Exterior display of FAW's 3rd Anniversary Achievement Exhibition on July 24, 2023. Photo: Li Zhuo

"To promote high-quality economic development, efforts must be made to strengthen the competitiveness of the economy, as well as its capabilities to innovate and fend off risks," Chinese President Xi Jinping said while visiting the R&D headquarters of automaker FAW Group in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin Province on July 23, 2020. 

During his inspection, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, chatted with employees who had recently graduated from universities. He said the Party committees and governments at all levels should pay very close attention to the employment of college graduates, and highlighted strengthening the independent development of core technologies and components to promote the high-quality development of China's automobile manufacturing industry and build strong domestic auto brands.

Encouraged by Xi, in the past three years, FAW has made significant strides in making breakthroughs in key and core technologies, advancing development of self-owned brands, and building itself into a world-class auto manufacturer. 

Stepping into the Changchun-based headquarters of FAW Group, one can see vehicles under the Hongqi brand on display in an exhibition room in the building's left wing.

Hongqi, meaning "red flag" in Chinese, used to be served as the ride of top government leaders, which also had been used as parade cars during National Day parades.

In the three-year anniversary exhibition after President Xi's inspection, the Global Times gained a close insight into how China's first domestically built limousine was developed and its innovation path to the world. From self-developed high-performance cells, intelligent EE architecture, to Kingpin Steering with technical features of high integration, precision, safety, all these outcomes reflect China's new manufacturing intelligence.

In the field of traditional fuel engines, thermal efficiency of the engine which FAW designed has reached more than 39 percent. In terms of new energy, FAW has achieved nine key technologies and is carrying out research and development of other technologies such as hydrogen fuel engines, which revealed FAW's aspiration and determination of promoting new energy. 

With the reputation of being a "domestic car", FAW has taken the lead in breaking through bottleneck technologies. The Global Times learned from the group that the company has achieved 73 technological breakthroughs, including hybrid power system integration and control technology, low-temperature resistant battery technology and other core technology. 

With an increasing number of people opting for domestic vehicle brands, the Global Times reporter observed a trend of a growing number of Hongqi cars appearing on the streets of Changchun. The cars are equipped with domestically developed engines and other key components, which shows that China's national brand for autos is rising rapidly and gradually become more influential in the domestic market.

A car produced by China First Automobile Works exhibited on FAW 70th Anniversary Exhibition on July 24, 2023. Photo: Li Zhuo

Since 1984, FAW began its expansion into international markets. Looking back on the 39 years of "going out" progress, China-proposed the Belt and Road Initiative is undoubtedly the most significant keyword. 

2023 has witnessed the 10th anniversary of the initiative and FAW has constructed a number of international cooperation projects in more than 50 countries and areas along the route of the Belt and Road, including South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Pakistan, Nigeria, Myanmar and other markets. 

Within the international market, FAW's overseas business has already covered 85 countries and regions such as Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, with more than 120 overseas dealers and total exports of over 400,000 vehicles. According to statistics, China ranks first globally in auto exports for the first time in 2023, the Xinhua News Agency reported in July. 

FAW Hongqi H9 Factory Showroom on July 24, 2023. Photo: Jiang Xinyu

At the railroad port of Changchun Xinglong Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the Global Times reporter saw cars were orderly boxed and shipped to Europe. Riding on the wave of new energy vehicles, FAW has accelerated the pace of "going out," completing the export of 5,003 vehicles from January to June in 2023, an increase of 172 percent year-on-year, according to Xinhua. 

FAW's achievements over the past three years is a miniature of China's automobile industry, which has made great progress and is expected to reach new heights in science and technology.    

From "bringing in" to "going out", China has become the world's largest automobile producer and consumer. On the journey from a large auto country to a strong automobile country, China's auto industry is firmly promoting high-quality development, contributing to the electrification transformation of the global industry.

Li Zhuo, Zhang Yuxin, Yang Yuqian, Jiang Xinyu, Zhang Xingran, Hou Xiaotong from the Communication University of China contributed to this story