High-quality development research line|From railway network to "repair" aircraft Chengdu has access to the world
On October 17, the "High-quality Development Research Tour" themed interview group visited Sichuan International Aero Engine Maintenance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sichuan International"), the only engine maintenance base for domestic large aircraft C919 in China. Guillaume Mornand, general manager of the company, introduced that in 2022, Sichuan International will achieve an operating income of about 4.4 billion yuan and a total import and export volume of about 3 billion yuan.
In addition to this aircraft "hospital", Chengdu has also laid out a railway network to the world, providing stable and guaranteed transportation services for the import and export of goods, which is the Chengdu international train from Chengdu's Qingbaijiang District.
Up to now, Chengdu has operated more than 23,000 international trains, connecting more than 100 overseas cities, forming a coordinated operation pattern of multi-directional trains such as China-Europe (Asia) trains, western land-sea new corridor trains, and China-Laos (Vietnamese) trains.
As a traditional inland city, Chengdu has long grown "wings" to reach the world.
There's a plane "hospital" here.
On the morning of October 17, the "High-quality Development Research Tour" themed interview group walked into the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone and saw an aircraft "hospital" called Sichuan International Aero Engine Maintenance Co., Ltd. Screws as small as millimeters in diameter and fan casings as large as nearly two meters in diameter can be repaired in this "hospital".
Engineers here liken aircraft engines to the "heart" of aircraft, which undergo regular maintenance every 6 to 10 years of service. Due to the unique role and particularity of aircraft engines, slogans such as "guard responsibility, fear life" can be seen everywhere in the quiet and orderly workshop.
The engine is the heart of the aircraft, and "we want to make sure that every screw is qualified". Xiong Jie, manager of Sichuan International Master Planning Department, said that maintenance engineers "diagnose the disease" of aircraft engines through disassembly and cleaning steps, and then after four processes of repair, assembly, assembly and commissioning, the intact engine can be handed over to major airlines in China and Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas.
So far, the CFM56-3, -5B, -7B used by Boeing and Airbus, as well as the new Leap1A and 1B engines, can be properly repaired in this "hospital". It is worth mentioning that Sichuan International is also the only engine maintenance base for China's only domestic large aircraft C919.
Xiong Jie told reporters that Sichuan International is the first Sino-foreign joint venture in China dedicated to CFM56 aircraft engine maintenance, and it is also the only CFM56 series engine original manufacturer authorized repair shop in China, and the engines produced by CFM are widely used in Airbus and Boeing series aircraft.
The power engine of various new generation passenger aircraft such as the domestic large aircraft C919 is the new generation of LEAP engine of CFM. At present, Sichuan International already has the basic maintenance capabilities of LEAP engines, including engine disassembly and assembly production lines, deep cleaning and non-destructive detection lines, and special parts repair workshops. It can provide maintenance and overhaul services for more than 200 aircraft engines every year.
It is understood that compared with the classic CFM56 series engine, the fuel consumption and carbon emissions of the LEAP series engine are reduced by 15%.
Xiong Jie also said that since it was put into operation in 2017, Sichuan International has achieved a total operating income of more than 20 billion yuan and completed the overhaul of more than 700 engines. In 2022, Sichuan International will achieve an operating income of about 4.4 billion yuan and a total import and export volume of about 3 billion yuan.
Guillaume Mornand, general manager of Sichuan International, also introduced the reason why the company was established in the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone. He said that to achieve "global aircraft repair", the first problem to be solved is the import and export of a large number of parts, "the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone can allow us to benefit from some special customs advantages, shorten customs clearance and import waiting time, reduce maintenance and transportation costs."
It is understood that the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone is one of the first batch of pilot free trade zones in western China. In six years, it contributed nearly a quarter of the amount of foreign direct investment and one-tenth of the new enterprises with less than one-fourth of the province's area.
The international rail network is connected worldwide
In addition to this aircraft "hospital", Chengdu also has an international railway network to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and other regions of the world - Chengdu International Train.
Starting from Chengdu Qingbaijiang China Railway Union Container Center Station, the Chengdu international train passage departs through Alashankou or Khorgos and can directly reach three permanent stations in the hinterland of Europe: Lodz in Poland, Nuremberg in Germany and Tilburg in the Netherlands, with a running time of about 12 days; The South Passage is regularly operated across the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea to Romania, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries; The North Passage exits via Erenhot or Manzhouli and reaches Russia and Belarus, with a running time of more than 10 days.
