Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group's chairman Wang Min is interviewed by CGTN in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, September 10, 2017. (Photo/CGTN)
After making Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) to be the only Chinese company in the global machinery top-ten club, Wang Min, XCMG's chairman, draws a conclusion that Chinese companies could be the global leaders only through innovation and globalization.
A slew of Chinese economic data released on Thursday came in weaker than expected, but a breakdown shows machinery production surged, continuing a trend that sent XCMG's first half earnings up three-fold.
"Exports surged 70 percent in the first eight months of this year combined with other international operations. That means our international revenues make up about 30 percent of the total. XCMG wants to work very hard in globalization, because we're very competitive already," Wang said.
And the key recipe for success, in Wang's mind, is top quality. "It must be about quality reputation – unbreakable. Otherwise Chinese businesses should just close shop," Wang stressed.
2017 is a big year for Chinese SOEs, as the Chinese government pledged to deepen state-owned enterprises (SOE) reform in its annual government work report. When many SOEs are struggling with the dilemma, XCMG, a local SOE, has already grown into a world-class enterprise with both national and international presence.
"In the past few years, we overestimated the market and that led to some idle assets, wasteful investments. We've been de-risking and improving our quality of growth," Wang noted.
Now, with over 100 different machines and more than 300 models in its portfolio, XCMG has found its way out. And Wang suggested SOEs to tackle low return on assets.
"Some central government-owned companies have massive asset bases, but very low returns. This must be resolved," Wang stressed.
