Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, propels the green transformation of the manufacturing sector. [Photo/WeChat account: opinionline]

Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province, has propelled the green transformation of the manufacturing sector and forged a new path in carbon reduction.

A total of 39 factories in Qingdao have been recognized as national "green factories". Qingdao leads the province in the number of green manufacturing demonstrtion projects at or above the provincial level and has ranked seventh on the list of China's top 100 advanced manufacturing cities for the past three years.

The city has built 57 green factories at or above the provincial level and nurtured 13 units recognized as national intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories. To date, Qingdao has cultivated 16 national-level technology innovation demonstration enterprises.

Employees work on the assembly line of a carmaker in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo by Zhang Jingang/for chinadaily.com.cn] 

Qingdao is focusing on resource coupling and recycling in industries such as petrochemicals and steel smelting. This includes exhausting and reducing newly generated industrial solid waste and reducing existing industrial solid waste. It is also promoting low-carbon collaboration between the upstream and downstream parts of the industrial chains, facilitating market-oriented cooperation between enterprises and cities in terms of water usage and heating.

In addition, it is adjusting financial policies to encourage and guide green and low-carbon development. For instance, financial incentives are being applied to green projects and demonstrations; the city encourages enterprises to participate in green electricity trading pilots; and the application of digital production methods is driving energy conservation and carbon reduction, leveraging big data, cloud computing, 5G and other information technologies in this domain. The city has also fostered 64 smart factories and 569 digitized workshops and automated production lines.

Haier's washing machine factory in the Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone. [Photo/WeChat account: qdgx2019]

Looking ahead, Qingdao will be steadfast in propelling manufacturing toward a high-end, intelligent and green transformation, striving to become a national demonstration zone for new industrialization.