Beijing's economic performance data for the first three quarters shows a steady recovery with a 5.1% growth rate, outpacing the national average of 4.8%. Industrial growth stood out, with the value added by industries above designated size rising by 6.9%, contributing to over 15% of the city's economic growth.

A closer look of the data reveals strong gains in high-tech and strategic emerging industries, with computer, communication, and electronic equipment manufacturing rising 19.5% and automotive manufacturing growing 18.4%. Notably, production of new energy vehicles surged 5.5 times, industrial robots increased by 62.8%, and wind turbine units by 21.2%, underscoring Beijing's shift toward high-end, intelligent manufacturing.

Xiaomi's automotive factory, a star project in Beijing's Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town), exemplifies this trend. Covering 718,000 square meters, the factory produces a new car every 76 seconds. Since June, Xiaomi has consistently delivered over 10,000 units per month, and surpassing 20,000 units in October for the first time.

Feng Dan, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Economic and Social Development, noted that the world's developed economies are seeing a "reindustrialization" trend, with technological progress driving traditional industry transformation and boosting the real economy. According to international benchmarks, when per capita GDP hits US$30,000, manufacturing accounts for about 15-17% of GDP in cities like New York and Tokyo. In 2023, Beijing's per capita GDP reached $28,500, though the city's manufacturing sector remains a smaller share of its overall economy.

Manufacturing continues to serve as a stabilizer for Beijing's economy. Still, the Chinese capital is looking to leverage its strength in tech innovation to drive a shift toward advanced industries with higher value and lower resource consumption. This is expected to support the development of a robust high-tech manufacturing sector aligned with high-quality growth goals.

Beijing's investment in industrial growth has ramped up in recent years, with manufacturing investment up 44% in the first three quarters and high-tech manufacturing investment increasing by 66.7%. The share of new manufacturing firms has also risen by 0.2 percentage point year on year.

Despite these successes, Beijing still falls behind regions like the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas, particularly in automotive, electronics, advanced equipment, and biomedicine. Gaps in supply chain and lack of certain key industrial components have limited the city's competitiveness in those fields.

Feng suggested deepening integration between advanced manufacturing and modern services to reduce costs through "digital and intelligent transformation." The researcher also advocated for expanding technology parks to serve the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, establishing an ecosystem that supports innovation, incubation, and industrialization.

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