The other volume player, and how its scale model compares.
China CNC Daily Insight · Issue #4
Create Century (创世纪) — China's 3C Drill-Tap King, Under Pressure
A daily brief on China's CNC industry · Figures as of August 2026 · Prepared for buyers, investors and overseas partners. ← All insights · ← GREE CNC
Contents
- Executive Summary
- 1 · Company Snapshot
- 2 · Core Strengths
- 3 · Objective Limitations
- 4 · The RMB 382M Jingdiao Case — Why It Matters
- 5 · Competitive Positioning (vs Jingdiao / Gree / Haitian / KEDE)
- 6 · Overseas Reality
- 7 · This Week's Gree CNC Angle
- 8 · Data Credibility Rating
- 9 · Guidance by Use Case
Create Century is China's undisputed king of 3C drilling-tapping machines — and the most heavily litigated name in the domestic machine-tool sector right now.
- Real strengths: 110,000+ drill-tap centers shipped under the Taijing brand (the country's largest 3C install base), a four-brand group (Taijing, Hele, Hualing, Feihong), a live five-axis ramp (batch deliveries in 2026, a RMB 10.5M AECC machine-casing win), and a Vietnam manufacturing base pushing into Southeast Asia.
- Real risks: A Supreme Court judgment ordering its subsidiary to pay Beijing Jingdiao RMB 382M for trade-secret infringement; enforcement has already withheld RMB 76M+; in July 2026 the company, chairman and board secretary were warned by regulators for late disclosure. Balance-sheet scars remain: RMB 1.65B goodwill and a RMB 2.39B accumulated parent-company loss.
- One line: A volume champion with genuine five-axis ambition — but 2026 is as much about the litigation hangover and disclosure discipline as about new machines.
110k+
Drill-tap centers shipped (Taijing brand)
RMB 5.32B
2025 revenue (+15.5% YoY)
RMB 434M
2025 deducted profit (+114% YoY)
RMB 382M
Jingdiao judgment (trade-secret case)
RMB 1.65B
Goodwill on balance sheet (31% of equity)
Vietnam
Overseas manufacturing base (Taijing Vietnam)
1 · Company Snapshot
Create Century (创世纪, 300083.SZ) — full name Guangdong Create Century Intelligent Equipment Group, formerly "Guangdong JingSheng Intelligent" — is a ChiNext-listed group headquartered in Shenzhen (registered in Dongguan). It is a pure-play machine-tool company: CNC machine tools were RMB 5.16B of RMB 5.32B 2025 revenue. The operating business sits in wholly-owned Shenzhen Create Century Machinery, which owns regional plants (Dongguan, Yibin, Zhejiang, Wuxi) and brands: Taijing (台群精机), Hele (赫勒), Hualing (华领) and Feihong (霏鸿) for five-axis turn-mill.
2025 financials (annual report, published 2026-04-01): revenue RMB 5.32B (+15.5%); reported net profit RMB 143M (−39.6%); but deducted (non-recurring-adjusted) net profit RMB 434M (+114.3%); operating cash flow RMB 133M (+368%). The gap between reported and deducted profit is almost entirely one-off: a RMB 372M litigation provision (the Jingdiao case) booked in Q4 2025, which pushed Q4 into a net loss of RMB 205M.
Sources: 2025 annual report (cninfo / SSE disclosure), 2026 Q1 report (cnfin.com), company website gdcci.com.
2 · Core Strengths
#1 · The 3C drill-tap king — volume no one else matches
Drilling-tapping centers (钻攻机) are the workhorse of smartphone / tablet / wearable metal machining, and Create Century's Taijing brand has shipped 110,000+ units to 3C supply chains (company figures; 90k+ cited in mid-2026 industry coverage). Vertical machining center sales passed 10,000 units/year in 2021. In a segment defined by repeat orders and service response, its 200+ domestic distributors and 7×24 service network are a real moat.
#2 · A genuine five-axis ramp — not just a brochure
Its five-axis push runs through Feihong (霏鸿智能): FH60P-C / FH80P-C / FH100P-C five-axis turn-mill centers with DD direct-drive B/C axes, linear scales on X/Y/Z (Heidenhain optional) and positioning accuracy of 0.006 mm (spec, not third-party tested). More tellingly, 2026 saw batch deliveries of cradle-type five-axis VMCs, five-axis turn-mill and J/Q/K high-speed horizontal machining centers, and Feihong (lead, with Neway) won a RMB 10.5M AECC machine-casing intelligent machining unit tender in Feb 2026 — a rare aerospace reference for the group.
#3 · Four emerging tracks with money behind them
Beyond 3C, the group names AI liquid cooling, NEV, intelligent/humanoid robots, and low-altitude economy as 2026 focus areas, with dedicated machine development per sector (e.g., T-V320UA five-axis VMC for robot parts and AI cold plates). It is also pursuing a private placement (定增) and M&A to close gaps in high-end CNC systems and precision components — an explicit strategy to reduce import dependence.
