A replica of the Jinghua tunnel boring machine is showcased at China Brand Day on May 10, 2023.Photo: GT/Qi Xijia

As Chinese companies forge ahead with high-tech products and solutions that shine in the domestic market and stand out among international competitors, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are taking a leading role in pushing the country's industrial modernization by combining resources to break through core technology bottlenecks, company representatives said on Wednesday, the opening day of the China Brand Day expo. 

The five-day expo being held in Shanghai is an eye-catching stage for Chinese SOEs to display products using their self-developed high technology, ranging from the Jinghua tunnel boring machine and China Space Station to China's third-generation nuclear power technology Guohe One.

These products are the crystallization of China's technological progress, as the country mounts efforts to research self-developed tech and break the monopolies of overseas companies.

At the China Brand Day expo's exhibition hall that gathered stated-owned exhibitors, the Global Times saw a model of Jinghua, the largest domestically made tunnel boring machine developed by China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC), which shows how Chinese enterprises have broken through bottleneck technologies in the shield tunneling machine sector to replace overseas products.

The machine has a maximum excavation diameter of 16.07 meters. The surface settlement during excavation is kept within three millimeters, a world-class level.

"After nearly 20 years of development, the difficult situation under which Chinese companies had to import tunnel boring machines and pay high maintenance fees has changed, " Shi Qingtao,party chief of China Railway 14th Bureau Group Mega Shield Construction Engineering Corp under CRCC, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Shi said that some of the company's tunnel boring machines are exported to Russia, Turkey, India and the markets of developed countries such as Singapore.

"Tunnel survey and design, equipment manufacturing and construction technology from Chinese companies have reached the international level and even lead the world in some fields," Shi said.

There are many other exhibits like this that reflect China's manufacturing prowess with increasing technological self-reliance. For instance, the China State Shipbuilding Corp displayed a model of the country's first self-made large-scale cruise ship. China is the fifth country to manufacture such ships after Germany, France, Italy and Finland. 

Such manufacturing achievements are also a reflection of Chinese SOEs' leading role in pushing industrial modernization by joining forces from industry, academia and research.

When presiding over the first meeting of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs under the 20th CPC Central Committee, China's top leader said that China must speed up the construction of the country's modern industrial system backed by the real economy, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency on May 5. 

According to the meeting, in order to build a modern industrial system that is holistic, advanced and secure, China should seize opportunities presented by the new scientific and technological revolution, such as artificial intelligence, as well as maintain and strengthen its advantages of a complete industrial system and strong supporting capacity.  

At the China Brand Day, State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) displayed a model of Guohe One, China's third-generation nuclear power technology. 

The company told the Global Times on Wednesday that it has taken the lead in building an integrated, innovative system that combines more than 600 entities such as universities, scientific research institutions, equipment manufacturing enterprises, and more than 31,000 scientific and research staff. 

"You cannot get core technologies by asking, buying or begging," the company said, adding that it spent about 16 years on developing Guohe One, with more than 9,700 intellectual property achievements. 

Shi also said that China Railway Construction Corp has cultivated an experts team to make breakthroughs in a series of systemic technology innovations such as remote control technology to provide "wisdom and strength" for Chinese modernization.