Craftsman’s Spirit
A craftsman’s spirit is a representative philosophy of craftsmen who dedicated to their products and the furtherance of their craft. Traditionally, this involves rigorous dedication to improving their skills and a scrupulous attention to details. This includes patience, dedication, perseverance, forethought, and professional pride. This spirit is admirable as we should strive to produce products that counterparts cannot surpass or even match.
Text
China’s Premier Li Keqiang Calls For More Open Government To Boost Big Data, But Future Remains Cloudy
BY DUNCAN HEWITT SHANGHAI -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said the Chinese government should give the public and businesses greater access to data, as he seeks to push the development of the country’s big data industry to transform its economy. However, analysts say the move could come into conflict with continuing government desire to control information flow — amid growing speculation that Premier Li could be at odds with President Xi Jinping who has launched a tough crackdown on internet freedoms. Speaking at the China Big Data Industry Summit in Guiyang, capital of southwestern Guizhou province, Premier Li said that big data is integral to what he called the “global technological revolution,” and, along with cloud computing, would help “transform … traditional sectors” of the country’s economy, including manufacturing. However, he said the Chinese government “still holds 80 percent" of the country's data. Li said that while national security and commercial and individual privacy needed to be protected, other types of information should, and would, be opened to the public. "By doing this, the government can create a market for fair competition while integrating with the internet and big data to streamline administration," he said, according to the China Daily. China’s big data industry remains in its early stages — the market was worth just around $17 billion in 2014, the China Daily said, equivalent to a 13 % share of the global market. However the government says this figure will increase at least eight-fold by 2020. And China’s cash-rich major internet companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba and social media pioneer Tencent, have begun to invest significant sums in mining data from the hundreds of millions of people who use their platforms. Tencent founder Pony Ma is reported to have said at the event Wednesday that the company would in future focus on building an “ecosystem of big data,” from its mobile payment, online shopping and group purchasing apps and platforms, among others. State media also quoted him as saying Tencent saw a 40 percent year-on-year increase last year in revenue from the “sharing economy,” including China’s biggest ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi, which it co-owns. The government has also vowed to boost the sector, with Premier Li keen to promote innovation and what he calls the Internet Plus economy — combining online platforms with other types of business — as China seeks to move away from a reliance on low-end manufacturing and develop value-added industry and a knowledge economy. The authorities are also seeking to promote such development in China’s hinterland, away from traditional high-tech hubs such as Shenzhen and Shanghai. Guizhou, one of China’s poorest provinces, has received government backing for its plan to become a hub for big data and cloud services. Last year, the government established what it calls the “Global Big Data Exchange” in the province – offering “tax breaks, grants and housing allowances” in order to lure investors in the sector, the Global Times reported. The authorities are hoping that cheap labor and energy will also attract businesses to set up servers and research and development facilities in the region. Network technology company Qualcomm is among major companies that have come to Guizhou, having invested in a joint-venture chip maker worth an estimated $280 million. And computing giant Dell, whose CEO Michael Dell attended the summit, is also reported to be working with a Guizhou-based company to build a cloud service platform for China's small and medium-sized companies and local governments — the first of its kind in the country. Its local partner, which has set up a $46 million cloud computing centre, in Guiyang, also plans to establish a “cloud computing incubator for innovation startups” with funding from Dell, Microsoft and Intel, the China Daily said. Premier Li also inspected an online logistics platform, which reportedly helps 1.7 million drivers and 300,000 logistics companies to "locate their optimal partners to transport freight.” Li said Chinese companies should incorporate new technologies, such as big data, “into the craftsman’s spirit,” so that their products would “better meet the demands of consumers.” And he encouraged companies “from all countries” to invest in the sector, saying China would “create an equal business environment for domestic and foreign-funded firms.” Robin Li, founder of China’s biggest search engine operator Baidu, took up Premier Li’s theme, calling for the government to provide more access to “the enormous amount of data it controls,” the South China Morning Post reported. And he said this would benefit the development of the artificial intelligence sector. However, while Premier Li, seen as a technocrat, has expressed his enthusiasm for the “sharing economy,” it remains to be seen how far the authorities are willing or able to go in data openness. Li has stressed the need to streamline bureaucracy and increase the openness of government on a number of occasions – but analysts say such moves face opposition from local officials. And data transparency may not be top of the agenda for China's top leader Xi Jinping, who has warned of the need for stricter cybersecurity to guard against foreign infiltration, and has overseen tighter restrictions on the internet, including the drafting of a new internet law with tough controls on foreign companies operating in the sector in China. The Chinese government also recently cracked down on major web companies offering cloud storage services — saying these were being widely used to store and share “pornography” (a phrase which sometimes includes other types of information with which the government disagrees). Several operators, including Huawei and Sina, are reported to have shut down such services. There have also been questions raised about plans to use big data to link citizens’ credit ratings to criteria that critics say could include their political attitudes. And there has been speculation in recent weeks that Li Keqiang himself could be replaced as premier following the country’s five-yearly Communist Party congress next year, possibly by Wang Qishan, the architect of President Xi’s tough anti-corruption campaign. And the Global Times also quoted industry experts as suggesting that China’s big data companies still have a lot to learn, saying they “tend to sort data instead of deeply analyzing them.” It also noted that China’s local government databases are currently not inter-connected, hindering the sharing of their data. And the China Daily quoted a senior academic as saying the country needed more foreign participation in the industry to boost infrastructure and train professionals.
