 to August 23, 2024.