Machinery / Industrial Parts & Tools

The German "Le Monde" reported on the 7th that a report released by the German Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Federation (VDMA) that day stated that affected by the epidemic, the global machinery trade volume in 2020 is about 1.05 trillion euros, and the sales volume is higher than a year ago. Reduced by nearly 10%. For the first time, China surpassed Germany to become the world champion of machinery exports.

The report shows that China exported about 165 billion euros of machinery and system products last year, accounting for 15.8% of the global market share. German exports are 162 billion euros, with a global market share of 15.5%. In 2019, German exports were ahead of China by about 1.4 percentage points. The report also showed that the United States ranked third with a market share of 9.1%, followed by Japan and Italy.

Regarding China surpassing Germany to become the "world champion of machinery exports", VDMA foreign trade director Ackerman said that this change is not surprising. “China has been the world’s largest machinery manufacturer for many years,” he said. Last year’s total sales of machinery products in China was 924 billion euros, which is almost the same as that of the next four countries (the United States, Germany, Japan and Italy). )’S total income is the same. It is only a matter of time before China becomes a leader in foreign machinery trade.

The report believes that the epidemic has provided a strong impetus to the rise of China's machinery products, while Germany and other European and American countries have suffered serious setbacks. The export of Chinese machinery products no longer only flows to emerging market countries such as Africa and Asia. Even in Germany, China is now the largest foreign supplier. According to the report, China has made significant progress in many areas and has become a strong competitor of “Made in Germany”. In addition, China has now become a setter of international standardization, creating conditions for machinery exports. However, the report also believes that China still lags behind international competitors such as Germany in areas such as "Industry 4.0".

"Nevertheless, Germany and the EU should not adopt protectionism, but should respond to the challenges of Chinese products through market-based measures," Ackerman said. "We must improve our competitiveness." The report also shows that German machinery companies are optimistic about the Chinese market. In the first quarter of 2021, German companies exported nearly 5 billion euros of machines to China, an increase of 20% over the same period last year.