Electric wires and cables play a crucial linking role in my country's infrastructure construction. With my country's continuous development, the traditional industry model is no longer suitable for the ever-changing market and demands of the power cable industry. Therefore, for many companies, industry transformation is imperative.

While my country's electric wire and cable industry continues to develop, seven major problems severely restrict its healthy and sustainable development.

First, there is an oversupply of low- and mid-range products and a shortage of high-end products. my country's power cable industry has approximately tens of thousands of companies, but most are small-scale, with low product quality, and few have the capability to win bids for important projects. There are significant shortages of electric wires and cables in some special and critical fields, requiring reliance on imports when needed.

Second, there is significant duplication of production and construction, resulting in overcapacity. Electric wires and cables are relatively easy to produce, with low market entry barriers. In recent years, during the urban and rural power grid renovation projects, some companies "seized the opportunity" and rushed into the market; even the power sector competed to build factories for production. In recent years, the rapid pace of infrastructure construction and the continued boom in the real estate industry have led to the emergence of numerous companies producing the same products as others, resulting in product duplication and overcapacity.

Third, rising raw material prices, coupled with intense market competition, have made it difficult for cable products to raise prices, making it unsustainable for many companies. The main raw materials for the wire and cable industry are copper and aluminum. While copper and aluminum prices have fluctuated in recent years, they have maintained a continuous upward trend. Coupled with rising energy, transportation, and labor costs, the production cost of wires and cables continues to increase. To maintain profitability and production, some companies are forced to cut corners or produce counterfeit or substandard products.

Fourth, insufficient investment in research and development leads to a lack of innovation. Some cable companies are short-sighted, focusing on increasing production and output, unwilling to invest capital and intellectual resources in developing new products, especially high-precision products; they also neglect improving product quality. This results in domestic cable companies lacking independent intellectual property rights, being dependent on others for key technologies, and experiencing slow development of high-end technologies and products. Statistics show that only 30% of domestically produced cable brands have reached a level of market acceptance and competitiveness. The lack of talent, the reluctance of graduates from relevant universities to work in small and medium-sized cable enterprises, the lack of relevant training for employees in private enterprises, the severe shortage of technical innovation talent, and the lack of dedicated funds for product research and innovation in most enterprises all contribute to the insufficient independent technological innovation and prominent product structure contradictions among domestic cable manufacturers.

Fifth, low-price bidding hinders the healthy development of the cable industry, with downstream enterprises tying up a large amount of upstream enterprises' funds. In bidding activities, downstream customers often win bids with low prices, forcing cable companies to sell at low prices to survive, ordering standard products but supplying non-standard products. These downstream customers are often powerful large clients, tying up a significant amount of cable companies' funds and affecting the normal operation of the entire industry.

Sixth, the numerous and complex requirements for cable grid access are an unbearable burden for cable companies. Wires and cables are essential products for various industries, but the performance requirements for cables differ or have different emphases. Therefore, various restrictions are imposed on cable products for grid access, and those without grid access qualifications are not allowed to use them. This forces cable manufacturers to spend a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources each year to cope with these numerous qualification certifications. For example, ordinary cables require a production license, low-voltage wires require mandatory 3C certification, mining cables require certification from the coal mine system, indoor communication cables require a network access license from the telecommunications bureau, television cables require a network access license from the broadcasting and television department, LAN cables for computer networks require a network access license, and flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables require a filing and approval certificate from the fire department, etc. Even more concerning, some products require licenses from several user departments simultaneously. Enterprises are exhausted from obtaining various network access qualifications, and product marketing costs have increased significantly.

In November 2008, to cope with the financial crisis, my country decided to invest 4 trillion yuan to stimulate domestic demand, of which approximately 40% was allocated to the construction and renovation of urban and rural power grids. The wire and cable industry once again had a good market opportunity, and wire and cable companies across the country seized the opportunity to meet the new round of urban and rural power grid construction and renovation.

The wire and cable industry is China's second largest industry after the automotive industry, with product variety satisfaction and domestic market share both exceeding 90%. Globally, China's total wire and cable output value has surpassed that of the United States, making it the world's largest wire and cable producer. With the rapid development of China's wire and cable industry, the number of newly established enterprises has been rising continuously, and the overall technological level of the industry has been greatly improved.

The enormous production capacity of China's wire and cable manufacturing industry is truly remarkable. As the scale of China's power industry, data communication industry, urban rail transit industry, automotive industry, and shipbuilding industry continues to expand, the demand for wires and cables will also grow rapidly, indicating significant future development potential for the wire and cable industry.