China's rapid increase in general industrial equipment exports is reshaping the global manufacturing supply structure, prompting domestic companies to adopt differentiated strategies tailored to the characteristics of advanced and emerging markets.
According to a report released on November 1 by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), titled 'The Rise of China's Industrial Equipment Exports and Changes in the Global Supply Structure,' China's industrial equipment exports reached $257.2 billion in 2025, a figure that represents a 2.5-fold increase from $104.2 billion in 2015.
This growth surpasses that of consumer goods (1.8%) and intermediate goods (6.0%). Analysts suggest that China is expanding its role from merely supplying consumer and intermediate goods to becoming a provider of manufacturing infrastructure for other countries.
As China's influence grows, the export competition intensity (ESI) among major manufacturing countries has also increased. The ESI between South Korea and China rose from 46 in 2015 to 54 in 2025. Germany (55 to 62) and Japan (44 to 47) have also seen intensified competition with China.
China has surpassed Germany in logistics and transportation equipment, in addition to maintaining its dominance in power equipment and food and textile processing machinery. In the general and other equipment sectors, China has strengthened its influence, ranking jointly first with Germany. This shift is attributed to increased manufacturing investments in emerging markets like ASEAN, the expansion of Chinese companies' overseas production bases, and efforts to secure overseas markets amid domestic sluggishness and ongoing price competitiveness.
Regionally, China's market share in emerging manufacturing markets has surged. The share of Chinese imports in the industrial equipment sector of these markets jumped from 21.1% in 2015 to 29.6% in 2024.
In contrast, in advanced manufacturing markets affected by trade sanctions, such as the United States, the share increased only slightly from 12.8% to 14.0% during the same period.
South Korea managed to maintain a stable position in advanced manufacturing markets, slightly increasing its share from 3.0% to 3.3%, while Germany (16.5% to 15.0%) and Japan (7.5% to 6.4%) saw declines.
In emerging manufacturing markets, where China's share has skyrocketed, South Korea's share fell from 6.3% to 4.1%.
KITA researcher Heo Seul-bi stated, "As China increases its equipment supply leveraging price competitiveness, South Korean companies must differentiate themselves through quality, delivery reliability, component supply, and maintenance capabilities. The government should also reduce the burden on companies by supporting local certification acquisition and demand source discovery."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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