Up to now, Chengdu has operated more than 23,000 international trains, connecting more than 100 overseas cities, forming a coordinated operation pattern of multi-directional trains such as China-Europe (Asia) trains, western land-sea new corridor trains, and China-Laos (Vietnamese) trains.其中，成都中欧班列累计开行超1.3万列。
As an "old friend" of Chengdu China-Europe Express, Chen Hezhi, general manager of TCL Optoelectronic Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd., has a lot to say. In an interview with reporters, he said: "Before the start of the Chengdu China-Europe train, most of our products were exported by sea, which took about forty or fifty days, the transportation time was long and unstable, and it was not cost-effective for high value-added products." "Now, TCL products can be accurately controlled in 10 to 12 days through the China-Europe train to Poland.
Chen Hezhi, general manager of TCL Optoelectronics Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd., introduced the company's situation Image source: Photo by Chen Xing, a reporter
At the same time, due to the high value of products, China-Europe trains improve the safety of cargo transportation compared to sea freight. In the past few years, the price of sea freight has risen sharply and cargo space is difficult to find, but the China-Europe Express has effectively guaranteed the delivery of TCL products on schedule.
TCL is the first batch of customers of the Chengdu China-Europe Express, and has also enjoyed the efficiency improvement and cost reduction brought by the China-Europe Express. After TCL's Polish factory is put into operation, TCL Optoelectronics Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. only needs to ship the TV parts to Poland, and then assemble the finished products through the Polish factory and sell them to European markets. Since 2016, TCL's sales of TVs at its Polish plant have quadrupled.
TCL Optoelectronics Technology (Chengdu) Image source: Photo by Chen Xing, reporter
"For our TV products, it is the peak export season, and almost every day the company has products exported to Europe on China-Europe trains." Chen Hezhi said. The output value of TCL Optoelectronics Technology (Chengdu) in the first three quarters of this year has been the same as last year, and it is expected to increase by more than 30% year-on-year.
At present, the transportation goods of the Chengdu China-Europe Express have been mainly notebooks, desktops, display screens and daily necessities from 2011 to 2013, and have been enriched to include home appliances, food, auto parts, instruments and equipment, wood, magnetic levitation equipment, medical supplies, photovoltaic products, etc., and the industrial service capacity has been greatly improved.
Through international trains, Chengdu has built an international strategic channel with Chengdu as the main hub, west to Europe, north to Mongolia and Russia, east to Japan and South Korea, and south to ASEAN, turning Chengdu from an inland hinterland to a frontier of opening up in the west. From January to June this year, the China-Europe Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) operated 2,732 trains, a year-on-year increase of 29.6%; The transported goods exceeded 220,000 TEU, a year-on-year increase of 24%. Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu, where the international railway port is located, is estimated to complete import and export trade of 18 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53.2%.
Lei Ting, director of the Administrative Committee of Chengdu International Railway Port Economic Development Zone, introduced that relying on the Chengdu International Train, Chengdu International Railway Port has provided stable international logistics solutions for more than 300 provincial and municipal key enterprises, serving more than 15,000 enterprises in total.
As the origin of Chengdu international trains and an old industrial base, Qingbaijiang District is also grasping the location advantages, promoting industrial agglomeration with opening up, building an international pilot industrial base of the "Belt and Road", and promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. Wang Xianghui, director of the Management Committee of Chengdu Qingbaijiang Economic Development Zone, introduced that Qingbaijiang District relies on the advantages of dry port hub to plan and build three pilot industry demonstration bases to achieve high-quality development through innovation.
Chengdu Qingbaijiang District Wenlan Zhigu Pilot Industrial Base (hereinafter referred to as "Wenlan Zhigu") is one of the pilot industrial bases built by Qingbaijiang. Scientific research and innovation focus on "from 0 to 1", and pilot test is a process of focusing on "1 to 100", which is a necessary link for the transformation of scientific research technology into productivity.
In the view of Li Heng, the person in charge of Wenlan Zhigu, the pilot test is an important starting point for Qingbaijiang District to promote the deep integration of industrial chain, innovation chain and value chain, accelerate the formation of innovation source highland, and promote the "secondary revitalization" of the old industrial base. At present, Wenlan Zhigu has successfully transformed the research results of a number of academician teams and rapidly promoted and used them in multiple industries.
