Yamaha, one of the world's largest piano manufacturers, has established a significant presence in Hangzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province for more than two decades, witnessing remarkable growth of the market in the country while envisioning long-term development on this dynamic land.
The Japanese company's factory in Hangzhou produces approximately one in every five pianos in China. At its peak, nearly 70 percent of Yamaha's pianos and one-third of its woodwind instruments and guitars are manufactured in this facility. The products not only cater to the Chinese market but are also exported worldwide, earning the brand a prestigious reputation.
The friendly relations between Zhejiang and Shizuoka Prefecture, the center of musical instrument production in Japan, began in 1982, fostering deeper exchanges and cooperation. As trade between the two sides flourished, Yamaha Corporation focused its attention on Zhejiang, seeking to capitalize on its potential.
"Yamaha has high expectations for the Chinese market. The increasingly open Chinese market provides our company with stable support from material procurement to product sales,” said Seiichi Suzuki, general manager of Xiaoshan Yamaha Musical Instruments Co., Ltd.
Yamaha established its factory in Hangzhou's Xiaoshan District in 1997. Initially, the factory relied on assistance from its Japanese headquarters for worker training and production equipment. However, over the years, advancements in China's industrial technology have transformed this dependency. Chinese suppliers have now developed the capability to design and manufacture processing equipment for complex piano parts, even exporting some of the equipment to Japan.
The factory has grown from a modest workforce of fewer than 100 to nearly 3,000 employees. Its production processes have evolved from simple assembly to full-fledged instrument manufacturing, with an increasing focus on localizing component production, thereby enhancing the entire supply chain.
"There is a big difference between 2007 and now," said Taku Okamoto, head of the production department.
Okamoto was sent from Yamaha's Japan headquarters in Shizuoka Prefecture to China seven years ago to oversee product quality. He witnessed rapid development of the country, saying that nowadays tasks that might take a long time in Japan can often be completed in about a third of that time in China.
Today, Yamaha, like many foreign-funded enterprises, is capitalizing on the opportunities presented by China's robust growth. Suzuki, as well as many workers like Okamoto, say they believe that building on the foundation of the past two decades, Yamaha can seek an even more robust development in this land for the next 30, 50, or even 100 years.
Yamaha's journey in Hangzhou inspires vision for more robust development in China
Fujian Province in east China has made steady advancements in wind power development, playing a significant role in the country's efforts to reshape its energy structure.
In Fuqing City, the Xinghua Bay offshore wind farm has 59 wind turbine units, with a total installed capacity of 357.4 megawatts. It has generated over 5.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity since it went into operation, which is equivalent to reducing coal consumption by about 1.57 million tons and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 3.83 million tons.
"China has rich marine resources, including significant wind energy potential. Given the scale of these resources, it is essential for us to develop our own technologies and equip ourselves with solutions that are tailored to our country," said Zhou Xingzheng, head of the production management department of the Fujian Branch of China Three Gorges Renewables.
The Xinghua Bay offshore wind farm is located in nearshore waters, which has been a primary region for global offshore wind development for a long time. In recent years, as the exploitation of nearshore wind resources gets saturated, deep-sea regions are becoming the new focus for offshore wind deployment worldwide.
In July 2023, the world's first 16-megawatt ultra-large-capacity offshore wind turbine, completely independently developed, designed, and manufactured by China, was successfully connected to the grid off the coast of Pingtan, Fujian, approximately 35 kilometers from the shore.
It can generate about 66 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in a year, meeting the annual electricity needs of 36,000 three-member families.
The offshore wind power industry typically needs the development of supply chains. For instance, a 16-megawatt turbine consists of tens of thousands of components, which rely heavily on the support of upstream and downstream industrial chains. Fujian has made notable progress in this regards.
"In our factory in Fuqing, we are currently focusing on manufacturing large megawatt offshore models. For the 16-megawatt model in particular, we have achieved 100 percent localization of core components," said Xie Wei, a manager of a wind power plant.
According to a report released in November 2023, China's wind turbine production capacity had accounted for 60 percent of the global market.
China has become the world leader in cumulative installed capacity for offshore wind power, driving the global development of offshore wind energy.
Currently, the utilization hours of wind power in Fujian rank first in the country for 12 consecutive years, with the total capacity of offshore wind turbines connected to the grid exceeding 3.5 million kilowatts.
"By vigorously developing wind power, we have provided strong support for green consumption and energy conservation and carbon reduction. Moving forward, we'll follow the national strategies to accelerate the development of deep-sea wind power based on our solid industrial foundation. We will work to transform Fujian into a clean energy hub in the future, making a greater contribution to clean energy development in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the entire nation," said Wang Zhong, deputy director of the Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Fujian's wind power industry contributes to national green development