#4 · A real overseas manufacturing beachhead
Unlike most domestic peers, Create Century has an actual overseas plant — Taijing Vietnam — under its Hong Kong trading arm, with sales/service coverage of 40+ countries (SE Asia, Korea, Saudi, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Turkey, Spain). That is ahead of KEDE on overseas manufacturing, though behind on brand recognition.
3 · Objective Limitations
The Jingdiao judgment: RMB 382M and counting
In Dec 2025 the Supreme People's Court upheld a finding that Create Century's subsidiary infringed Beijing Jingdiao's trade secrets (a "poach-the-engineer + copy-the-drawings" pattern), ordering joint liability of RMB 382M — 30× the first-instance award. The subsidiary did not pay on time; enforcement began in early 2026 and RMB 76M+ has already been withheld from its bank accounts (plus ~RMB 15.9M frozen). This is China's largest trade-secret judgment in the machine-tool industry and remains a live cash-flow and reputation drag. See section 4.
Disclosure discipline sanctioned in July 2026
On July 10, 2026 the CSRC's Guangdong bureau issued warning letters to the company, chairman Xia Jun and board secretary Wu Yongbing, and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a regulatory letter — for failing to disclose the enforcement/account-freeze situation in a timely manner (disclosed May 14, 2026, months after events). For buyers and partners this is a governance flag, not just a legal one.
Balance-sheet scars
RMB 1.65B goodwill (31% of equity, from the JingSheng-era transformation), an accumulated parent-company deficit of RMB 2.39B (which is why no dividends are payable), 56.4% debt ratio, and a 2026-Q1 operating cash flow of −RMB 273M (swung negative) suggest the machine business is strong but the group balance sheet is still healing. Q1 2026 net profit also fell 26.6% YoY despite +12.2% revenue.
Expensive equity & a diluted five-axis stake
TTM P/E around 155× (as of Q1 2026 data) prices in a lot of growth. Note also that in March 2026 the group sold 20.8% of Feihong — its five-axis subsidiary — to an outsider, moving it from controlled subsidiary to associate: the flagship five-axis story is now partly outside the consolidated entity.
4 · The RMB 382M Jingdiao Case — Why It Matters
This case matters beyond Create Century: it is a landmark for IP enforcement in Chinese machine tools. Beijing Jingdiao (北京精雕), a national "team" in glass/ceramic hard-brittle machining, alleged that a product manager who had worked there ~14 years — and who copied files tens of thousands of times before leaving — carried key drawings to Create Century's subsidiary, which then built competing machines. The Supreme Court final judgment (Dec 2025) ordered joint compensation of RMB 382M, described in coverage as one of the largest trade-secret awards in China's manufacturing sector.
Read-across for buyers: if you are evaluating Create Century machines, the practical question is not "did they copy" (adjudicated) but whether ongoing compliance and disclosure discipline affect service continuity. Watch the group's cash position and any further enforcement actions in H2 2026. For the industry, the case raises the bar for how aggressively domestic makers can "learn from" competitors' engineers — a risk factor for the whole fast-following cohort.
Sources: Supreme Court judgment via company announcements; CSRC Guangdong warning letter (July 2026); multiple financial media (Jul 2026).
5 · Competitive Positioning
| Dimension | Create Century | Jingdiao (Beijing) | Gree Intelligent Equip. | Haitian Precision | KEDE CNC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core identity | 3C drill-tap volume king | Hard-brittle precision (glass/ceramic) | Appliance-diversified, scenario-led | Volume VMC / gantry | Pure-play five-axis, in-house GNC |
| 2025 revenue | RMB 5.32B | Not disclosed (unlisted) | RMB 681M* (whole segment) | RMB 3.37B | RMB 552M |
| Owns CNC system? | No | Partial (own control for precision lines) | No (3rd-party) | No | Yes (GNC) |
| Five-axis status | Ramping (Feihong) | Specialist | In production (0.003mm claimed) | Developing | Core business |
| Overseas footprint | Vietnam plant + 40 countries | Limited | Service points push | Overseas +50% growth 2025 | Marginal |
| Biggest flag | RMB 382M judgment | — | Scale still small | No in-house system | Small scale, profit dip |
* Gree figure is the whole intelligent-equipment segment (incl. robots/automation). Haitian/KEDE from their 2025 reports.
The strategic read: Create Century is the scale player of the domestic pack — no one else ships 110k drill-tap machines. It is not the autonomy leader (KEDE's GNC), not the precision specialist (Jingdiao), and not the turnkey scenario player (Gree). Its competitive edge is 3C service density and manufacturing scale; its five-axis story is real but younger and now partly outside the consolidated group.
