The "new productive forces" vigorously promoted by the government are advanced productivity that is comprehensively improved through breakthroughs in science and technology, optimization of production factors, and industrial upgrading. According to Song Shiqiang from Kinghelm (www.kinghelm.net) and Slkor (www.slkoric.com), a notable characteristic of Shenzhen is its high efficiency. The "Shenzhen culture" embodies traits such as "efficiency, pragmatism, pioneering innovation, and openness and inclusiveness," which are inherited from the ethos of "efficiency, innovation, and daring to explore" exemplified by Huaqiangbei, the economic flagship of Shenzhen. This has contributed to the miraculous economic development of Shenzhen, representing a microcosm of the tremendous achievements of China's 40 years of reform and opening up.
If Shenzhen is likened to the crown jewel of China's economic achievements, then Huaqiangbei and the Science and Technology Park are the two shining pearls on this crown. The billboard in Shekou proclaiming "Time is money, efficiency is life," the prominent golden words on the building of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the Science and Technology Park encouraging innovation and tolerance of failure, the editorial in the Shenzhen Special Zone Newspaper advocating "standing at the forefront and singing in the wind," and the slogan "Once you come, you are a Shenzhener" represent the spiritual core of Shenzhen. The feats of building the Guomao Building in three days per floor, the muscular figure breaking through constraints at the Old Museum Square, the iconic Ruziniu representing the image of Shenzhen, and the statue of Deng Xiaoping striding briskly at the top of Lianhua Mountain, as well as Xiaomi's office building brightly lit late into the night, all symbolize the hard work and prosperity of the people of Shenzhen.
The key to "new productive forces" lies in elements such as new technologies, workers' skills, labor materials, and labor objects. Through continuous refinement and scientific rationalization of these factors, overall production efficiency is improved.
AI artificial intelligence and new productive forces
Previously, labor primarily relied on physical strength, with the objects of work being land, minerals, machinery, and so on. Now, in the era of electronic information, information and digital assets have become the most crucial means of production. Technologies such as 5G communication, artificial intelligence, industrial Internet, digital economy, and new energy have emerged as the main drivers of economic growth. All of these are heavily reliant on the collection, transmission, and computation of data, which we handle constantly in our work. Data collection requires a plethora of sensors to gather signals from mechanical, optoelectronic, and other sources, converting them into digital signals, and then transmitting and receiving data through connectors and microwave RF signal devices. Eventually, the information and data reach designated processing centers (such as various cloud spaces) for cleansing, categorization, storage, computation, and utilization—a process referred to as "collection, transmission, and computation" of data. These fields impose higher demands on wireless communication data security, computer processing power, algorithms, and energy consumption. Our company, Kinghelm (ru.kinghelm.net), produces antenna connectors, plug-ins, and other products responsible for data and signal transmission. While these industries are developing rapidly, related social management lags behind. Issues such as laws and regulations, social ethics, valuation, rights confirmation, and transactions of digital products and assets need urgent attention and resolution.
The historical evolution of the development of productive forces
The improvement of production efficiency is inseparable from the development of production tools. In the agricultural era, the domestication of wild crops, the taming of animals such as chickens, dogs, pigs, cattle, and horses, and the widespread use of metal agricultural tools improved efficiency to some extent, initially addressing issues of hunger and cold, yet still relying on walking for transportation, shouting for communication, shivering for warmth, and dogs for security. Over the past two hundred years, human society has undergone three industrial revolutions. The first was the steam engine era, achieving steam power; the second was the electrical era, achieving electrification; and the third was the information revolution, where computers enhanced computational efficiency, and the internet compressed time and space, enhancing information exchange and transaction efficiency. Our colleagues at Kinghelm and Slkor (ru.slkoric.com) can communicate with clients in Beijing from our office, and our finance personnel can transfer funds to supplier accounts in South Korea from the finance department, all thanks to technological advancements driving increased production efficiency. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is our new tool, with the success of AI measured by its ability to increase industry efficiency, significantly reduce product costs, expand production efficiency and industry scale by at least tenfold, and generate transformative effects similar to those of the steam engine in the textile industry and smartphones in the mobile internet industry. Considering China's position as the world's factory, China should empower the real economy with artificial intelligence (AI) and pursue a path of high-quality development.
