NANNING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Two clicks ring out as a robot precisely positions a tightening tool over a bolt on an electric excavator and secures it in place. Every 12.5 minutes, another bright-green excavator rolls off the assembly line, ready to be shipped to markets around the world.
The scene unfolds at the LiuGong Excavator Intelligent Factory in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Guangxi Liugong Machinery Co., Ltd., a leading Chinese machinery manufacturer, now offers over 100 electric product models, which are sold in more than 60 countries and regions.
LiuGong is headquartered in Liuzhou City, an inland industrial city in Guangxi. Built on a strong foundation in automobile manufacturing, steel and machinery, the city has been accelerating the digital and intelligent transformation of its traditional industries.
LiuGong's Excavator Intelligent Factory began operation in November 2023. Inside the bustling workshop, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) carrying components of various sizes glide through the aisles, delivering them to workstations where workers have placed orders.
For Zhao Qifeng, production manager at the factory's assembly line, one of the toughest challenges addressed by intelligent transformation is product inspection.
"Previously, workers used steel rulers, tape measures and stopwatches to carry out tests. Nowadays, we can obtain key parameters through an AI-powered robotic system in about 10 minutes," Zhao said. The resulting "health report" for each excavator is then uploaded to the company's digital system.
With an annual production capacity of more than 20,000 excavators, the factory has achieved an automation rate of 65 percent through its smart upgrade. Overall production capacity has increased by 45 percent, order response time has been cut by 45 percent, and production efficiency has improved by 25 percent.
In the first half of this year, LiuGong's overseas revenue exceeded 10 billion yuan (about 1.49 billion U.S. dollars) for the first time, up more than 20 percent year-on-year, according to Liu Shuangfeng, director of business operations at the company's international business division. LiuGong's footprint now extends to 180 countries and regions worldwide.
Liu said that the company's connection with global markets is expected to improve further thanks to the Pinglu Canal, which just opened to navigation in September.
The 134.2-kilometer canal links Guangxi's capital Nanning with the Beibu Gulf, opening to sea at Guangxi's Qinzhou Port. The closest maritime outlet for much of southwest China is also offering companies in Liuzhou a more efficient export route.
LiuGong plans to increase exports through Qinzhou Port, where more ocean-going vessels are expected to call following the opening of the new canal, according to Liu.
"Compared with shipping through ports in Guangdong, the route via Qinzhou can reduce the company's inland transportation costs by around 15 to 18 percent and shorten transit times by seven to 10 days," he said.
With an established railway network, Liuzhou now features two access routes to the sea: goods can either travel by rail directly to Qinzhou Port, or by rail to Nanning, where they can then reach the port at Beibu Gulf via the Pinglu Canal.
The routes complement each other, giving businesses more options and helping strengthen supply chain resilience, said Qi Jianfeng, director of the development and reform bureau of Liunan District, where Liuzhou Railway Port lies.
To speed up export procedures, a customs-supervised facility at the railway port conducted its first rail-sea intermodal transport customs clearance in May, allowing exporters to complete customs procedures in Liuzhou, said Luo Qiaofeng, chief of Liuzhou Customs.
By streamlining declaration, inspection and release procedures, Liuzhou's new one-stop clearance process has cut customs clearance time by about 48 hours per shipment. A digital system also enables automated checks of container and seal numbers, speeding up cargo release, Luo added.
Liuzhou's official data shows that the city's railway port handled 17,000 TEUs from January to September this year, 22 times the total for all of 2025.
Both the Pinglu Canal and Liuzhou Railway Port are part of China's efforts to develop the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a trade route connecting China's inland regions with ASEAN and other global markets. The corridor is designated as one of China's strategic backbone passages in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). Its construction is expected to be fully completed by 2035.
For Liuzhou, the corridor brings the city's increasingly smart manufacturing sector closer to the global market at a faster pace. Though the city lies inland, the sea is no longer that far away.
As Qi put it, "Liuzhou may not be by the sea, but the sea has always been in its people's hearts." ■