6 · Overseas Reality
Create Century is one of the few Chinese machine-tool makers with manufacturing outside China — Taijing Vietnam — plus Hong Kong-based trading arms and 40+ country sales coverage. Management explicitly ties this to industrial relocation: as electronics assembly moves to SE Asia, they want to follow the customer. That is a structural edge over KEDE and most domestic five-axis makers. The caveats: overseas revenue still leans on the 3C/consumer cycle, the brand is unknown to most Western buyers, and the litigation/governance issues will matter to compliance-minded overseas procurement teams.
7 · This Week's Gree CNC Angle
(Per our research standard, Gree's own CNC developments are reported separately each issue rather than mixed into the vendor analysis.)
- People's Daily op-ed (Jul 31): Chairman Dong Mingzhu published "Industrial mother machines: from importing to self-reliance", stating Gree's in-house five-axis linkage machines reach 0.003 mm precision and are supplied in batches to multiple NEV makers; Gree's Jinwan plant was named to MIIT's first "lighthouse-level smart factory" list.
- Overseas report (Jul 29): coverage reiterated that Gree has been building five-axis machine tools and industrial robots since 2015, and will keep iterating toward production needs.
- Liquid-cooling signal (Aug 3): Gree Intelligent Equipment's livestream stressed that its machines are widely used in liquid-cooling manufacturing; one manufacturer cited buying ~100 Gree CNC machines for a liquid-cooling project — aligning with the AI-cooling demand theme in this week's market.
Sources: People's Daily via Gree official WeChat (Jul 31); overseas media (Jul 29); Xueqiu/Gree livestream (Aug 3).
8 · Data Credibility Rating
| Figure | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 revenue RMB 5.32B / deducted profit RMB 434M / Q4 loss | High | Audited annual report / exchange disclosure |
| RMB 382M Supreme Court judgment, enforcement withheld RMB 76M+, July 2026 warning letters | High | Court judgment + CSRC/SZSE public enforcement documents |
| Q1 2026 revenue +12.2%, net profit −26.6%, OCF −RMB 273M | High | Q1 report (cnfin.com) |
| 110,000+ drill-tap units shipped; 790 patents; 785k m² plants | Medium | Company website self-report; internally consistent, not audited |
| Feihong 0.006 mm positioning accuracy; 0.003 mm Gree five-axis precision | Medium | Vendor specs (marketing materials), not third-party tested |
| AECC machine-casing tender win (RMB 10.5M) | High | Public tender award announcement (Feb 2026) |
9 · Guidance by Use Case
- 3C / consumer-electronics volume machining: Create Century is the natural first look — unmatched install base, service density and cost position in drill-tap.
- Five-axis / aerospace-adjacent work: Feihong's machines are real and the AECC win is a reference, but verify reliability and service terms on the (now non-consolidated) Feihong entity before committing; compare against KEDE and Gree five-axis options.
- Overseas buyers: Vietnam manufacturing is a genuine plus for SE Asia relocation; but run normal supplier due-diligence on the litigation/governance items — they affect nothing about the machine itself, yet they tell you about management bandwidth.
- Investors: the machine business is compounding (deducted profit +114%), but the RMB 382M judgment, goodwill, accumulated losses and rich valuation mean this is not a clean "China CNC winner" proxy — it is a turnaround-with-growth story.
Disclaimer: An independent-style research brief built from public sources (annual report, exchange/court documents, financial media), not a vendor brochure or investment advice. Vendor specs are flagged as such.
Frequently asked questions
What is Create Century best known for?
It is China's #1 supplier of 3C drilling-tapping centers (drill-tap machines), with 110,000+ units shipped under its Taijing brand, mostly into the smartphone/consumer-electronics supply chain.
Is the RMB 382M Jingdiao judgment a real risk?
Yes. The Supreme People's Court final judgment (Dec 2025) ordered Create Century's subsidiary to pay Beijing Jingdiao RMB 382M for trade-secret infringement. Non-payment triggered enforcement (RMB 76M+ already withheld) and the company, its chairman and board secretary received regulatory warnings in July 2026 for late disclosure.
Is Create Century profitable?
Revenue is large and growing (2025: RMB 5.32B, +15.5%), and core (deducted) profit more than doubled (+114%) — but reported net profit fell 39.6% due to a one-off RMB 372M litigation provision. Q1 2026 revenue rose 12% while net profit fell 27% and operating cash flow turned negative.
How does Create Century compare with Gree?
Create Century is a pure machine-tool volume leader built on 3C drill-tap demand, with a growing five-axis line and Vietnam manufacturing. Gree's intelligent-equipment unit is smaller but more scenario-packaged (machine + robot + thermal + process) and stronger on in-house spindles/linear motors; Gree this week highlighted its five-axis precision of 0.003mm and liquid-cooling applications.