Talking about Guangdong’s future development, Edward L. Monser, advisor to Guangdong Governor and President of Emerson, highlighted digital technology, innovation, intelligent manufacturing and Emerson’s cooperation with Guangdong in an interview with Newsgd.com during the ongoing International Consultative Conference on the Future Economic Development of Guangdong Province 2017 (ICCFED 2017).

Emerson is one of the old friends of the conference and it is the sixth participation for Advisor Monser.

Governor Ma Xingrui (R) met Mr. Edward Monser, president of Emerson. (Photo: ICCFED official website)

Newsgd.com: What suggestions have you put forward to the Guangdong government in your report this year?

Mr. Monser: Our recommendations focus on three areas:

First is the use of digital innovation to transform businesses and industries. Digital transformation is changing how manufacturers produce goods and how enterprises conduct business. As the information technology and digital sector is developing fast in Guangdong, the province is uniquely placed to leverage its high tech industry to support the transformation of the manufacturing industry. Financial incentives, such as tax allowances and subsidies, can be used to encourage automation with a focus on data gathering and analytics.

Second, Guangdong’s numerous well-established ecosystems have historically provided a good supplier base for all manufacturers, that is key to Guangdong’s success. We believe that these ecosystems need to evolve with the support of digital technologies and cater to the new growth pattern in the province. Investing in information and communication technology infrastructure will be essential, especially for enterprises located in remote areas. Guangdong province can also leverage government projects and e-government initiatives to create a market and ecosystems for enterprises.

Third, it is important to improve the ease of doing business and people’s lives by investing in education, housing, transportation and healthcare. We encourage the Guangdong government to investigate ways to provide affordable housing, education and healthcare services. We also recommend continuing to build and maintain infrastructure and simplifying government processes.

On the morning of September 20th, Mr. Edward L. Monser (L), President of Emerson, visited Guangdong Museum of Art. (Photo: ICCFED official website)

Newsgd.com: What would be your comments on Guangdong’s current advanced manufacturing development? What else can the province do better?

Mr. Monser: We believe that Guangdong is headed in the right direction to advance its manufacturing industry. Guangdong has already made significant steps to increase research intensity with Governor Ma Xingrui’s vision of spending 2.65 percent of GDP on research and development. The number of high-tech companies in Guangdong's Pearl River Delta region, a manufacturing center, reached 18,880 in 2016, up 78.8 percent over 2015. Boosted by this innovation-driven model, the number of invention patent applications in Guangdong also increased by 50 percent in 2016. All of these are significant achievements.

In addition, the government’s commitment to and investment in clean energy and sustainability is important in attracting foreign enterprises to invest in Guangdong as well as being important for ensuring investment and innovation in these areas.

As a next step, there are opportunities for manufacturers in Guangdong to leverage digital technologies and ecosystems to transform.

On the evening of 19th September, Mr. Edward L. Monser (M), President of Emerson arrived at White Swan Hotel. (Photo: ICCFED official website)

Newsgd.com: From your decades of experience as an economic advisor, how do you view the changes in the business and innovation environment in Guangdong?

Mr. Monser: Guangdong has retained its position as China’s largest provincial economy for 28 consecutive years. We appreciate that Governor Ma has laid out the goal of achieving 7 percent GDP growth this year. Governor Ma’s vision includes spending 2.65 percent of GDP on research and development, with a view to boosting science and technology development and promoting innovation.

After the dramatic economic boom, Guangdong and China are now at a turning point. There is a pressing need to transform traditional manufacturing into intelligent manufacturing and upgrade through digital technology, among other changes.

Emerson believes the province can turn obvious challenges into opportunities by adopting a wide-ranging and holistic approach like adopting digital technologies, improving the efficiency of government, etc.

Newsgd.com: What are Emerson's plans to cooperate with Guangdong in future?

Mr. Monser: We continue to cooperate with the government to help boost Guangdong’s transformation into intellectual manufacturing and also partner with education institutes to help nurture talents in the province.

For example, Emerson Automation Solutions worked on CNOOC’s Huizhou Refinery Phase II project and the Maoming Petroleum Group renovation project in Guangdong. Our Plantweb ecosystem solutions harness the power of Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) to expand digital intelligence to the entire manufacturing enterprise and help improve performance, efficiency and safety.

Besides, Emerson has been working with colleagues and universities in Guangdong to support their engineering and technology curriculum. Emerson is to carry out a program of cooperation with higher education and technical schools for training more engineering talents in Guangdong province. The scope of cooperation includes the setting up of integrated experiment centers, the support in developing course materials, the joint training and internship programs, etc.

Further information:

Currently, Emerson has 2 manufacturing facilities and six sales and service offices in Guangdong province. And its recent spending in Guangdong includes an investment of US$15 million to build a plant in Zhuhai for Therm-O-Disc (making temperature control products) and an investment in production lines at Bao’an for Fisher.