Chinese manufacturers are intensifying the research and development (R and D) of high-end CNC (computer numerical control) machines and speeding up product iterations as emerging industries expand rapidly.

In Dongguan, Guangdong Province, engineers at a local machine tool company are upgrading a five-axis CNC machine, designed to process complex curved components. Leveraging their expertise in core machine components, the company has shortened its R and D cycle dramatically.

"In the past, upgrading a new model would take two to three years. Now, we complete it in six months to a year," said Huang Yongsheng, head of research and development at the company.

Another local manufacturer is aligning its development with the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle sector.

"We can respond to all domestic clients within a day. Compared with foreign high-end machines, there's still some gap in stability and precision, but it's gradually closing," said Peng Xiaoyin, head of the company's application solutions center.

Statistics show that in 2025, China's high-tech manufacturing sector grew by 9.4 percent year-on-year in value added. The machine tool industry posted total profits of 42.1 billion yuan (about 6.09 billion U.S. dollars), up 58.6 percent year-on-year, with metalworking machine output reaching 219.8 billion yuan (about 31.8 billion U.S. dollars), up 6.9 percent year-on-year.

Exports of machine tools totaled 23.18 billion U.S. dollars, a 6.7 percent increase from 2024. Strong national policies and continuous technological upgrades have strengthened the international competitiveness of Chinese machine tools.