When photovoltaic prices drop below 70 cents, automakers engage in price wars, energy storage companies battle fiercely, large enterprises crush smaller factories, platforms exploit merchants, and employees sacrifice their health in 996 work schedules... "internal competition" has evolved from an industry pain point into an economic dilemma.

This year, addressing "internal competition" was included in the government work report for the first time. Twenty years ago, Chinese motorcycle companies engaged in self-destructive competition in Southeast Asian markets, with low-price competition resulting in technological stagnation, reputation collapse, and ultimately losing the market.

While "cutthroat competition" has become the fate of most industries, examining Siemens' 178-year development history reveals that life-or-death price wars have never approached the company, yet both applause and profits have arrived simultaneously.

In 2024, Siemens Group achieved overall revenue of 759 billion euros (approximately 615.3 billion yuan), with net profit of 90 billion euros (approximately 73 billion yuan), reaching historic highs.

Over 178 years, through countless rounds of industry reshuffling, why has Siemens consistently navigated its own blue ocean? Let's examine nine genuine "leading advantages" of Siemens to see how it lights beacons in uncharted territories and stays ahead of the competition.

**1. Pointer Telegraph: Locking Down the Track with Patent Pools**

In 1847, Werner von Siemens, founder of Siemens & Halske, improved upon the "pointer telegraph" invented by British scientist Wheatstone in 1837, simplifying its structure and improving reliability. He obtained a Prussian patent in October 1847, and pointer telegraphs began large-scale commercial use.

This innovation made telegraph messages "visible" for the first time—information jumped from "1G" Morse code to "3G" pointer reality, instantly increasing transmission speed tenfold while lowering usage barriers.

This innovation quickly attracted the Prussian government's attention, and Siemens secured the contract to lay the Berlin-Frankfurt telegraph line, Europe's first long-distance underground telegraph line.

From telegraph machines to cable manufacturing, then to network operations and maintenance services, Siemens controlled the entire industrial chain through its unique profit model, avoiding constraints from single-link suppliers.

By the 1850s, Siemens had established branches in Russia, Britain, Austria, and other countries, forming a global sales and service network earlier than competitors and locking in key markets.

Simultaneously, Siemens built patent pools around telegraph technology, covering line laying, signal conversion, terminal equipment, and more, making it difficult for competitors to circumvent.

**2. From 1866 Self-Exciting Generator to Century-Long Leadership in the Electric Age**

In 1866, Siemens invented the self-exciting generator using the electromagnetic "residual magnetism" self-enhancement principle, dramatically improving power generation efficiency while reducing equipment complexity. This made large-scale electricity applications globally possible.

The self-exciting generator became the cornerstone of modern power systems, driving the establishment of power plants and grids and creating entirely new electricity markets.

In 1891, Siemens participated in the world's first long-distance three-phase AC transmission project, making AC the mainstream over DC power.

China's first large-scale hydroelectric power station—Yunnan's Shilongba Hydroelectric Station—also used generators manufactured by Siemens. This power station, begun in 1912, has operated normally for over 110 years and is hailed as "a great wonder of Spring City Kunming."

While competitors competed on price, Siemens established the "German Quality" benchmark with equipment longevity of "ultra-long standby," writing another dimension of "commercial dominance."

**3. World's Largest Gas Turbine Manufacturer**

While Siemens didn't invent gas turbines, it manufactures the world's top-tier gas turbines. The world's most powerful and efficient H-class gas turbine comes from Siemens, with no peer-level competitors to date.

The SGT5-8000H gas turbine weighs approximately 445 tons, equivalent to about 1.6 Airbus A380s empty weight, with single-unit power of 375MW, 1.93 times that of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

At Guangzhou Zengcheng's 2×SGT5-8000H combined cycle units, each hour can generate 1,300MWh (approximately 1.3 million kWh), sufficient to meet peak electricity demand for a city of 3 million people.

**4. Nuclear and Wind Energy Giant**

As an electrical industry leader, Siemens' nuclear power technology is globally advanced. All 17 nuclear power stations in Germany use Siemens' core units.

Leveraging technical advantages in terrestrial hydropower, ultra-high voltage, nuclear power generation, and gas turbines, Siemens seamlessly transitioned technology to offshore wind power.

