REGIONAL REPORT
A renewed structural reform drive is essential to boost productivity and output potential , while fostering greener and more inclusive growth
exceed those commitments at its discretion . Korea has launched the Korean New Deal with a significant green component ,” explained the IMF .
“ On a global scale , Asia has heard the message that green investments and raising carbon prices are a pro-growth , proequity policy and , over time , that combination of higher carbon prices and green investments would produce millions of jobs , perhaps on the order of 12 million jobs over a decade , and large gains to global GDP ,” it added . It urged the international community to ‘ step up to the plate ’ to assist in providing grants and climate financing on highly concessional , favourable terms . China recently vowed to step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy and ‘ will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad .’
“ The welcome shift towards a greener energy mix during the pandemic must now catalyse further efforts to advance the green agenda . Increased investment in green technologies , coupled with higher carbon prices , are essential to reduce emissions . Policies should build on recent country initiatives , including incentives for energyefficient vehicles in China , tax rebates for efficient home appliances in Korea and support for a climate-resilient infrastructure in Japan . Policy strategies need to internalise political economy considerations and limit adverse distributional impacts . Only in such cases will greener growth be politically sustainable . In this respect , safety nets to compensate losers and trampoline policies to allow workers to shift from declining to new sectors will need to be improved ,” added the IMF .
Automotive assembly plant in China .
The potential of Industry 4.0
China is an integral part of Asia ’ s growing shift to intelligent applications . The Chinese Government has strengthened the design of smart manufacturing by implementing various schemes and demonstrations in developing standard systems . It aims to create 55 manufacturing innovation centres by 2025 . It has also created a roadmap to become the leading Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) superpower by 2030 .
“ Following the COVID-19 outbreak , supply chains in the Asia Pacific have experienced tremendous stress . Production and the distribution network have been frequently interrupted by factories in the region , closing on a considerable scale and transportation linkages being severed to contain the virus . With temporary production interruptions and longer lead times to receive essential raw materials and parts , manufacturing performance in the region over the outbreak period has taken a hit . With the COVID-19 impact , in the longterm future , it is expected that manufacturers operating in the region [ will aim to ] adopt Industry 4.0 operating procedures to become more agile and mitigate production and distribution shortfalls , should an event like this ever happen again ,” concluded the ReportLinker analysis on the Asian smart manufacturing market . n
ISMR October 2021 | sheetmetalplus . com | 43