China’s machine tool industry is ushering in a golden era. From being ‘stuck’ in the past to now ranking first in the world in exports, it shows strong development potential.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, my country’s metal cutting machine tool production totaled 125,000 units from January to February 2026, a year-on-year increase of 4.20%.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, my country’s machine tool exports from January to February 2026 were US$2.204 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.70%, and the export quantity was 1.78 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 22.10%; the machine tool import value was US$845 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.90%, and the import quantity was 8,687 units, a year-on-year decrease of 28.60%.
The data of “export volume increased at reduced prices and import volume decreased” shows that domestic high-end machine tools can gradually meet high-end demand, and the process of domestic substitution is accelerating.
From the perspective of output data, the output of metal cutting machine tools climbed from 438,900 units in 2020 to a high of 601,700 units in 2021. It was subsequently adjusted and recovered to 868,000 units in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%.
Metal forming machine tools will also achieve an output of 179,000 units in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%.
The significant growth in 2025 marks that the industry has stepped out of the trough and returned to the growth track.
The import and export pattern shows a structural upgrade.
In terms of imports, the amount has continued to decline from a high of US$8.240 billion in 2021 to US$5.873 billion in 2025, with almost zero growth in 2025. The decline in import volume is faster, indicating that the country is not only replacing mid-to-low-end imports, but also beginning to achieve breakthroughs in some high-end fields.
In terms of exports, the amount has increased from US$6.392 billion in 2020 to US$12.910 billion in 2025, doubling in five years.
In 2025, while the export value increased by 14.60%, the export quantity decreased by 18.20%, causing the average export price to surge by 40.19% year-on-year. This is the most powerful quantitative proof of high-end products.
‘Export volume reduced and prices increased’ and ‘import volume fell simultaneously’ both point to the structural improvement of the competitiveness of China’s machine tool industry.
According to the latest data from the German Machine Tool Association, China’s machinery manufacturing industry will usher in a historic breakthrough in 2025.
Machine tool exports accounted for 21.6% of the global market, surpassing Germany’s 16.7%, and became the world’s largest machine tool exporter for the first time. This means that China’s competitiveness in the global manufacturing industry is rapidly improving.
There are many core driving factors for the high prosperity of the industry.
On the policy side, from 2015’s “Made in China 2025”, which listed high-end CNC machine tools as one of the top ten key areas and launched a high-end layout, to the “14th Five-Year Plan” which emphasized the promotion of innovative development of high-end CNC machine tools, and then to the 2025 “Industrial Machine High Quality Standard System Construction Plan”, it was clarified that by 2026, an industrial machine high quality standard system will be basically established, and the international standard conversion rate will reach 90%.
There is also a large-scale equipment update policy, which accelerates the process of stock replacement and provides rigid support for industry demand.
On the demand side, my country’s high-tech manufacturing PMI reached 52.1% in March 2026, remaining in the expansion range for 14 consecutive months, which is significantly higher than the overall level of the manufacturing industry.
The rapid development of domestic high-end fields such as new energy vehicles, aerospace, and humanoid robots has placed high demands on precision processing equipment, which has become the core engine driving demand for high-end machine tools.
For example, the aerospace field has extremely high requirements for processing accuracy and material adaptability, the processing requirements for precision components such as battery casings and motor shafts of new energy vehicles, and the ultra-high-precision processing requirements for core components of humanoid robots.
In terms of core technology, it has also achieved a breakthrough.
CNC systems are the ‘brains’ of machine tools. In the past, more than 90% of my country’s high-end machine tool CNC systems relied on imports. Now Huazhong CNC has released an intelligent CNC system integrated with AI. Guangzhou CNC’s mid-to-high-end CNC systems are widely used in 3C, mold and other fields.
Five-axis linkage CNC machine tools are a symbol of high-end development. Domestic companies have achieved breakthroughs from ‘0 to 1’, such as the related products of Code CNC and Haitian Precision have made application progress.
Core functional components were once the shortcomings of my country’s machine tool industry chain, but now they have achieved large-scale breakthroughs.
The wave of domestic substitution in China’s machine tool industry is irreversible. Policy support, technological breakthroughs, and demand explosion have built a solid underlying logic for the industry’s long-term growth.
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