By the end of 2015, Siemens held 63.5% of Europe's offshore wind power installed capacity, becoming the new global largest wind turbine manufacturer.

**5. World Giant in Transformer Field**

Siemens is also world number one in transformer business. In 1890, Siemens produced the world's first batch of commercial oil-immersed transformers in Nuremberg, solving early air-cooled transformers' low efficiency and overheating problems, making long-distance high-voltage transmission possible.

From the 1890s AC transmission to 2000s ultra-high voltage, for over a century, as the standard definer, Siemens has consistently led grid evolution direction, maintaining technical benchmark status.

**6. Complete Technology Chain: Endless Possibilities for Terminal Equipment**

Commercial dominance means ultra-long product lifecycle and full industrial chain control: complete technology chain and integrated solutions from power generation equipment to terminal power application markets.

As early as 1866, Siemens manufactured the world's first electric locomotive, with a speed of 7km/h and capacity for 18 passengers, beginning continuous exploration in electric terminal products.

In the 1880s, through continuous technical upgrades, Siemens revolutionized the power application market through motor internalization technology, directly embedding motors into mechanical equipment (such as elevators and trams) and reducing mechanical transmission losses.

**7. A Beam of X-rays: Illuminating 100+ Years of Medical Imaging Blue Ocean**

The world's best medical imaging equipment also comes from Siemens. In 1895, German physicist Röntgen (first Nobel Physics Prize winner) discovered X-rays. Siemens Medical's predecessor RGS company, with keen market insight, immediately directed engineers to invest in R&D.

Within months, they manufactured and sold the world's first batch of medical X-ray tubes suitable for mass production.

In 2024, Siemens Medical (approximately 70,000 employees globally) achieved revenue of 223.63 billion euros (approximately 178.5 billion yuan), with imaging business revenue of 122.67 billion euros (approximately 98 billion yuan) and global net profit of 19.59 billion euros (approximately 15.3 billion yuan).

**8. Automation Control: Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and CNC Systems**

While Siemens didn't invent PLCs, it became the undisputed industry leader through full industrial chain layout and product distribution advantages.

In 2024, Siemens still holds the PLC market's first position with a 40% global market share, far ahead of second-place Rockwell (approximately 13%).

In 2024 fiscal year, Siemens Industrial Automation (PLC's sector) revenue increased from approximately 15.5 billion euros in the previous fiscal year to 17 billion euros, a 12% year-over-year growth.

**9. Siemens' Digital New Era: MindSphere**

In 2016, Siemens invested 4.8 billion euros in R&D, launching the cloud-based open IoT operating system MindSphere, opening Siemens' digitalization door and making Siemens the infrastructure builder of Industry 4.0.

As a cloud-based open IoT operating system, MindSphere connects any brand of machines, sensors, and PLCs in factories to the cloud, achieving integration and digitalization of every step in the "design-production-operation" manufacturing lifecycle.

**10. Emotional Investment: Siemens' Leading "Family Member" Philosophy**

Beyond technical leadership, Siemens' accumulation in employee "emotional investment" is equally leading.

Werner von Siemens wrote "enabling the whole family to live better lives" into the company charter and into a century of welfare history.

From the company's founding, it tried every means to provide employee benefits. In 1849, just two years after establishment, Siemens set up an employee sickness insurance fund internally—34 years before Germany's mandatory social insurance.

Today, over 200,000 of Siemens' global 300,000 employees hold company shares, continuing to write this "big family's" century-spanning historical chapters with their "ownership spirit."

**Conclusion**

Only innovation can change the world—this is Siemens' creed. Why can Siemens earn both profits and applause at every historical juncture, while other companies' price reductions are labeled as "internal competition"?

The answer lies in "net positive value." When profits resonate with industry progress, employee welfare, and social contribution, enterprises are viewed as contributors; when profitability relies on squeezing supply chains, exploiting employees, and mortgaging the future, they can only reap the infamy of "internal competition."

Innovation isn't about defeating opponents—it's about outrunning tomorrow. Chinese enterprises wanting to escape mutually destructive low pricing need to upgrade their value formula from "cost × scale" to "technical depth × industrial breadth × standard height × welfare density."

When "technology, capability, standards, welfare" form a positive cycle, price wars can never get close.