The Kondratiev cycle, driven by technological breakthroughs, propels economic development
The Kondratiev cycle, proposed by Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev, refers to the periodical changes brought about by innovative technological revolutions, with each cycle lasting approximately 50-60 years. These cycles are characterized by breakthrough technologies. The first cycle was marked by the steam engine and the Industrial Revolution, the second cycle saw the rise of railways, electricity, and heavy industry, and the third cycle was dominated by the petrochemical and automotive industries. Currently, we are in the late stage of the fourth Kondratiev cycle, known as the Information Technology Internet Age. Could artificial intelligence be the endpoint of this upward trend? The emergence of large-scale models like ChatGPT and Sora, which enable rapid processing of images and text, along with information processing tools like Flybook, have greatly increased efficiency. Companies like Slkor and Kinghelm are utilizing the Flybook OA system, implementing OKR goal management to handle the increasing number of projects. This system incorporates unique management modules such as "multi-dimensional spreadsheets" and integrates with AI intelligent robots developed by Slkor, providing support for the company's intelligent digital development. Recently, Slkor's WeChat official account, "Slkor Semiconductor Leader," has been embedded with an AI intelligent robot. Through AI interaction, this robot can provide information on product consultation, technical support, and market advice. We hope that the integration of these new technologies with our management approach will enhance operational efficiency and promote the rapid development of Kinghelm and Slkor.
The productivity factors of the AI/digital age
The Slkor large-scale AI robot developed by Slkor is the brainchild of a team led by Dr. N and Dr. W from Tsinghua University. It is designed to offer diverse, timely, and comprehensive service experiences for company colleagues, peers, and clients. The ultimate goal of Slkor's AI robot is to autonomously handle tasks such as customer inquiries, material quotations, transaction matching, and product delivery, providing end-to-end services. Additionally, it aims to distill management expertise from companies like Xiaomi that we've been continuously studying. After just a few days of training, the Slkor AI robot has already acquired preliminary intelligent capabilities. In the future, it will be integrated into Slkor and Kinghelm's Kingdee ERP system and Flybook OKR system, both of which are ByteDance tools, facilitating seamless connectivity.
Kinghelm and Slkor General Manager Song Shiqiang (center) conducting training for employees
We need to promote micro-innovations in management and find benchmark learning objects. Xiaomi has done an excellent job in product R&D, production modularization, replicability, and complementarity. At Kinghelm and Slkor, we need to be precise and master these concepts as they are one of the ways to enhance competitiveness. In running a company and leading the development of an economic entity, we need to use the underlying principles of economics to make judgments and decisions. We often use theories such as "marginal cost" and "opportunity cost" to guide our practice. For example, the theory that "marginal cost gradually tends towards zero as the scale expands" is often used in the software industry and in products with embedded software. American software companies like Oracle and Microsoft have gross profit margins of over 90%. Meanwhile, Zhou Hongyi's 360 antivirus software occupied the market using a free version based on this underlying logic. Xiaomi smartphones embed software (software bundles and software ecology) into hardware, where hardware costs are fixed at around $150, and profits come from software. The larger the sales volume, the lower the marginal cost, and the higher the profit. Other brands like Xiaomi and OPPO follow the same commercial principle for their wearable intelligent products. "Opportunity cost" refers to the cost of making choices, i.e., choosing to do something means losing the opportunity to do something else. Therefore, personal career planning and company strategies should focus on accumulative and upgradable industries and products.
The male and female spokespersons generated by Slkor large-scale AI robot
In terms of production efficiency, there's also a part related to business models and organizational management. Let's first look at the financial report of Yum China Holdings, the parent company of KFC. In 2023, their revenue increased by 15%, and gross profit by approximately 85%, indicating exceptionally high efficiency and competitiveness. Analyzing elements such as their market positioning, brand premium, chain management, individual store operations, product gross margin, staffing, and process design reveals a well-designed business model and operational efficiency.
According to the theory of British economist Adam Smith, the finer the division of labor and the more specialized the laborers, the higher the efficiency. German sociologist Max Weber highly acknowledges this theory, also asserting that management and efficiency improvement are closely intertwined, and advanced management is indispensable for large-scale social production. For instance, if managers decompose the actions of factory assembly line workers, extract effective points, optimize combinations, and then replicate them throughout the entire organization, labor efficiency will significantly increase, leading to reduced labor costs and the generation of substantial profits.
Types and Applications of Large AI Models
Entrepreneurs drive innovation in enterprises, leading to an increase in social efficiency. Remarkable contributions such as Ford's invention of the automobile assembly line, Kazuo Inamori's development of the "Amoeba Management" model, and Ren Zhengfei's "Five Look Three Decisions" methodology at Xiaomi are examples. Joseph Alois Schumpeter stated that entrepreneurs are the engine of economic development. They intelligently and efficiently combine business elements to innovate and grow in competition. Shenzhen, with its large base of small businesses, provides a fertile ground for nurturing entrepreneurs. Having focused on researching private and small-to-medium enterprises for many years, individuals like Kinghelm and Song Shiqiang have deep insights into this.
