From the top machine tool exhibition, we can see China's intelligent manufacturing, and the wave of digital and intelligent transformation is surging

Machine tools, also known as industrial mother machines, are the "tools of tools." From April 21 to 26, the 19th China International Machine Tool Exhibition (CIMT2025) was held in Beijing with great enthusiasm. Nearly 2,450 exhibitors from 31 countries and regions around the world gathered to attend this top-tier industry event.

As an important "barometer" of the global machine tool industry, this exhibition is the largest in scale and the largest machine tool exhibition in the world in the past 10 years. Behind the scale upgrade, it fully reflects the strong market demand in China and the more active innovation force of machine tool enterprises.

The wave of intelligent wave is surging and machine tools become more "smart"

The machine tool industry is the cornerstone of manufacturing. This year's machine tool exhibition, themed "Integration and Innovation for a Digital Future," aims to promote the deep integration of information technology and manufacturing technology, exploring the path to future digital and intelligent manufacturing. As cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things accelerate their convergence, traditional machine tools are becoming smarter.

On April 21, the 19th China International Machine Tool Exhibition, ——, a bellwether of the global machine tool industry, made its debut in Shunyi, Beijing. Photo by Wu Yibin, Beijing Daily reporter and intern Tan Ce

Stepping into the exhibition hall, a wave of digitalization and intelligence greets you. The world's first integrated AI chip and large AI model new-generation intelligent CNC system, the "Huazhong 10" intelligent CNC system, was unveiled on-site. This CNC system employs AI + smart sensors, combining large language models with specialized vector databases for machine tool fault diagnosis. Its maintenance judgment capability is equivalent to that of an engineer with three years of experience. Xianghui ZhiLian (Beijing) Co., Ltd. released the latest version of the NC-Link interconnectivity protocol. With this "standard language," it enables "communication" between machine tools, which will strongly support the implementation and application of machine tool intelligence.

"Digital and intelligent transformation is accelerating." Wu Xiaojian, senior consultant of the Industry Development Committee of China Machine Tool Industry Association, has been working in the machine tool field for more than 40 years. According to his observation, digital transformation has penetrated into many machine tool enterprises.

"In the next decade, it will be a critical period for the development of intelligent CNC machine tools, a new generation of typical equipment in smart manufacturing." Zhou Ji, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chairman of the National Manufacturing Power Construction Strategic Advisory Committee, stated that leveraging artificial intelligence technology to drive the process of new industrialization has become a core technological path for innovation and development in manufacturing. The new generation of smart manufacturing is a key link on this path.

The innovation of domestic machine tools is active and the technical level is generally improved

At the crowded exhibition site, a large number of local Chinese enterprises also showed off their "home skills", and innovation performance shone brightly.

A five-axis gantry turning and milling center named "Taurus" occupies the "C position" at the North First Machine Tool booth. "We have innovatively integrated over 30 years of manufacturing experience and technical advantages into this product," said Ma Jianchuan, chief engineer of North First Machine Tool. This machine tool is primarily used for integrated processing of high-end components such as gas turbines and aviation engines. It can handle heavy loads and cutting operations while achieving high speed and precision, which is leading both domestically and globally. The machine tool's accuracy reaches the micron level, or one-thousandth of a millimeter.

Continuously pushing the limits of precision, Beiyi Machine Tool is just one example. The thread grinding machine on display at the Shanghai Machine Tool Factory has a machining accuracy that meets the highest domestic standard of Grade 0; Zhejiang Bogu Precision's ultra-precision lathe spindle rotation accuracy is less than 0.1 micrometers, linear motion axis positioning accuracy is less than 1 micrometer, and repeat positioning accuracy is even less than 0.2 micrometers.

In the eyes of professionals, the overall technical level of Chinese machine tool enterprises has significantly improved in recent years. "In the past, there were relatively few leading companies and fewer products. Now, the manufacturing level of domestically produced CNC machine tools has generally improved," Wu Xiaojian noted. For example, General Technical Machine Tool Group, North First Machine Tool Group, Jinan Second Machine Tool, Qinchuan Machine Tool Group, and Wuhan Heavy Machinery continue to lead the industry. Meanwhile, a large number of emerging machine tool enterprises have developed rapidly, such as Beijing Jingdiao, Dalian Kede, Shandong Haomai, and Shanghai Tuopu, whose manufacturing levels have also reached industry-leading standards.

This exhibition not only sets up the "college window" exhibition area to display the achievements of university machine tool innovation and research and development, but also has the participation of venture capital funds. This means that the development of industrial mother machine is getting more attention and support.

The Chinese market provides "certainty" for the global machine tool industry

After experiencing short-term fluctuations, the global machine tool industry shows a differentiated recovery trend. As an important window for China's machine tool industry to open to the outside world, this machine tool exhibition can also see the new trend of global machine tool industry cooperation.

After participating in the largest machine tool exhibition in South China at the end of March, Japan's Shikun brought three ultra-precision machine tools and four application-specific process solutions to this exhibition; Korea's Daini Machine Tool showcased eight machines produced in China, specifically tailored for the Chinese market, marking the largest scale ever; Germany's DMG Mori Seiki presented eight high-end machine tools and three automation solutions, with two making their debut in China...

"Foreign companies have demonstrated their confidence in the development of the Chinese market through their actions," Wu Xiaojian noted. This year's machine tool exhibition attracted delegations from 13 countries and regions, including machine tool associations and trade promotion organizations, with over 800 foreign enterprises making a concentrated appearance. In recent years, major global machine tool companies have accelerated their layout in China, setting up factories or expanding production capacity here.

At the recently held 2025 Machine Tool Manufacturing CEO Forum, Mao Yufeng, President of the China Machine Tool Industry Association, stated that as the world's largest consumer (32.5% globally) and producer (32.1% globally) of machine tools, China has become a key force driving industry development. In 2024, China's manufacturing value added reached 34 trillion RMB, ranking first globally for over a decade, providing a vast application scenario for the machine tool industry.

Whether it's aerospace, automotive manufacturing, precision electronics and instruments, or new energy equipment, none can do without breakthroughs and iterations in machine tool technology. Mao Yufeng stated that the transformation and upgrading process of China's manufacturing industry is the best application scenario for the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, which will bring rare opportunities to the global and Chinese machine tool industries. Despite the uncertainties facing the global economy, the scale advantage, policy benefits, and innovation vitality of the Chinese market will provide "certainty" for the global machine tool industry.

Note: This news was reprinted from Beijing Daily.