Summer is in full swing in north China's Tianjin Municipality, and things have been hotting up at the Changlu Fluorochemicals Co., Ltd., where workers are operating at full capacity to meet the swelling market demand for chemicals like perfluoropolyether.

"This year, our production is racing to keep up with the surge in demand," said Bai Zhiyong, general manager of the company. "It is hard to imagine that, nearly a decade ago, we relied heavily on imported high-end chemicals."

A year after its founding, Changlu Fluorochemicals now has plans to launch six innovative chemical products, applying the principles of industrial transformation to their high-tech production. Meanwhile, the second phase of the construction of factory buildings is being prepared.

"Once the project is completed, our output value is expected to reach 8 to 10 times the current level," Bai said.

Tianjin, which is among those Chinese cities with the most complete industrial systems, has always embraced manufacturing as its strategic advantage. These days, the manufacturing industry is witnessing a deep integration of intelligent technology throughout its production process, thus accelerating the pace of industrial transformation.

Zhang Kunyu, the general manager of Troila Technology Co., Ltd., acknowledges the benefits of digital technologies in the manufacturing sector. Troila Technology is a renowned supplier of virtualization and cloud infrastructure software in China.

As the industrial digitalization process accelerates, the efficiency of manufacturing and industrial chain coordination will be significantly improved, thereby bringing more competitive advantages to enterprises, Zhang said.

Since the beginning of this year, China's industrial development momentum has remained robust, with high-tech manufacturing sustaining rapid growth, and the foundation of the real economy's development becoming increasingly stable.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 3.8 percent year on year in the first half of 2023.

High-tech industries saw strong growth, with investment up 12.5 percent during the same period year on year. Specifically, investment in the sectors of high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services expanded by 11.8 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively.

With the gradual recovery of market demand, combined with the implementation of policies to strengthen the real economy and promote industrial transformation and upgrading, China's industrial growth remains steady and the structure is optimized, said Fu Linghui, an official of NBS.

Moreover, new growth drivers are expanding, contributing to the steady improvement in the quality of development, said Fu.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector ended a three-month decline in June, an encouraging sign of improving factory activities and strengthening economic momentum. The PMI came in at 49 in June, up from 48.8 in May, data from the NBS shows.

"The PMI saw a slight increase in June, indicating that the foundation for economic recovery is continuously consolidating," said Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Zhang said the fundamentals of China's long-term economic growth have not changed, and positive factors driving overall economic improvement have become more apparent, showing a sound trend toward high-quality development.