German data released in January 2026 show that China’s machine tool exports will surpass Germany in 2025 and rank first in the world.
The German machine tool manufacturer has lost its title as export world champion.
Citing official preliminary statistics, the German Machine Tool Manufacturers Association reported that China will become the most important supplier of the global machine tool segment for the first time in 2025.
In terms of export share, China accounts for 21.6% of the global machine tool export business, while Germany only accounts for 16.7%.
This is mainly because the development trends of the two countries were completely opposite last year. The export value of German domestic manufacturers fell by 10%, while the export value of China increased by 18%.
In fact, in the entire field of machinery and equipment manufacturing, China ranked first in export statistics as early as 2020.
However, in the machine tool industry, Germany has maintained its leading position until 2025 when this pattern changes.
The importance of the machine tool industry is self-evident. Franz-Xaver Bernhard, chairman of the German Machine Tool Manufacturers Association, explained that machine tools are the basis of various industrial productions.
Without such machines, products such as cars, wind turbines, valves, beverage filling equipment, artificial hips, and mobile phone camera lenses would not be made.
It can be seen that the machine tool industry plays a vital supporting role in the development of a country’s industry.
The change of ownership of the global leader in machine tools is no accident.
Bernhard mentioned that Germany has studied all China’s five-year plans, and machine tools have been one of the most important topics in the past 20 years.
Therefore, Germany has been alert and prepared for the rise of China’s machine tool industry.
China’s industrial sector has always hoped to promote the development of the machine tool field, with the aim of further weaning itself from dependence on imports.
In recent years, machine tool products from China are accelerating their influx into the global market, occupying an increasingly important position in the international market.
China’s machine tool exports have ranked first in the world, which is an important manifestation of the continuous development and progress of China’s manufacturing industry.
This not only reflects the remarkable achievements of China’s machine tool industry in technology research and development, production and manufacturing, but also highlights the increasing status of China’s manufacturing industry in the global industrial chain.
In the future, as China continues to invest in technological research and development, the machine tool industry is expected to continue to maintain a good development trend and make greater contributions to global industrial development.