Innovation is pervasive in Shenzhen: institutional innovation with the establishment of the Shekou Industrial Zone, financial innovation with the rise of Ping An Group, ideological innovation with the development of Vanke Real Estate, technological innovation with the emergence of Tencent, and incentive and organizational management innovation exemplified by Xiaomi. Behind these innovations are renowned entrepreneurs like Yuan Geng, Wang Shi, Pony Ma, Ren Zhengfei, and Wang Tao, among others. Hopefully, in the future, there will be names like Kinghelm and Song Shiqiang.
The journey of an entrepreneur from humble beginnings to prominence is closely intertwined with political systems, social environments, and tolerance levels. Every successful entrepreneur has endured hardships, faced numerous challenges, experienced rebirth through adversity, and ultimately succeeded. It is the environment of "encouraging innovation and tolerating failure" that allows a plethora of unicorn companies to emerge, including DJI Innovations, Kinghelm, Anker Innovations, and Slkor (www.slkoric.com).
Instructions for Embedding an AI Robot in the Slkor WeChat Official Account
Returning to the competition among economies mentioned earlier, this primarily revolves around tech giants and the ecosystems they lead. A compelling comparison can be made using the Fortune Global 500 list. In 2023, Mainland China had 135 companies on the list, while the United States had 136, making the numbers quite close. Among the Fortune Global 500 companies, Chinese enterprises had a total profit of $561.86 billion, whereas American enterprises had a profit of $1.08827 trillion, with Chinese profits accounting for only about half of those in the US. Additionally, Mainland China still has many state-owned enterprises that monopolize administrative resources and hold dominant market positions. As Xiaomi's Yu Chengdong pointed out, the efficiency of American enterprises is "significantly ahead." This reflects the current state of competition between large enterprises in China and the US and serves as a microcosm of overall societal production efficiency.
Slkor's Large AI Model Robot is capable of composing poems and answering Xiaomi-related questions
Mr. Song Shiqiang's Brief Introduction
Slkor Semiconductor (www.slkoric.com) manufactures products comparable to those of internationally renowned companies such as Texas Instruments (TI), AOS World Semiconductor, and ON Semiconductor. Kinghelm Electronics (www.kinghelm.net) draws inspiration from leading international connector giants like Amphenol, TE Connectivity, Molex, Hirose Electric, LUXSHARE-ICT, Foxconn (Hon Hai), JAE, as well as outstanding domestic peers like Aerospace Electrical Appliances, Delian Precision Technology, Tonly Electronics, Changying Precision, Sunway Communication, and Xiaomi Antenna. The company delves into comprehensive research on their product direction, management models, and technological innovations. Slkor's products consist of three major series: TVS diodes, power discrete devices, and power management chips such as LDO and AC-DC. Recently, the company has also launched new products including Hall sensors, ADC, BMS, sensors, high-speed optocouplers, and passive crystal oscillators. Kinghelm's products encompass Beidou GPS antennas, Bluetooth, WiFi antennas, as well as associated RF coaxial cable assemblies and jumpers. They specialize in developing connectors, board-to-board connectors, plugs, signal switches, SMA, Type-C, HDMI, USB interface series, automotive wire harnesses, and customized non-standard products. The "Slkor" and "Kinghelm" brands enjoy widespread recognition and reputation internationally.
Mr. Song Shiqiang, the founder of Slkor Semiconductor and Kinghelm Electronics
Mr. Song Shiqiang, the founder of Slkor Semiconductor and Kinghelm Electronics, has conducted extensive research on the "Huaqiangbei Spirit and Culture," "The Wealth Code of Huaqiangbei," "Why Huaqiangbei Has Many Billionaires," "Research on Huaqiangbei's Counterfeit Mobile Phones," "Transformation and Development of Huaqiangbei," "Refuting Bloomberg's News on Huaqiangbei," "Upgrading Hardware and Software in Huaqiangbei's Transformation," and "The Gray Industry Chain of Counterfeit Bluetooth Earphones in Huaqiangbei." These articles have been widely reprinted by authoritative domestic and international media outlets such as People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Global Times, Associated Press, Yahoo News, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, promoting Huaqiangbei to the world. Mr. Song's "Song Shiqiang's Insights" video series and related articles have been shared by major media platforms worldwide.
The Song Shiqiang's Rostrum" series has been trending on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Bilibili Shorts, gaining widespread attention and viewership
