Mega World: Chinese construction machinery attracts global buyers

Some 1,200 company representatives from 63 different countries and regions arrived in East China's Xuzhou city - where one of the largest construction machinery makers in the world is based. They came all the way here for these beasts - brand new, custom-made, modern machines.

One of the largest purchases was made by WTC Equipment from Brazil - a 3,000-tonne crane - costing almost 9 million U.S. dollars per unit. It is an impressive and expensive machine, featuring the newest, cutting-edge technologies.

"It is not just me, but in the entire South American and even the global market, people are discovering that the quality of Chinese machinery keeps getting better with time. The quality is high and the pricing is very reasonable. That's why I believe the global market continues to choose Chinese products," said Washington Moura, chief commercial officer of WTC.

It is expected that the crane will be used to build wind farms. And expectations of returns in ten years - a very good time span for such a large investment, according to Moura.

And the crane is not the only thing big in Xuzhou.

Yang Yufeng is the president of the Mining Machinery Research Institute at XCMG - the Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group.

He said that the main reason behind machines getting larger is how the mining business has changed over the past years.

"Mines are becoming larger as companies continue to consolidate smaller mines. Secondly, large machines can help cut labor costs while improving workers' safety. Especially in countries like Australia and Brazil, the demand for larger machines continues to grow year by year," said Yang.

The global market for construction machinery saw stagnant growth during the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. Industry reports show that the market started to warm up after 2021. The market size is expected to grow to over 180 billion U.S. dollars by 2030, according to a market overview on Research Reports World.

China is leading in this large and growing market as the largest construction machinery producer, holding a market share of around 46 percent, followed by North America and Europe.

"I think the market has changed. If you think carefully, the first brand coming to people's mind was Caterpillar. And now, people are thinking of other brands. I think the market has changed," said Lenardo Riccioppo, commercial director at Zocar.

"Trading with China makes so much sense. Up north in Perth, we are in the same time zone. It is very efficient. And the 'made in China' brand is actually like a badge of quality these days," said Stuard Brooks, the managing director for Brooks Group.

Apart from being larger and heavier than its competitors, China is now leading the way in producing electric-powered machines…and that garners a lot of attention.

For example, about 20 percent of XCMG mining machinery is now considered new energy - mainly electrified. And the plan is to offer half of its mining machinery line-up in new energy.

"In the first quarter of 2024, exports of new energy machines from XCMG grew 286 percent - a very sharp increase. That's mainly because new energy products are greener, with low carbon footprints and they truly save energy. Customer demands on these are very clear," said Liu Jiansen, vice president for XCMG Machinery.

Future technologies like autonomous driving and remote operating vehicles were also showcased before the global buyers in Xuzhou.

While some may view China's bigger and larger machines as a way to export its overcapacity, what has been seen in Xuzhou is that the global market is looking for these cutting-edge machines to improve efficiency. Importantly in speaking of sustainable and green development, China is at the forefront of electrifying construction machinery - an inevitable future path for all.