Editor's note: Yang Hangjun is a professor and executive dean at the Graduate School of Excellence of University of International Business and Economics. This article, translated from its original in Chinese, reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

According to a recent survey by Nikkei, Chinese companies expanded their market share in 25 of 67 key global categories in 2025, claiming the top spot in 19 of them.

CATL captured 39.2% of the global electric vehicle (EV) battery market, while BYD overtook Tesla with a 14.5% share of the pure EV segment. 

Additionally, Huawei's global smartwatch market share rose to 17%. 

This upward trajectory is all the more remarkable given that it occurred against a backdrop of US tariffs on Chinese goods that reached as high as 145% at one point.

How domestic competition translates into global competitiveness

China's global industrial expansion is often attributed to a "low-price onslaught." 

Yet if competitiveness were driven solely by price, Chinese firms would struggle to sustain gains in market share in technologically demanding sectors such as power batteries and new energy vehicles (NEVs). 

Topping 19 global categories is less a function of cheap labor and more a report card forged in the crucible of China's intensely competitive domestic market.

Market competition is a vital mechanism for driving efficiency. With its ultra-large-scale market, multi-tiered demand structure and rapid product iteration cycles, China has nurtured the world's most fiercely competitive industrial ecosystem. 

In the NEV sector alone, over a hundred brands once vied for dominance. Cutthroat price wars, coupled with heavy research and development (R&D) spending and mounting cost pressures, have kept industry profit margins razor-thin.

Yet it is precisely this unforgiving environment that has compelled companies to shorten R&D cycles, optimize supply chain management and drive down production costs. 

The cost-effectiveness advantage Chinese products now enjoy does not come from sacrificing quality for lower prices; rather, it reflects the ability to deliver superior performance and user experience at any given price point.

Market reallocation amid high tariffs

While steep US tariffs have redirected trade flows, they have failed to blunt the edge of Chinese manufacturing. 

China's trade surplus hit a record high of approximately $1.2 trillion in 2025.

A key driver has been the accelerated pivot by Chinese enterprises toward emerging markets in Southeast Asia and beyond, building a more diversified global sales network.

This market reorientation has brought tangible benefits to overseas consumers. 

In Thailand, Chinese EVs have shrunk the price gap with combustion-engine vehicles to below 5%.

For ordinary households in these markets, the barrier to going electric has dropped dramatically – a clear proof that the green transition is no longer the exclusive preserve of developed nations. 

Across Southeast Asia, EV sales surpassed 500,000 units in 2025, doubling year on year – with Chinese brands playing an indispensable role.

Localized investment broadens scope for cooperation

Equally noteworthy is the fact that Chinese companies are exporting far more than finished goods. 

BYD's plant in Rayong, Thailand, has an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles and is expected to create around 10,000 jobs, while helping develop local manufacturing and supplier networks in Thailand. 

Meanwhile, CATL's battery project in Indonesia spans the entire value chain – from nickel processing to manufacturing and recycling. 

As Chinese firms shift from pure trade to investment, and from selling products to co-building productive capacity, host countries gain jobs and technology transfer, while Chinese enterprises move closer to end markets and strengthen supply chain resilience.

That said, surging imports can also place adjustment pressures on local incumbents. 

Mutually beneficial outcomes do not automatically follow from export growth. 

Chinese companies must deepen local procurement and talent development while strictly adhering to host-country labor and environmental standards.

Host governments, in turn, should provide stable, transparent industrial policies and a level playing field to foster durable partnerships between foreign investors and domestic supply chains.

The top 19 global rankings are not the finish line. 

Chinese manufacturing is evolving from exporting products to exporting brands, services and standards – moving from "selling to the world" to "producing with the world." 

Only when overseas consumers gain access to higher-value products, and when local businesses and workers actively participate in and benefit from industrial growth, will this market expansion rest on a sustainable foundation. 

Only then can China truly achieve the vision of "sharing prosperity with the world."