Earlier in 2025, the hull assembly of China's second domestically built large cruise ship Adora Flora City was completed. More recently, the country's mega-diameter slurry shield tunneling machine Tongze officially rolled off the production line.
A drone photo taken on Jan. 15, 2025 shows the cruise ship Adora Flora City under construction at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in East China's Shanghai. (Photo: Xinhua)
In the first two months of 2025, China's equipment manufacturing industry saw its added value grow by 10.6 percent year-on-year. This strong performance not only reflects tangible development gains but also highlights the hard-core strength of China's advanced equipment manufacturing capabilities.
Strength rooted in industrial powerhouse capabilities
As a pillar of the national economy, equipment manufacturing encompasses dozens of disciplines, including mechanics, hydraulics, and electrical and materials engineering. A single piece of large-scale equipment often requires tens of thousands of precision components, demanding highly sophisticated supply chains.
Take rail transit as an example. A high-speed train comprises over 40,000 components, with more than 100 key suppliers and over 2,100 participating companies. Shield tunneling machines, known as "underground aircraft carriers," involve tens of thousands of parts and touch on dozens of fields like materials science, hydraulics, and sensing technologies. As for shipbuilding, the country's first domestically built cruise ship utilized 25 million parts—five times more than the C919 passenger aircraft—and included over 4,300 kilometers of wiring, equivalent to the distance from Shanghai to Lhasa. Without a strong industrial support system, the rapid advancement of the equipment manufacturing sector would not have been possible.
In recent years, China has fostered a number of upstream and downstream enterprises with robust support capabilities and high-performance products through concentrated efforts in key technical equipment development. This has led to a comprehensive upgrade in the strength of enterprises across the entire industrial chain.
Take the CR450 high-speed train prototype as an example. It features lightweight materials such as carbon fiber composites and magnesium alloys; uses vibration-damping floors and acoustic metamaterials for noise reduction; and incorporates domestically developed insulation materials in its traction motors.
This photo shows the CR450BF bullet train in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)
A coordinated network of niche "champions" and "supporting specialists" along the industrial chain is powering the industry's climb up the value chain.
Strength driven by innovation
China's homegrown civil airship "Xiangyun" AS700D, an electric variant of the AS700, has completed its first trial flight. It features a full electric upgrade that replaces traditional engines and fuel systems for better control and ride quality.
Meanwhile, the first batch of domestically developed 120-ton all-electric mining trucks has officially entered operation, offering greater power and lower transport costs compared to their diesel counterparts.
These technological breakthroughs reflect China's deep-rooted innovation capacity. In recent years, the country has made significant strides in tackling critical core technologies, and its innovation system has continued to improve. In 2024 alone, five new national-level manufacturing innovation centers were established, bringing the total number to 33. Over 2,400 pilot-scale testing platforms for manufacturing have been built nationwide, with more than 150,000 industrial enterprises above designated size participating in pilot-scale production.
Strength amplified by policy support
In 2025, China is intensifying its efforts to promote major national projects and programs, including those aligned with major national strategies, building up security capacity in key areas, as well as the large-scale renewal of equipment and the trade-in of consumer goods.
In the first two months, investment in equipment and tools rose 18 percent year-on-year—2.3 percentage points higher than the 2024 annual growth rate—and contributed 62.3 percent to overall investment growth.
Specifically, investment in the equipment manufacturing sector increased by 8.9 percent during the period. Notably, investment in railways, ships, aerospace, and other transport equipment manufacturing surged by 37.3 percent, while investment in general-purpose equipment manufacturing rose by 21.6 percent—both outpacing the average for all manufacturing industries. The sector is acting as a high-powered engine, helping drive China's economic transformation toward higher-quality, innovation-led development.
Workers operate at a production line of Chongqing Hwasdan Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)
Reading the numbers: Signs of structural optimization
The impressive performance of the equipment manufacturing sector offers a glimpse into broader improvements in industrial structure. In January and February, the sector's growth in added value outpaced that of industrial enterprises above designated size by 4.7 percentage points—marking 19 consecutive months of outperformance—and accounted for 54.6 percent of the growth in industrial production during the same period. The sector's share of added value in industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 32 percent, marking the 24th consecutive month it has remained above the 30 percent threshold. This signals sustained progress in China's optimization of industrial structure.
Reading the numbers: A window into market potential
As a key indicator of infrastructure activity, excavator sales provide insights into broader economic trends, including investment in fixed assets. In the first two months of 2025, domestic excavator sales surged by 51.4 percent year-on-year—reflecting the accelerated implementation of infrastructure projects.
Data shows that infrastructure investment rose 5.6 percent in January and February, 1.2 percentage points faster than the full-year growth rate of 2024. While China has made significant strides in developing transportation and energy infrastructure in recent years, further improvements are still needed in network integration and supply chain upgrades. Meanwhile, critical urban infrastructure such as gas, water supply, drainage, and heating systems remains in urgent need of renovation and modernization—highlighting the vast room for continued investment.
Looking ahead
With coordinated policy tools—both existing and new—taking effect, and industry players pushing forward the integration of technological and industrial innovation, China's equipment manufacturing sector is set to shine even brighter. This growing strength will continue to support the country's steady and fast-paced economic advancement.