技术跃升巩固中国在全球供应链中的地位 - 2026-10-28
As global geopolitical tensions rise, supply chains worldwide are undergoing profound restructuring. Some countries are increasingly channeling capital, technology and goods toward economies with similar ideological leanings. In response to these shifts, China has maintained high-standard opening-up and worked to enhance its industrial resilience, consolidating its crucial role in global supply chains.
Multinational corporations have realized that instead of exiting China, they need to reassess the value of China's supply chain and engage with the country more proactively.
Opening-up enables China to continuously absorb global technology, capital and market demand, and stay competitive and innovative. The strengthened resilience allows the country to act as a "stabilizer" and "connector" amid global supply chain disruptions.
For decades, "Made in China" gave the impression that the country could manufacture almost anything at low cost. While this perception holds some truth, it is no longer sufficient. A report by the McKinsey Global Institute highlights a key shift: China is transitioning from being the "factory of the world" to the "factory to the factories".
In other words, China now supplies a growing share of critical equipment and components to other manufacturing hubs. Factories in Vietnam rely on machinery and raw materials imported from China to start production. Assembly lines in Mexico may source core modules from Shenzhen or Suzhou.
Statistics bear this out. In the first nine months of 2026, China's total imports and exports of goods reached 39.94 trillion yuan ($5.99 trillion), with both exports and imports registering double-digit year-on-year growth. In September alone, imports and exports exceeded 5 trillion yuan for the first time, up 27.5 percent year-on-year.
Despite persistent global trade frictions and high tariff barriers, these figures illustrate that while supply chains may reroute, they cannot bypass China as a key node.
For those who find macroeconomic data too abstract, the activities of enterprises offer a practical perspective. In Haiyan, Zhejiang province, German fastener manufacturer Wurth decided to purchase the factory building it had been leasing to accommodate its expanding business in China.
Similarly, US automotive components supplier Tenneco opened its Global Innovation Center in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, with a planned R&D investment of 470 million yuan from 2026 to 2030. This shift from "in China, for China" to "in China, for the world" demonstrates how China's technological advances are driving global development.
A shared logic underpins these corporate choices: China is no longer just a production base for cost reduction and efficiency gains; it has evolved into an irreplaceable hub of innovation and deep supply-chain integration.
In the first nine months of 2026, foreign investment in China's high-tech industries rose by more than 33 percent year-on-year, while foreign investment in R&D and design services grew 59 percent.
Geopolitical tensions, rising tariffs and technological competition are pushing enterprises to reassess risks.
The single-minded pursuit of efficiency — locating production wherever costs are lowest — is being replaced by a need to ensure both efficiency and security.
In response to these new circumstances, China is enhancing its irreplaceability through greater self-reliance, advancements in science and technology and reinforced supply-chain resilience.
Companies may relocate assembly lines elsewhere, but they still rely on China for critical equipment, core components and efficient logistics networks.
Such resilience manifests in multiple dimensions. The Beidou Navigation Satellite System is a prime example. By the end of 2025, nearly 2.6 billion units of domestically produced Beidou-compatible chips and modules had been shipped.
Over 12 million commercial vehicles in China are equipped with Beidou, with high-precision lane-level navigation covering more than 99 percent of the country's urban and rural roads. These figures may seem remote from daily life, yet they form the foundational capacity that keeps a nation functioning during critical moments.
More visible in daily life is the intelligent upgrading of manufacturing. In April, a live stream from the intelligent manufacturing center in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, showcased embodied robots working as "staff" on a high-speed assembly line, processing 310 products per hour.
No major malfunctions occurred throughout the 8-hour live broadcast and the robots had a success rate of over 99.5 percent.
In 2025, China's exports of industrial robots surpassed imports for the first time.
In the first half of this year, China exported industrial robots worth 6.29 billion yuan, up 18.6 percent year-on-year. This shows that bolstering resilience and pursuing opening-up are not contradictory.
Sustained opening-up and global competition are driving technological upgrading, while improved technological capability has transformed China's position in global supply chains from an option to a necessity.
In an increasingly fragmented world, countries that can connect disparate pieces of global trade have greater importance. While many investors talk about "not putting all eggs in one basket", few are ready to discard the basket entirely. China hosts a comprehensive industrial system, a dense supplier network, and continuously upgraded infrastructure and digital capabilities.
Together, these elements create a unique industrial strength that attracts international investment.
Source: China Daily
