Some Problems in China's Metrological Instrumentation and Instrumentation Industry

Measurement is a tool for human understanding of the surrounding material world. It is an important technical foundation and management foundation for modern human civilization. The development of measuring instruments involves all walks of life, millions of households, and every corner of human life.

Measurement instruments and meters originally referred to precision equipment used to measure the pressure, flow, and temperature of water, gas, electricity, and oil. With over a thousand varieties of products, in the last two decades of the last century, with the increasing development of microelectronics and communication technologies. According to the scientific division of modern measurement, including scientific measurement, legal system measurement, engineering measurement three aspects. The task of scientific measurement is to develop and establish basic standards for measurement, ensure the transmission of quantity and traceability, and provide basic guarantees for legal measurement and engineering instructors. The task of legal system measurement is to supervise and govern the important measurement instruments and commodity measurement activities related to the national economy and the people's livelihood by the government metrological administrative authorities in order to ensure the accuracy of relevant values.

The task of engineering metrology is to trace the value of other measurement activities of the whole society, provide measurement calibration, and provide testing services. Based on this, we divide it into geometric measurement, temperature measurement, mechanical measurement, electromagnetic measurement, optical measurement, and acoustic measurement. , electronic measurement, time frequency measurement, ionizing radiation measurement, and stoichiometry. There are more than 6,000 measuring instruments of all kinds in China, and a relatively complete variety of products has been formed. It has an industrial system with a certain technological basis and production scale, and has become the second largest metering instrument and meter producer in Asia except Japan. Since the beginning of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the general situation of China's metrological instrumentation industry has been moving forward. Products in the miniaturization, integration, intelligence, and the development of the bus line closely follow the pace of international development, the emergence of a number of new and technologically advanced products, the rise of a number of private enterprises with considerable scale, is China's measurement instrument industry development New force. We should soberly realize that although China's metrological instrumentation industry has achieved certain development, it is far from meeting the ever-growing demand for national economic research, national defense construction, and social life, and most of China's metrology equipment products are It belongs to medium and low-grade technology, and the key indicators such as reliability and stability have not yet reached the requirements. High-end, large-scale equipment and equipment are almost all dependent on imports. Mid-range products and many key parts and components, foreign companies also account for more than 60% of the domestic market share. .

Factors restricting the development of China's metrological instrumentation industry. The development of China's metrological instrumentation lags behind, there are many problems, facing a severe situation, and its main factors are concentrated in the following four aspects: 1. The progress of technological innovation and industrialization has been slow.

Modern metrology is a highly integrated product of optical, mechanical, electrical, computer, and many other basic disciplines. It is very sensitive to new technologies and is one of the fastest-growing new technology applications in modern industrial products. With the launch of new products, especially in the information age today, the competition is becoming increasingly fierce and a slight slowdown in the pace of development will be far behind. Now that we have entered the 21st century, the general level of China's metrology and instrumentation has remained at the international level in the early 1980s. Large and high-end equipment and equipment are almost all dependent on imports. Many urgently needed special instruments are still blank, and mid- to low-grade products are guaranteed. There are many difficulties in quality that need to be overcome. The delay in the development of scientific and technological innovation and its industrialization is a "bottleneck" restricting the development of China's metrology instrumentation industry. There are three main factors that restrict the scientific and technological innovation and development delay in China's metrological instrumentation industry: The first is that scientific research funding is seriously inadequate; The second is the lack of talent; the third is the lack of effective integration of government, production, education, research, and application.

Second, product stability and reliability cannot be fundamentally resolved in the long term.

China's measurement products, including industrial automation instrumentation systems, communications equipment, etc., although the gap between the technical indicators and similar foreign products is not very large, but the stability and reliability are not high. This has greatly limited the scope of use and credibility of China's metrology products. There are three main reasons for this:

(1) Long-term neglect of the development of basic technology research.

(2) The quality of domestically produced common parts and basic parts is not critical.

(3) The quality control and management of the company's products are weak, and the quality of the products is not relevant.

Third, the old system constrains the development of the enterprise The old system is a common issue that restricts China's economy, especially the development of state-owned enterprises. The instrument industry is no exception. A considerable number of state-owned enterprises have been unable to break away from their historical burden due to the long-term constraint of the old system, lost their vitality in the market competition, and suffered a serious downturn in their production and operations. A large number of state-owned enterprises are struggling on the life and death line. Therefore, accelerating institutional reform is one of the important ways for development.

Fourth, the development of the metrology instrumentation industry is constrained by the objective environment. Its main performance is (1) overtaxation. The enterprises for measurement products are generally small in scale, with few production batches, and the total output value and economic benefits are not high. However, modern metering instruments and meters have enormous inflated effects on the national economy and produce incalculable double benefits. For industries with such special properties, 17% of VAT is levied just like other industries, and 33% of income tax and the same percentage of tariffs are overtaxed.

(2) The governments at all levels, including the industry's competent authorities and the banking, taxation, and industry and commerce departments, have insufficient understanding of the importance of developing the metrology products industry, and their support is insufficient.

(3) The lack of procurement policies to support the development of national industries.

(4) Poor basic industry capabilities in China. Including product quality, service ability and reputation ability are all poor, which directly affects the development of the industry.

Measures and Suggestions for Revitalizing China 's Metrological Instrumentation Industry . In order to revitalize the development of the industry, the State should be negotiated with the relevant departments of the State Development Planning Commission, the Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Finance to formulate the necessary supportive policies. Modern measurement has integrated a variety of high-tech achievements. The development of modern metering instruments and meters must focus on outstanding talents and invest huge amounts of money. Therefore, it requires a group of large companies with well-known brands with considerable economic strength as leading enterprises to drive the development of the entire industry and simultaneously reform the state-owned enterprises as soon as possible. Inject new vitality. Because the instrument industry is generally small in size and has a short history, the “contract” is lighter and the product structure is easier to adjust. Therefore, the difficulty of restructuring is relatively small. It is recommended that the state should accelerate the restructuring of state-owned enterprises and can provide clear requirements for the promotion of measurement. The development of the instrument industry will have a positive driving effect.