2026 TEDA Auto Forum Opens in Tianjin; Luo Junjie Proposes Coordinated Development of Automakers and Equipment Industry

On September 19, the 2026 TEDA Automotive Forum opened in Tianjin. In his keynote speech, Luo Junjie, Standing Committee Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the China Machinery Industry Federation, stated that China's automotive equipment industry has entered a phase characterized by "mainly following, with localized leadership." In emerging areas such as integrated die-casting and flexible manufacturing, domestically produced equipment now matches or even leads global counterparts. Luo Junjie pointed out four key shortcomings in the current collaboration between automakers and the equipment industry: some automakers prioritize R&D over manufacturing processes and favor imported equipment over domestic alternatives; there is a lack of end-to-end closed-loop collaboration mechanisms across upstream and downstream enterprises; certain production processes, data interfaces, and equipment compatibility standards still follow overseas systems, resulting in high integration costs between domestic equipment and automakers' production lines; and new technologies from equipment suppliers often fail to align effectively with automakers’ actual production needs. To promote coordinated industrial development, Luo Junjie proposed four implementation recommendations: First, the entire industry should embrace the principle of equal emphasis on design and equipment, and synchronize product development with process innovation, with automakers proactively opening up application scenarios. Second, multi-party collaborative mechanisms should be institutionalized through industry innovation consortia. Third, core standards for domestically developed intelligent automotive manufacturing should be accelerated and elevated to national and industry standards, while actively participating in international standard-setting. Fourth, equipment capabilities should be upgraded in alignment with the directions of intelligentization, green transformation, and integration, supporting domestic equipment enterprises in expanding overseas alongside automakers.