With the deepening implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Central Asian mines have become an international stage for China’s high-end intelligent equipment to shine. Deep within the vast open-pit copper mines of Kazakhstan, a group of massive ore-carrying trucks move orderly between the mine pit and the stockpile under precise commands, with no one in the driver’s cab. This is the real scene of the remote-controlled and unmanned equipment independently developed by Zhonghong Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhonghong Heavy Machinery”) in operation.
In the winter of Laixi Economic Development Zone, the production workshop of Zhonghong Heavy Machinery is bustling with activity. CNC machine tools operate precisely, and workers are busy shuttling between production lines. One after another, underground ore-carrying trucks about to be shipped to Central Asia are undergoing final debugging.
</ … Wang Yijie, Deputy General Manager of Zhonghong Heavy Machinery, introduced, "This batch of orders is an additional order from a customer in Kazakhstan. In 2025, our exports to the Central Asian market exceeded 50 million yuan, 2.5 times that of 2024, and orders are still increasing." Despite global trade pressures, Zhonghong Heavy Machinery has achieved growth against the trend. Chairman Ning Xiaofeng's entrepreneurial journey is a condensed history of China's equipment industry's transformation. In the 1990s, China's mining industry developed rapidly, but very few companies could independently develop and produce high-end mining equipment. The large-scale reliance on imported trackless mining equipment resulted in high prices and lagging parts supply. In 1991, Ning Xiaofeng resigned from his secure job and founded a trading company with his wife, starting by establishing an international supply chain for equipment parts. In 2008, Ning Xiaofeng led the company into the manufacturing field, focusing on the independent development of trackless mining equipment. In 2013, the first loader successfully rolled off the production line and was exported overseas, selling well in the international market due to its excellent cost-performance ratio. Subsequently, Zhonghong Heavy Machinery refused acquisition offers from multinational giants, insisting on its own brand. In 2018, the successful launch of its 14-ton cable loader made China one of the very few countries in the world capable of producing large-scale trackless mining equipment. In 2019, Luxin Capital invested, injecting momentum into its overseas business expansion. Today, nearly 40% of Zhonghong Heavy Machinery's revenue comes from the international market. "Using domestic prices to achieve international quality is the key to our success in fierce competition," said Wang Yijie. He added that Zhonghong Heavy Machinery's product R&D and design are benchmarked against international standards, with many systems reaching world-class levels, reducing operating costs for mines by an average of 30%, and orders being exported to dozens of countries and regions. Zhonghong Heavy Machinery's market competitiveness stems from its persistent pursuit of core technologies. In 2019, the company launched its independently developed remote/automated unmanned driving system, enabling "one driver to remotely and precisely control 1 to 3 pieces of equipment simultaneously," revolutionizing traditional mining operations. In 2020, it collaborated with top domestic universities to develop an integrated system platform, providing a technological foundation for mining development. Currently, the wave of smart mine construction is sweeping the globe. Zhonghong Heavy Machinery's unmanned driving equipment, remote control system, and intelligent management platform are powerful tools for solving pain points in the mining industry. Driven by market demand in Central Asia and South America, Zhonghong Heavy Machinery is further improving its global layout and enhancing its localized service capabilities. Looking to the future, Zhonghong Heavy Machinery will focus on intelligent mining and new energy equipment. Ning Xiaofeng stated that the company plans to become a dual leader in the Chinese and international markets in the field of intelligent mining within the next five years. Chairman Ning Xiaofeng of Zhonghong Heavy Machinery remarked that innovation is the key to the company's growth. In the new year, the company will repay society and the country with better performance and hopes that the government will provide more policy support and infrastructure investment to help the company's development.
