The other scale player, and how its model compares with Qinchuan's.
China CNC Daily Insight · Issue #5
Qinchuan Machine Tool (秦川机床) — China's Gear-Grinding & RV-Reducer Backbone
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
Qinchuan is the unglamorous backbone of Chinese machine tools — the company that makes the gear-grinding machines, ball screws and RV reducers everyone else builds on top of.
- Real strengths: China's #1 in gear hobbing/grinding machines; a complete in-house chain from gear machines → ball screws → RV reducers (the robot "joint" component); its own QCNC68 CNC system on gear and five-axis equipment; and a state-owned "national team" mandate for high-end machine-tool import substitution.
- Real positioning facts: 2025 revenue RMB 4.09B (larger than Haitian's RMB 3.37B, but a much thinner return) with machine tools at 50.5% of sales; an SOE-scale balance sheet (RMB 10.05B assets) but ROE of just 1.09% and three straight years of deducted (non-recurring-adjusted) losses.
- One line: The deepest component-and-system franchise in the Chinese machine-tool field — but a "big-and-not-yet-profitable" SOE whose margin story is still being written.
RMB 4.09B
2025 revenue (+5.96% YoY)
50.5%
Machine tools = core (RMB 2.06B)
QCNC68
In-house CNC system (gear & 5-axis)
6 / 50+ / 200+
RV reducer series / specs / ratios
RMB 10.05B
Total assets (SOE scale)
9,203
Employees
1 · Company Snapshot
Qinchuan Machine Tool & Tool Group (秦川机床工具集团, 000837.SZ) is headquartered in Baoji, Shaanxi, and controlled by Fast Group (法士特集团) since 2020, ultimately under the Shaanxi Provincial SASAC — one of the few still-independent "national team" machine-tool champions from China's old "18 Arhats" (十八罗汉) cohort. It is a diversified machine-tool group, not a single-product pure-play: 2025 revenue split was machine tools RMB 2.06B (50.5%), components/parts RMB 1.47B (36.0%), tools RMB 370M (9.1%), instruments RMB 90M (2.2%).
2025 financials (annual report, published 2026-03-27): revenue RMB 4.09B (+5.96%); net profit attributable RMB 52.89M (−1.65%); but deducted (non-recurring-adjusted) net profit −RMB 71.7M — the third consecutive yearly deducted loss (2023: −RMB 34.7M; 2024: −RMB 45.2M; 2025: −RMB 71.7M). Operating cash flow was a healthy RMB 317M (+103.3%). Total assets RMB 10.05B; ROE 1.09%. The group runs subsidiaries across the value chain: Baoji Machine Tool (VMCs/lathes), Hanjiang Machine Tool (ball screws, thread grinders), Hanjiang Tools (precision complex cutting tools), Qinchuan Grand (cylindrical grinders), Qinchuan CNC (the QCNC68 system) and Qinchuan High-Precision Drive (RV reducers).
Sources: 2025 annual report (cninfo / SZSE disclosure, 2026-03-27); CICC/company IR record (2026-04-21); China Business Journal coverage of deducted-loss streak.
2 · Core Strengths
#1 · The gear-machine leader — a moat nobody else has
Gear hobbing and grinding machines (齿轮机床) are Qinchuan's historic crown jewel. Its YKS7225A twin-station gear grinder, YKZ7230/7236 worm-wheel gear grinders and YKG73100 forming gear grinder serve the auto / NEV transmission chain; the YKZ7250 worm-wheel grinder was named among "China machine-tool industry's top-10 product quality" entries. In a segment where process know-how accumulates over decades, this is a defensible franchise.
#2 · A rare full chain: screws → RV reducers → robots
Through Hanjiang Machine Tool, Qinchuan makes precision ball screws and developed the HJ109/HJ110 grinders for planetary roller screws (行星滚柱丝杠) — the humanoid-robot linear-actuator component everyone is chasing in 2026. Its RV reducers (robot "joints") span 6 series, 50+ specs, 200+ ratios, one of China's most complete RV-reducer lineups, run out of the "Shaanxi precision-reducer pilot base." That vertical depth (machine → screw → reducer → robot part) is unique among domestic listed makers.
#3 · Its own CNC system (QCNC68) — ahead of the volume peers
Unlike Haitian or Create Century (which buy third-party controls), Qinchuan's subsidiary Qinchuan CNC developed the QCNC68 series, applied to gear machines and five-axis equipment and described in the annual report as reaching "international high-end standard." It also self-developed electric spindles validated on its own machines and dual-axis drive modules that replaced imports. That in-house control know-how is a strategic differentiator versus pure-assembly competitors.
