At the beginning of 2026, my country’s machinery industry has delivered an impressive report card.
Data released by the China Machinery Industry Federation shows that from January to February, the added value of the five core industries of the machinery industry increased year-on-year across the board. The equipment manufacturing industry led the way with a growth rate of 9.3%, 3.0 percentage points higher than that of all industries above designated size, becoming the core engine driving the recovery of the industrial economy.
This steady growth not only reflects the strong momentum of industrial upgrading, but also lays a solid foundation for steady industrial growth throughout the year.
From the perspective of industry segments, the machinery industry has shown a good trend of overall recovery and structural optimization.
The general equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8.9%, the special equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8.8%, the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 8.7%, the instrument manufacturing industry increased by 7.8%, and the automobile manufacturing industry increased by 3.4%.
The coordinated upward trend of the five major industries has changed the previous pattern of differentiated operation in some fields, reflecting the gradual recovery of domestic demand in the manufacturing industry and the continued restoration of investment confidence.
Among them, the high growth of general and special equipment corresponds to the acceleration of industrial technological transformation, production capacity update and new infrastructure investment; the strength of electrical machinery is highly related to the expansion of demand for new energy, energy storage and power equipment, reflecting the clear main line of the transformation of manufacturing towards high-end, green and intelligent.
The outstanding performance of the equipment manufacturing industry has become the biggest highlight of this round of recovery.
Data show that its added value accounts for 33.5% of the industrial scale above designated size and contributes nearly half to industrial growth. It is a veritable industrial ballast.
In the fields of intelligent manufacturing, industrial aircraft, rail transportation, aviation supporting equipment, and engineering machinery, a number of high-end equipment are being produced in large quantities, and exports and domestic sales are improving simultaneously.
The export of multiple categories of construction machinery increased by more than 30%, and the export value of high-end machine tools maintained double-digit growth. Behind the “volume reduction and price increase” is the simultaneous improvement of product added value and international competitiveness.
The leadership in equipment manufacturing is essentially a concentrated expression of the accelerated formation of new productive forces and the transformation of technological innovation into market advantages.
The good start of the machinery industry cannot be separated from the dual support of policies and markets.
In recent years, focusing on stabilizing growth, strengthening the foundation, and making up for shortcomings, the country has continued to introduce plans to stabilize growth in the machinery industry, strengthened the redevelopment of the industrial base and research on major technical equipment, and made breakthroughs in a number of key technologies in the fields of industrial machines, core parts, and high-end instruments.
At the same time, the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry is advancing in depth, and smart factories and flexible production are popularized, driving both production efficiency and product quality to improve.
Under the policy of stabilizing investment, the two-way expansion of investment in technological transformation and investment in emerging industries has provided continued demand for machinery and equipment.
Despite a promising start, the industry still faces challenges such as fluctuations in global demand, intensified competition in some areas, and remaining cost pressures.
But overall, the favorable factors outweigh the risks and challenges.
As industrial policies continue to be implemented in the first year of the “15th Five-Year Plan” and new tracks such as new energy, low-altitude economy, computing infrastructure, and green manufacturing continue to open up space, the machinery industry is expected to maintain steady growth amid structural optimization.
The China Machinery Industry Federation predicts that the growth rate of the industry’s main indicators throughout the year will remain within a reasonable range and move towards higher-quality development.
The machinery industry is the “equipment department” of the national economy, and its recovery is directly related to the quality of the construction of a modern industrial system.
The five major industries are growing together, and equipment manufacturing is taking the lead. This is not only a recovery in data, but also the confidence for China’s manufacturing to move towards high-end.
From basic components to complete sets of equipment, from stand-alone intelligence to system solutions, my country’s machinery industry is steadily climbing up the global industrial chain with stronger innovation capabilities and a better industrial ecology.
A steady start leads to proactiveness throughout the year.
Standing at a new starting point, the machinery industry is guided by high-quality development and continues to make efforts in technological research, green transformation, and global cooperation, injecting continuous power into the recovery of the industrial economy and the construction of a manufacturing power, and making steady and long-term progress on the track of high-quality development.
