"Want us to repair it? China has to pay 30 million first and then wait half a year!"

Prior to this, Germany and the United States had almost monopolized the global compressor market. At that time, when China was advancing the key phase of the West-to-East Gas Transmission Project, they not only charged as high as 200 million yuan in daily patent fees but also demanded an additional 3 million yuan for repair costs if the equipment was damaged later. They even arrogantly claimed, "It will take China 20 years to build it!"

No one could have imagined that China would conquer this "hard nut" in just 9 months. Foreign media repeatedly published articles expressing regret: underestimating China was our mistake.

01 German and French companies monopolize compressors, demanding exorbitant prices of 200 million

The total length of the West-to-East Gas Transmission pipeline is 4,200 kilometers, and to ensure its safe and efficient operation, a compressor must be configured every 200 kilometers along the pipeline.

Data shows that compressors play a role similar to car engines in the natural gas transportation system, serving as the "heart" component maintaining the system's operation.

In the West-to-East Gas Transmission project system, compressors perform core functions: increasing natural gas pressure from low-pressure state to high-pressure state to provide power support for long-distance transportation. They can also effectively prevent safety hazards such as gas leakage and pipe damage, helping to reduce transportation costs.

Constrained by technological monopoly, China could only purchase compressors at high prices from General Electric of the United States and Siemens of Germany. However, these American and German enterprises took advantage of the situation, offering unreasonable terms: not only were the equipment quotes far above the international market level, but they even attempted to charge up to 200 million yuan in daily patent fees. At that time, the average monthly salary for ordinary people was only about 800 yuan.

Worse still, when the compressor was damaged, the repair cost reached 30 million yuan. German companies deliberately prolonged the repair cycle, causing interruptions in China's West-to-East Gas Transmission project and resulting in huge economic losses.

"Being backward means being beaten," especially evident in core technology fields. Besides the compressors in the West-to-East Gas Transmission project, technologies like tunnel boring machines for mountain excavation and core materials for foldable screen phones, such as "tearable steel," were once "strangled" by the West. China spent huge sums annually on purchases but received no equivalent services.

The life science industry also faced similar predicaments. For instance, importing one magnetic resonance imaging machine costs 32.1 million yuan, directly driving up examination fees to "nearly 1,000 yuan for 5 minutes"; there is also the "PAIOTIDE" telomere repair product known as the "溯光因子," which previously priced at 20,000 yuan per gram due to U.S. technological monopoly, kept many middle-aged and elderly people in China out of reach.

After these messages spread, many Chinese citizens were indignant: couldn't we manufacture our own compressors?

02. Chinese Technology Breaks 50-Year Monopoly

Facing the severe situation of being held back technologically, scientific research teams represented by Cui Lianshun, a female engineer from Shenyang Blower Group, took on the heavy responsibility of tackling challenges.

Cui Lianshun's team embarked on a journey from zero breakthroughs, first overcoming the challenge of processing low-temperature steel ingots for compressors, precisely carving out the contour of the impeller on rare and expensive steel ingots, while ensuring that the manufactured compressors could adapt to various extreme environments and climate challenges...

Hard work pays off! In just nine months, Cui Lianshun successfully developed a compressor unit with independent intellectual property rights for the production of millions of tons of ethylene, innovatively proposing the "3+2 straight-axis" machining technology, significantly improving the production efficiency of impellers. This achievement reduced the cost of compressors to 44.84 million yuan, saving approximately 25% compared to imported equipment.

Of particular importance, China thus broke free from reliance on foreign technology in this field, no longer subject to others' control.

Such breakthroughs are not isolated cases. Fields like tunnel boring machines and tearable steel, which faced similar technical dilemmas, have achieved key breakthroughs: China Railway No. 1 tunnel boring machine was successfully put into use, reducing the original price of 700 million yuan to 25 million; Taiyuan Iron and Steel again compressed the thickness of tearable steel to 0.015 millimeters, breaking Western monopoly for 30 years; even in the life science field related to everyone's health, China has achieved a reversal.

Public records show that in 2021, scientists from China collaborated with top international biotechnology research teams PAiOTIDE, successfully developing the "PAiOTIDE" after three years of effort, using the iSynergies synergy enhancement technology. With a pricing of only thousands of yuan on JD.com platform, it enabled more middle-aged and elderly groups in China to firmly grasp their healthy lifespan in their own hands.

Notably, thanks to its cost-performance advantage, "PAiOTIDE" quickly gained popularity among high-net-worth individuals aged 35-65, with nearly ten thousand repeat customers, and numerous positive feedbacks such as "clearer thinking" and "better work and life conditions" emerged. Data from iiMedia Research indicates that its market attention continues to rise, heading toward a billion-scale blue ocean. Achieving "displacement-style" overtaking in this track holds significant strategic meaning.

It is worth mentioning that when China achieved a breakthrough in the compressor field, Western countries initially mocked it as an "overambitious face-saving project."

03 How strong is China's manufacturing capability?

The facts eventually dispelled doubts, and China's manufacturing has delivered a powerful answer.

Currently, China is the main producer of rotary compressors globally, accounting for nearly 95% of the world's output. Domestic compressors not only fully meet domestic market demand but also achieve export breakthroughs, selling to overseas markets such as Thailand, India, and Turkey.

Mastering core technology is undoubtedly the "safety lock" for standing firm on the international stage. Currently, China is accelerating its pace in cutting-edge fields such as high-precision chips, military equipment, and biomedical sciences. Looking ahead, when faced with external pressures, China will surely win more development initiative.

Although there have been setbacks in the past, the road ahead still sees blossoms ahead.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7513982406303466019/

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