Chinese construction machinery brands shine along Belt and Road

Chinese construction machinery has been sold to 218 countries and regions around the world, especially those along the Belt and Road, becoming “shining stars” on construction sites along the route.

Exports of China’s construction machinery bucked the trend and reached $34.04 billion in 2021, up 62.3 percent year on year, according to statistics from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.

Export-bound homemade construction machinery products await loading at Yantai Port, east China’s Shandong Province, Aug. 2, 2022. (Photo/Zhang Chao)

Ten Chinese construction machinery companies, represented by Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd. (XCMG), Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., and Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd., feature among the world’s top 50 machinery enterprises.

Nearly 100 construction machinery units from Sany Group were used in the construction of eight stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, according to Xu Dawei, head of the Qatar markets of Sany Heavy Industry, a listed arm of Sany Group.

Xu explained that construction machinery products exported to the Middle East have been specially improved so that they can operate smoothly in conditions such as high temperatures and blowing dust.

“Because of the tight schedule for Al Thumama Stadium, we had to construct continuously for one month without interruptions and failures, which meant a high requirement on our products,” said Xu, adding that the client spoke highly of the high quality and reliability of Sany’s products after the project was completed.

Photo shows a 4,000-ton XGC88000 crawler crane developed by XCMG, a Chinese machinery manufacturer, at a construction site in Saudi Arabia. (People’s Daily Overseas Edition/courtesy of the interviewee)

Chinese construction machinery companies have continuously expanded in the international market with their premium products that meet local needs and all-weather services. Sany Heavy Industry, for example, raked in 25.88 billion yuan (about $3.7 billion) in global sales revenue between January and September 2022, up 43.7 percent year on year.

In Marina district, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, Zoomlion’s L250-20 luffing-jib tower crane, due to its high performance and efficiency, is being used for the construction of the Ciel Tower project in Dubai, the world’s tallest hotel building.

Zoomlion has also provided high-quality services for the project. Its special team for the project offers optimal design and construction solutions and systematic training on the installation, operation and maintenance of tower cranes.

“Zoomlion’s spare parts center in Dubai has supported us greatly when there was a shortage of spare parts for tower cranes, and ensured the use of two town cranes as scheduled. Our staff members are very satisfied with Zoomlion’s services,” said a person in charge of equipment management and maintenance of the project.

Industry insiders believe that Chinese construction machinery companies are making a name along the Belt and Road due to their cost-effective products and competitive services.

In July this year, XCMG’s 2,000-ton crawler crane, the world’s largest telescopic wind power-oriented crane, was exported to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 2,000-ton crane, which can lift 135 tons of equipment to a height of 160 meters, is currently being used for the country’s largest new energy power generation project.

Photo shows a L250-20 luffing-jib tower crane developed by Zoomlion, a Chinese machinery manufacturer, at the construction site of the Ciel Tower project in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. (People’s Daily Overseas Edition/courtesy of the interviewee)

The super mobile crane is known as the “pearl on the crown” of world construction machinery technology because of its high technical threshold and highly advanced research and development, allowing XCMG to break the global monopoly of foreign enterprises in this field.

In 2013, XCMG’s 4,000-ton XGC88000 crawler crane, which was hailed as “the world’s No.1 crawler crane,” completed its first lifting in Yantai city, east China’s Shandong Province.

The XGC88000 made its overseas debut by hoisting a washing tower weighing about 2,000 tons in Saudi Arabia in October 2019.

The XGC88000 crawler crane has set and held the world lifting record and has the broadest operational application, with a total safe operation time of over 10,000 hours.

Some Chinese construction machinery companies have also contributed to local development overseas. The first SY215CKD excavator produced by Sany in its factory in Indonesia rolled off the production line on Aug. 15, 2022, marking the start of production of the first overseas lighthouse factory of China’s construction machinery industry.

An SAC2200 crane developed by Sany Heavy Industry, a Chinese machinery manufacturer, operates at Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar. (People’s Daily Overseas Edition/courtesy of the interviewee)

The lighthouse factory is China’s first “Industrial 4.0” production base outside China in the construction machinery field, and also an export of the intelligent manufacturing standard of China’s construction machinery sector. The factory deploys more than 500 robots, and has only 100 or so human operators, according to Ding Shifeng, who is in charge of the project.

“We are now refocusing from international sales to international manufacturing, especially intelligent manufacturing,” Ding said, adding that Sany will establish a training center affiliated with the factory that will accommodate over 600 local trainees.