Quality is not only the foundation for a company's survival and the soul of its development, but also the weighty responsibility of China Yituo in safeguarding national food security. When asked by reporters, Wei Tao, the refined yet resolute Deputy Party Secretary of China Yituo and General Manager of First Tractor Co., Ltd., spoke eloquently. He stated that as a pioneer in the state-owned agricultural machinery industry, China Yituo has always kept its mission and original aspirations in mind over the past 70 years, integrating the philosophy of "zero-defect quality and international standards" into the company's bloodstream and deeply embedding it into its developmental genes. Building a strong enterprise through quality is not only the essential path to achieving high-quality development but also the responsibility that the "national team" of agricultural machinery should shoulder in this era.
Industry standardization construction is the foundation of building a strong enterprise through quality. Wei Tao emphasized that standards are the "lifeline" of quality and the "weather vane" leading high-quality development in the industry. China Yituo has consistently taken on social responsibility, continuously investing human and material resources to fully promote the standardization process in the industry. In recent years, the company has led or participated in the formulation and revision of over 50 national, industry, and group standards, focusing on addressing industry pain points such as outdated standards and technological gaps. For example, the two national standards—"Tractor Safety Technical Specifications" (GB 18447—2025) and "Tractor Noise Limits" (GB 6376—2025), led by the company, have been implemented, providing authoritative and unified technical guidelines for industry supervision, product certification, and market standardization. These standards have not only effectively improved the overall level of tractor product quality and safety but have also laid a solid foundation for enhancing the international competitiveness of China's agricultural machinery equipment industry. Additionally, the implementation of multiple testing standards related to rubber and plastics for agricultural and forestry tractors has filled technical gaps in the field, meeting the practical needs of product inspection and quality control.
Innovation is the core engine for quality improvement and the key support for China Yituo in serving the development needs of the national agricultural sector. Wei Tao revealed that a decade ago, the Northeast market was dominated by imported high-horsepower tractors, which were expensive and difficult to maintain. Meanwhile, the mountainous regions of the Southwest lacked suitable agricultural machinery due to complex terrain, severely hindering the progress of agricultural mechanization in China. To address these challenges, China Yituo has prioritized research and development innovation, accelerating the pace of developing large-scale, intelligent, environmentally friendly, and multi-functional agricultural machinery. The company actively promotes advanced technologies such as unmanned driving and precision operations, striving to address the shortcomings in agricultural modernization. Today, China Yituo has successfully broken through these barriers with technological innovation. Its two core products—a large high-horsepower tractor for the Northeast plains and a small, flexible model for the Southwest mountains—have been forged with Chinese technology, successfully breaking the monopoly of imported products in the Chinese market.
As a "chain leader" in the agricultural machinery industry, China Yituo has always adhered to the philosophy of "integrity, cooperation, sharing, and win-win," fully driving the synergistic upgrading and development of the industrial chain. Wei Tao acknowledged that quality improvement is never a "solo performance" by a single enterprise but a "chorus" of the entire industrial chain. The company has meticulously built a four-tier supplier cooperation system—strategic cooperation, key cooperation, targeted cooperation, and regular cooperation—formulating differentiated cooperation policies for suppliers at different levels and deepening collaboration with advantageous suppliers. In recent years, by vigorously promoting the localization of core components and breaking down unreasonable exclusive supply barriers, China Yituo has helped over 100 companies in the chain enhance their development capabilities and successfully completed the localization of nearly 100 types of core "bottleneck" components. Through on-site technical guidance and support for suppliers, the company has assisted over 600 suppliers in improving their process control and quality assurance capabilities, with more than 80 suppliers recognized as "little giants" specializing in niche sectors. For its outstanding achievements, China Yituo has been awarded the title of "Excellent Enterprise in Whole-Parts Cooperation."
"Strengthening three aspects is the path, but 'building a solid foundation' is the essence." Reflecting on China Yituo's journey of building a strong enterprise through quality, Wei Tao expressed deep emotion. He noted that after more than two decades of perseverance, the company has transformed from "producing top-tier products" to "achieving top-tier performance," realizing the iterative upgrade of China's agricultural machinery quality from "usable" to "easy to use," and from "qualified" to "excellent." Each piece of agricultural equipment has been crafted into a "heavy weapon" that safeguards farmers' incomes and ensures national food security.
Looking ahead, Wei Tao stated that the company will always adhere to the requirements of "strengthening quality in three aspects and building a solid foundation," with stricter standards, stronger innovation, and more pragmatic measures. China Yituo will deepen quality control, promote synergistic upgrading of the industrial chain, and ensure that the "Dongfanghong" brand, a national symbol, moves steadily and far on the path of high-quality development. The company will contribute to building a solid equipment foundation for agricultural modernization and play its part in strengthening China's agricultural machinery industry. "I firmly believe that only by rooting ourselves in quality can we achieve enduring success; only by forging our soul with quality can we advance steadily and far!" Wei Tao's words were filled with determination and a sense of responsibility.