#4 · National-team mandate for import substitution
As an SASAC-controlled champion, Qinchuan carries the state's high-end machine-tool substitution mission: it leads national key R&D projects, and its grinders/machines are on Shaanxi's first-set (首台套) lists. When policy tailwinds push domestic substitution, Qinchuan is a prime beneficiary — explicitly so after Japan's July 2026 export-control expansion (see §4).
3 · Objective Limitations
Profit quality is thin — three years of deducted losses
Reported net profit stayed positive at RMB 52.89M, but that relied on RMB 125M of non-recurring gains — asset disposal (RMB 81.7M) and government grants (RMB 69.2M). Strip those out and deducted profit was −RMB 71.7M, the third straight year of deducted losses. For context, ROE was just 1.09% in 2025 versus Haitian's 15.35% and Neway's 17.14% — the "big-but-not-yet-profitable" (大而不赚) reality widely noted in Chinese financial press.
SOE scale, SOE efficiency
With RMB 10.05B in assets (roughly double Haitian's and Neway's), Qinchuan's revenue base is large but its returns are thin and its structure legacy-heavy. 2026 was declared a "Quality Improvement" (品质提升) theme year — a candid acknowledgment that management efficiency and product margin, not just scale, are the work in progress.
High-end components still import-dependent
Despite the QCNC68 system and in-house spindles, the highest-end building blocks — gratings, high-precision rotary tables, some CNC subsystems — are still sourced overseas. Japan's July 2026 decision to add high-end five-axis machines, gratings and CNC-system design to a mandatory pre-notification control list (effective Aug 16, 2026) spotlights exactly this gap. It is also the domestic-substitution tailwind (see §4).
Overseas revenue not quantified — footprint is early
Qinchuan exports via its Shaanxi Qinchuan Machinery Import & Export subsidiary and states it is "actively expanding the international market," but no overseas-revenue breakdown is disclosed in the searched materials. Its overseas footprint trails Haitian's +50% overseas growth and Create Century's Vietnam plant — a gap to watch for overseas buyers.
4 · 2026 Tailwinds — Why Buyers Should Watch
Several 2026 signals make Qinchuan worth tracking even aside from its component franchise:
- Japan export-control expansion (Jul 2026): Japan added high-end five-axis machines, gratings / high-precision rotary tables and CNC-system design to its mandatory pre-notification control list, effective Aug 16, 2026. Qinchuan responded that this "has a positive bearing" on its high-end five-axis and core components — a direct domestic-substitution catalyst.
- CCTV spotlight (May 4, 2026): CCTV-2's Economic Half-Hour featured Qinchuan grinding machines as exemplars of "domestic industrial-mother-machine hard power" (国产工业母机硬核实力) — rare prime-time validation.
- AI five-axis push (2026 focus): Per the July 2026 IR record, Qinchuan's five-axis line spans four series / 20+ models and is rolling out a "10-type AI CNC system" with real-time machining-vibration monitoring, spindle-health AI prediction and auto process-matching for complex surfaces — aimed at humanoid-robot screws and aero-engine blades. The AI model is named the 2026 priority.
- Quality-Improvement year: 2026 is framed around "do it right the first time, do it precisely the first time" (一次做对、一次做精) — a margin-and-reliability discipline the deducted-loss history makes necessary.
Sources: company IR responses (Sina/NetEase, Jul 2026); CCTV-2 Economic Half-Hour (May 4, 2026); company annual report.
5 · Competitive Positioning
| Dimension | Qinchuan | KEDE CNC | Haitian Precision | Gree Intelligent Equip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core identity | Gear-grinding / screws / RV-reducer backbone (SOE) | Pure-play five-axis, in-house GNC | Volume VMC / gantry | Appliance-diversified, scenario-led |
| 2025 revenue | RMB 4.09B | RMB 552M | RMB 3.37B | RMB 681M* (whole segment) |
| Owns CNC system? | Yes (QCNC68, gear & 5-axis) | Yes (GNC) | No (3rd-party) | No (3rd-party) |
| Five-axis status | Ramping (BHR700V, AI 2026 focus) | Core business | Developing | In production (0.003mm claimed) |
| Unique asset | Gear→screw→RV-reducer chain | In-house GNC autonomy | Scale + overseas growth | Machine+robot+thermal scenario |
| Biggest flag | 3-yr deducted loss, ROE 1.09% | Small scale, profit dip | No in-house system | Scale still small |
* Gree figure is the whole intelligent-equipment segment (incl. robots/automation). Haitian/KEDE from their 2025 reports. Create Century (the 3C drill-tap peer) is omitted here as its profile is covered separately.
