China Bearings Stride Toward High-End Manufacturing

According to data from the China Bearing Industry Association, the bearing industry achieved revenue of 231.5 billion yuan in 2024, a record high, a year-on-year increase of 6.2%; and completed bearing production of 33.7 billion sets, a year-on-year increase of 17.3%.

In the first quarter of this year, according to statistics from 160 major companies in the bearing industry, the bearing industry has achieved a total industrial output value of 25.397 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.14%; industrial added value of 7.631 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.97%.

From small precision micro-machinery to large heavy equipment, bearings are everywhere. Getting rid of low-end and homogeneous competition, domestic bearings have made great strides towards high-end in recent years.

Marching towards "precision" --

On April 24, the Long March 2F Yao 20 carrier rocket lifted the Shenzhou 20 manned spacecraft to ask the sky, and domestic bearings made new contributions.

Looking at the carrier rocket, the three-point contact ball bearings and other components developed by the China Machinery Precision Axle Research Institute are key components of the rocket's "power heart", providing strong support for stable launch.

Looking at manned spacecraft, the Axle Research Institute has tailored high-precision, low-noise self-lubricating bearings and components for the spacecraft drive system to ensure the stable operation of various important rotating mechanisms.

In recent years, domestic bearing companies have provided high-quality and reliable bearing products for the Shenzhou series of spacecraft and the Long March series of rockets. Luoyang Bearing Group also undertook the manufacturing of bearings for the feed cabin of the "China Sky Eye", helping it to become the world's largest and most sensitive single-aperture radio telescope to date; its bearing products allow the Changbai Mountain Radio Telescope to have extremely high sensitivity and pointing accuracy, thus accurately "guiding" the lunar probe.

Climbing to "big" -

In March last year, the world's first 25-megawatt wind turbine main shaft bearing and gearbox bearing rolled off the production line at Luoyang Axle Research Technology Co., Ltd., setting a new record for the largest single-unit capacity of wind turbine bearings in the world.

From relying on imports to achieving breakthroughs, my country has the ability to independently develop and manufacture key components of ultra-large wind turbines, and has achieved independent control of core wind turbine components and industrial chain security.

Expanding to the "new" --

Twisting Yangko, hip-hop, running marathons, screwing screws... These "silky" movements of robots rely on bearings to support, guide rotation and reduce friction. "14 years ago, we started learning from scratch, and after countless experiments and improvements, we finally mastered the technology related to robot bearings." Wu Qiaoling, general manager of Luoyang Hongyuan Bearing Technology Co., Ltd., said that since 2020, the company's products have successfully opened up overseas markets such as Japan.

In the first quarter, my country's bearing exports maintained steady growth, with cumulative exports reaching 205,182 tons, a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. Among them, exports in March reached 68,366 tons, a year-on-year increase of 25.3%.