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How two bearings mirror upgrading of China’s manufacturing

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How two bearings mirror upgrading of China’s manufacturing

By Li Xinping, Wang Zheng, Ding Yiting, People’s Daily

Bearings are considered as “joints” of industries.
Recently, the Liu’ao offshore wind farm in Zhangzhou, southeast China’s Fujian province, which features the application of 16-MW offshore wind turbine units, was put into full-capacity operation and connected to the grid for power generation. The bearings of the turbine units were independently developed in China.

Meanwhile, a tunnel boring machine equipped with a Chinese-manufactured main bearing, which comes with a diameter of over three meters, was instrumental in building the Suzhou Metro Line 6 in Suzhou, east China’s Jiangsu province.

These two bearings exactly mirror the solid strides in China’s manufacturing over the past 75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The bearings used on the 16-MW offshore wind turbine units were produced by LYC Bearing Corporation. “We were incapable of producing high-end bearings over 10 years ago, but we were determined to crack this hard nut,” said Wang Xinying, chairman of the company.

To strengthen its capabilities, LYC set up Chinese national-level key laboratories and other innovative platforms. It also cooperated with Tsinghua University and other institutions of higher learning to leverage their strength.

As a result, it launched a wide range of new products, such as bearings for new energy vehicles (NEVs), wind turbine units, and for rail transit. These products have been employed by important equipment such as the Chang’e series lunar probes, the Tiangong Space Station, and the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST).


While LYC is striving for excellence in manufacturing high-end bearings, China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Limited (CRCHI) is focusing all of its energy on the development of tunnel boring machine (TBM) bearings.


In 2019, CRCHI set up a dedicated research and design institute to develop main bearings for TBMs, the “final piece of the puzzle” in China’s goal to fully localize its TBM industry. After three years, the institute finally developed a TBM bearing with a diameter of over nine meters.


“This main bearing, the largest and heaviest in the world, can be used in the largest TBMs currently available,” said Liu Feixiang, CRCHI’s chief scientist.


“In the past, what we could do was decided by what equipment we had, but now we can manufacture equipment for whatever task is needed,” Liu added.


Behind the two bearings lies the strong confidence stemming from China’s complete manufacturing system.


In 1949, China’s first batch of molten steel was produced by Ansteel in northeast China, and today, China has maintained the world’s largest steel producer for 28 consecutive years, constantly breaking world records in the thickness of steel foils.


In 1956, the first Jiefang truck rolled off the assembly line of Chinese automaker FAW Group. Today, China has been the world’s largest auto production and sales country for 15 consecutive years, while its production and sales of NEVs topped the global market for the ninth year in a row.


China has completed in a just few decades the industrialization process that took developed countries several hundred years. It boasts the world’s most comprehensive industrial categories and a well-rounded industrial system, with its manufacturing spanning 31 major categories, 179 subcategories, and 609 branch categories. For 14 years in a row, the country has remained the world’s top manufacturing hub. In 2023, its value-added manufacturing output accounted for 26.2 percent of its GDP and approximately 30 percent of the global output.


As Chinese enterprises constantly improve their capabilities and extend to the higher end of the industrial chain, more bearing products are hitting the market.


On March 10, a bearing developed by LYC for a 40-meter-aperture radio telescope in the Changbai Mountain area, northeast China’s Jilin province, completed acceptance inspection to support future lunar and deep-space probe missions.


On March 14, the world’s first main bearing for 25 MW wind turbine units successfully rolled off the production line at Luoyang Bearing Science and Technology Co., Ltd. in Luoyang, central China’s Henan province, setting a new record for the highest single-unit capacity in wind turbine bearings.
As products become higher-end, production must also become smarter. CRCHI has built a digital twin of the general assembly facility in one of its industrial parks in Changsha, central China’s Hunan province.


“This is a digital twin image of the front of a TBM’s cutterhead. The varying shades represent the stress and wear on the blades,” said Wang Yongsheng, deputy head of CRCHI’s digital twin research institute. By analyzing the data in real-time, engineers can upgrade the next-generation products in a more targeted manner, Wang added.


In China, mass-produced power battery cells now have an energy density of 300 watt-hours per kilogram, placing them at the forefront of international standards. The silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells made in China have achieved an efficiency of 34.6 percent, continuously setting new world records.


Besides, recent years have seen rapid growth in China’s export of “the new three,” namely, NEVs, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, with annual exports exceeding 1 trillion yuan ($140.93 billion).


Currently, strategic emerging industries account for about 13 percent in China’s GDP, and China is home to 463,000 high-tech companies. Chinese manufacturing is rapidly advancing toward the high end of the global industrial chain.


Moreover, the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools in major Chinese enterprises reached 80.1 percent, and 62.9 percent of their key production processes are numerically controlled. Industrial internet has been applied in all major industrial categories, and the steps of industrial digitalization and digital industrialization have been accelerated.
By upgrading traditional industries, expanding emerging industries, and planning for future industries, China is developing new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, continuously creating new drivers of growth and competitive advantages.

How two bearings mirror upgrading of China’s manufacturing

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Benue ward head kidnapped by gunmen, search underway

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Benue ward head kidnapped by gunmen, search underway

By: Zagazola Makama

A 50-year-old ward head, Dickson Idu, has been abducted by unknown gunmen in Benue State.

Zagazola understand that the incident occurred around 7:30 PM on April 29, 2025, along a bush road between Egwanokwu and Aiegaji villages, located in the Ohimini Local Government Area.

Nigerian troops with the support of the Police and Benue Civil Protection Guards, were swiftly deployed to the scene.

Authorities have begun combing the surrounding bushes in an effort to rescue the victim unharmed and to engage the kidnappers.

Benue ward head kidnapped by gunmen, search underway

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Student Commit Suicide at Nasarawa State University

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Student Commit Suicide at Nasarawa State University

By: Zagazola Makama

A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), identified as Jatau Shebah Rilokwah, was found dead in an apparent suicide in the university’s senior staff quarters.

Zagazola was informed the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by Emmanuel Gyawo, a security officer at the university, who was directed by Professor Shedrack Jatau to check on his son. Upon arriving at the residence, Gyawo found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.

Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of state at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.

The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor. His body has been deposited in the hospital morgue.

Police sources say investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Student Commit Suicide at Nasarawa State University

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Police foil banditry, rescue 12 kidnapped victims in Zamfara

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Police foil banditry, rescue 12 kidnapped victims in Zamfara

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA on patrol along Funtua–Gusau Road has foiled a kidnapping attempt and rescued 12 persons, including a driver, from armed men suspected to be bandits.

Zagazola Makama learnt that the incident occurred late on Monday, April 28, around 11:22 p.m., when the attackers ambushed a Mitsubishi Canter vehicle.

The vehicle, driven by one Sama’ila Abdullahi, 35, of Buke Village in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara, was said to be conveying passengers and goods before the gunmen struck.

Security sources said the patrol team responded swiftly and engaged the bandits in a gun duel, successfully subduing them and rescuing all victims unhurt.

The hoodlums reportedly fled into the bush following the encounter.

Police foil banditry, rescue 12 kidnapped victims in Zamfara

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