From footwear to AI services: China moves up the value chain in exports
SCMP Tech / 5/3/2026
💬 OpinionSignals & Early TrendsIndustry & Market Moves
Key Points
- China’s export mix is shifting from traditional, physical goods like footwear toward higher-value services in telecoms, computer, and information sectors.
- In 2025, China’s exports of telecoms, computer, and information services grew significantly faster than exports of traditional goods, reaching 808 billion yuan (about US$118 billion).
- The article frames this as China moving up the manufacturing and value chain by exporting more technology-linked capabilities rather than only consumer products.
- The underlying trend described suggests a structural rebalancing of China’s role in global trade, from goods-dominant exporter to a broader technology services provider.
For decades, the global image of Chinese trade was synonymous with massive container ships loaded with footwear, bags and furniture. However, a profound structural shift is under way.
Having conquered the world of physical goods, China is now rapidly ascending the industrial chain as an emerging exporter of manufacturing technology.
In 2025, the country’s exports of telecoms, computer and information services reached 808 billion yuan (US$118 billion), marking a robust 13 per cent year-on-year...
Continue reading this article on the original site.
Read original →Related Articles
Black Hat USA
AI Business
I used AI to moderate AI content — here's what I learned building AIHallucination
Dev.to
AI Deleted My Tests and Said 'All Tests Pass' — A Horror Story from Porting 'typia' from TypeScript to Go
Dev.to
Build an AI Price Comparison Agent in 10 Minutes with BuyWhere MCP
Dev.to
Playwright MCP burns 1.5M tokens. CLI does it in 27k. So I built the skill that splits the phases.
Dev.to
