The latest survey data released by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on the 30th shows that, based on calculations from relevant data of nearly 320,000 manufacturing enterprises above designated size in China, the quality competitiveness index of China's manufacturing industry above designated size (hereinafter referred to as the manufacturing industry) in 2013 was 83.14, a slight increase of 0.08 over 2012, indicating steady progress in quality upgrading.

Looking at the third-level indicators, standards and technical level, R&D and technological transformation capability, core technical capability, and market adaptability increased by 1.33, 0.61, 1.47, and 0.72 respectively over the previous year, but quality management level and quality supervision and inspection level fell by 2.62 and 1.52 respectively.

In 2013, China's quality competitiveness showed three main characteristics: First, "Made in China" encountered the pains of transformation and upgrading, and the growth rate of quality competitiveness narrowed. Over the past 20 years, China's manufacturing industry has been on a fast track of development. From 1999 to 2013, the manufacturing quality competitiveness index rose by a cumulative 7.19, moving from a stage of weak competitiveness to a stage of initial quality competitiveness. However, after the financial crisis, "Made in China" has been caught in a pincer movement, facing a series of challenges such as persistently sluggish international demand, rising domestic production costs, increasing resource and environmental constraints, low product added value, excess low-end production capacity, and insufficient R&D investment.

Second, the eastern "quality highlands" continue to lead the development of "China Quality." Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin remained in the top three, with quality competitiveness indices of 93.14, 91.22, and 90.00 respectively, entering a stage of relatively strong quality competitiveness.

Third, the quality competitiveness of the three major categories of manufacturing shows a stepped distribution, from high to low. By industry, the computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry scored 90.97, entering a stage of relatively strong competitiveness.

The analysis points out that the shortcomings in the quality competitiveness of various manufacturing industries in China in 2013 are reflected in: a relatively low proportion of R&D investment in manufacturing; weak enterprise innovation capability and a low proportion of new product sales; low output efficiency of "Made in China"; and large structural differences in patents.