News Analysis: China's manufacturing sector to see higher standards
BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- China has vowed to improve standards and quality in equipment manufacturing. The promise is the latest move in the ambitious "Made in China 2025" program, which aims to develop the country into a powerhouse of high-end manufacturing. China will aim to bring over 90 percent of domestic standards in key manufacturing areas up to international levels by 2020, up from the current 70 percent, said a statement issued Wednesday after a State Council conference chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. Research and development of major industry norms in robotics, rolling stock, agricultural machinery and sophisticated medical devices should be accelerated, said the statement. "We will formulate high standards to spur the upgrade of 'made in China' goods," Li said at the meeting. For years, China has served as the "world factory," churning out merchandise ranging from smartphones to diapers for consumers around the globe. But the country's manufacturers still have not mastered core high-end production technology and face a huge gap with industry leaders from Germany and the United States. As a consequence, shoppers fly abroad to purchase consumer goods such as heated toilet seats, and cross-border e-commerce has become wildly popular. The manufacturing of automobiles, numerical control machines and other major industrial products still depends on foreign technology. A national plan, "Made in China 2025," was unveiled in May 2015 to address the problem and build the country into a manufacturing power within ten years. "We should work to improve consumer confidence in domestic production, enhance manufacturing quality and efficiency and increase the global competitiveness of Chinese companies," Li said. Ning Jiajun, member of the Experts Committee of the State Information Center, described formulating high-level manufacturing standards as a precondition for China to realize the goal. "The failure of industry and technological norms to develop with the times is common in quite a few sectors in China. This has become a major bottleneck for industrial upgrades." The process of lifting the standards, which can be tough and costly, is indispensable for the country's shift from rough manufacturing to more value-added production, Ning said. Analysts expect the new resolution to propel the standardization of core technologies in multiple fields and help lay the foundation for supply-side reform. The government should toughen supervision to create a fair environment and advocate "the spirit of the craftsman" among manufacturers, Li said.
Fotile Kitchenware cooks North America expansion plan
By Shi Xiaofeng Ningbo Fotile Kitchenware Co Ltd, which makes high-end appliances and integrated kitchens, will accelerate its expansion into North America next year, having tasted success in Asia. "We are going to target the Chinese-American families as our initial forays have yielded success," said Mao Zhongqun, chairman and founder of Fotile. According to Mao, Fotile's range of hoods has many advanced technologies like smoke suction, making the products the best choice for cooking Chinese cuisine, which normally produces more smoke than Western food preparation. "Many Chinese-American families visited our online shop and placed orders for our hoods. Some even gifted them. That gave us a lot of confidence," he said. "They don't need to worry any more that cooking Chinese food the traditional way will fill their homes with smoke or bother their neighbors. "Our sales in North America are expected to exceed 100 million yuan ($14.51 million) by the end of this year." Unlike its peers' original equipment manufacturer strategy, Fotile marched into overseas markets with its own brand, targeting high-end consumers in 16 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. That strategy seems to have paid off well as Fotile topped the rankings for kitchenware makers in Malaysia and Pakistan last year, ahead of other international giants. Fotile's sales reached 6 billion yuan by the end of October this year, up 26 percent year-on-year, much higher than the 12.4 percent of the entire domestic market. Founded in 1996, Fotile was the first domestic manufacturer to focus on high-end electrical kitchenware. That focus was sustained for 20 years. "I believe in craftsman spirit. Making all-out efforts to produce competitive and high-quality products－that's been the story of my whole career," said Mao. At a time when competitors ploughed their disposable cash into diversifications like real estate investments or business expansion, Fotile invested 5 percent of its sales revenue into research and technology innovation, double the industry's spend on R&D. Fotile produced China's first independently designed deep range hood in 1996. The next year, it developed the nation's first artificial intelligence-powered deep range hood that can detect smoke and gas leaks, and turn on automatically and suck them out. The company had been making European style hoods for the past several years. It also developed hoods with ring suction technology that suck out smoke efficiently. Fotile's sink dishwasher is a three-in-one device that combines a kitchen sink, dishwasher and fruit and vegetable cleaning machine. Designed for the domestic market, this space-saving appliance took five years to develop. It produced much success for Fotile, capturing 32 percent of the domestic dishwasher market.
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 As the brand 8848 focuses on a minority group of the high-end market, the collaboration resonates with the museum's "craftsman spirit".
2 In response to viewers' growing expectations, the producers released the movie version Friday, aiming to further elaborate on the "Spirit of the Craftsman", one of the buzzwords in Chinese online culture.
3 Businesses will be encouraged to uphold "the craftsman spirit" and improve product competitiveness through brand-building.