The strategic read: Qinchuan is the component-and-system player of the domestic pack — nobody else listed owns gear machines + screws + RV reducers + a CNC system in one group. It is not the five-axis autonomy leader (KEDE), not the volume/overseas leader (Haitian), and not the turnkey scenario player (Gree). Its edge is depth of the industrial chain and SOE substitution mandate; its watch-item is whether "Quality-Improvement 2026" converts scale into margin.
6 · Overseas Reality
Qinchuan sells abroad through its dedicated import-export subsidiary and names international expansion as a 2026 priority, but unlike Haitian (overseas +50% in 2025) or Create Century (a Vietnam plant + 40-country coverage), Qinchuan has not disclosed a quantified overseas revenue figure in the materials reviewed. For overseas buyers the practical picture is: a deep, credible component-and-machine franchise with state-backed stability, but a younger and less visible direct-export channel than its private peers. Partners should expect to engage through the group's trading arm and verify lead times / service terms per project.
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.
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 4.09B; net profit RMB 52.89M; deducted loss RMB 71.7M; OCF RMB 317M; assets RMB 10.05B; ROE 1.09% | High | Audited annual report / SZSE disclosure |
| Product mix (machine tools 50.5%, parts 36.0%, tools 9.1%); regional split | High | Audited annual report segment data |
| QCNC68 in-house CNC applied to gear & five-axis; "international high-end standard" | Medium | Annual-report company claim; "standard" is a vendor statement, not third-party tested |
| RV reducers 6 series / 50+ specs / 200+ ratios; ball-screw grinders HJ109/HJ110 | Medium | Company self-report / subsidiary disclosures |
| AI five-axis (10-type AI CNC, vibration monitoring, spindle health); BHR700V autonomous | Medium | IR responses / company statements; not third-party verified |
| Japan export-control list (Aug 16 effective) → positive for domestic substitution | High | Official government announcement + company IR response |
| CCTV-2 Economic Half-Hour feature (May 4, 2026) | High | State media coverage |
9 · Guidance by Use Case
- Gear / transmission / NEV drivetrain machining: Qinchuan is the natural first look in China — its gear hobbing/grinding machines are the segment leader and a safe, established choice.
- Ball screws / RV reducers / robot parts: Qinchuan's vertical chain (screw → reducer → robot joint) is a differentiator; for humanoid-robot and automation buyers it is one of the few listed names covering the full stack.
- Five-axis / aerospace-adjacent work: the BHR700V and 2026 AI-five-axis line are real, but verify reliability and service terms — and benchmark against KEDE and Gree five-axis options before committing.
- Overseas buyers: engage via the group's import-export arm; expect a credible, state-backed supplier but a less mature direct-export channel than private peers — confirm lead times and local service coverage per project.
- Investors: the component franchise and substitution mandate are genuine, but three years of deducted losses, ROE of 1.09% and reliance on non-recurring gains mean this is a "policy-and-turnaround" story, not a clean earnings compounder — watch 2026 Quality-Improvement execution.
Disclaimer: An independent-style research brief built from public sources (annual report, exchange/IR documents, financial and state media), not a vendor brochure or investment advice. Vendor specs are flagged as such.
Frequently asked questions
What is Qinchuan Machine Tool best known for?
It is China's leading maker of gear hobbing/grinding machines (齿轮机床), precision ball screws and RV reducers for robots — the "backbone" components of the machine-tool and robotics supply chain. It also runs an in-house CNC system (QCNC68) for its gear and five-axis machines.
Does Qinchuan make its own CNC controller?
Yes. Its subsidiary Qinchuan CNC developed the QCNC68 series, applied to gear machines and five-axis equipment and described in the annual report as reaching "international high-end standard". That puts Qinchuan ahead of most volume peers (Haitian, Create Century) that buy third-party systems, though KEDE remains the pure-play five-axis + GNC autonomy leader.
Is Qinchuan profitable?
2025 revenue was RMB 4.09B (+5.96%); reported net profit attributable was RMB 52.89M. But profit quality is thin: RMB 125M of non-recurring gains (asset disposal + government grants) offset a deducted (non-recurring-adjusted) loss of RMB 71.7M — the third straight year of deducted losses. ROE was just 1.09%.
How does Qinchuan compare with Gree's CNC business?
Qinchuan is a much larger, SOE-scale machine-tool group (RMB 4.09B revenue) with deep gear/screw/reducer specialization and its own QCNC68 system. Gree's intelligent-equipment unit is smaller but more scenario-packaged (machine + robot + thermal + process), stronger on in-house spindles/linear motors, and this week highlighted 0.003mm five-axis precision and liquid-cooling applications.