2025 China Machinery Industry Panoramic Research and Development Strategy Consulting Analysis
Recently, six departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the People's Bank of China, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the "Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Machinery Industry (2025 - 2026)".
Background of the introduction: The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized the need to adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and maintaining stable economic growth. The machinery industry is a fundamental, strategic, and leading industry that provides technical equipment for the national economy, national defense and military industries, and people's livelihood undertakings. It is a "ballast stone" for the industrial economy and an important carrier for developing new productive forces and building a modern industrial system.
Industrial Chain Analysis
The machinery and equipment industrial chain includes upstream raw material and component supply, midstream manufacturing links, and downstream application fields, covering raw materials such as steel and non-ferrous metals, manufacturing equipment such as construction machinery and CNC machine tools, as well as application industries such as real estate, automobiles, and new energy.
The upstream and downstream of the machinery industry chain are closely connected, involving links such as raw material supply, component manufacturing, main engine assembly, sales and services. Each link is interdependent and mutually restrictive, collectively supporting the operation of the industry. Fluctuations in the prices of upstream raw materials, the stability of midstream component supply, and changes in downstream market demand directly affect the efficiency and stability of the entire industrial chain.
Current status of industrial development
Domestically, the fundamental trend of China's economy maintaining long-term growth remains unchanged. With the in-depth implementation of the policy to intensify and expand the scope of the "Two News" initiative, and the continuous release of the effectiveness of macro-policy regulation, it will provide strong support for the development of the machinery industry. At the same time, the Central Economic Work Conference has clarified a number of supporting action plans and implementation plans, most of which are closely related to the machinery industry, such as advancing new industrialization, accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system, implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand, and strengthening the integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. These will bring new development opportunities to the machinery industry.
The regional distribution of China's machinery industry is characterized by imbalance. Among them, the Yangtze River Delta region is an important agglomeration area for the machinery industry. In the top 500 high-tech enterprises in the machinery industry in 2024, there are 187 enterprises in this region, accounting for 37.4%.
Analysis of revenue scale
Affected by multiple factors such as insufficient effective demand, continuous price decline, and a relatively high base from the previous year, in 2024, the operating income of above-scale machinery industry reached 31.5 trillion yuan for the whole year, exceeding 30 trillion yuan for the first time; the total profit achieved was 1.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.0%, with the decline rate being 4.7 percentage points deeper than that of the national industry.
Data shows that in the first half of 2025, enterprises above designated size in the machinery industry achieved operating income of 15.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%; and total profits of 791.21 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.4%. The operating income profit rate was 5.2%, 0.1 percentage points higher than the same period in 2024, slightly higher than the national industrial average.
Analysis of production and sales situation
In 2024, the overall production and sales situation of the machinery industry was better than that of the previous year. Among the 122 major machinery products under key monitoring, the output of 72 products increased year-on-year, accounting for 59%. Among them, the production and sales of automobiles hit a new historical high, ranking first in the world for 16 consecutive years. The production of electrical equipment maintained a stable and positive trend. The annual output of generator sets reached 280 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 16.0%; the output of solar cells reached 680 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%.
The overall production and sales situation of the machinery industry in 2024 was better than that in 2023. Among the 122 major machinery products under key monitoring, the output of 72 products increased year-on-year, accounting for 59%; the output of 50 products decreased year-on-year, accounting for 41%.
In 2024, affected by multiple factors such as insufficient effective demand, continuous price decline, and a relatively high base from the previous year, the efficiency indicators of the machinery industry were under significant pressure. Throughout the year, the operating income of large-scale machinery industry enterprises reached 31.5 trillion yuan, exceeding 30 trillion yuan for the first time, with a year-on-year growth of 1.7%.
Key enterprise competition
By the end of 2024, the number of large-scale enterprises in the machinery industry reached 132,000, an increase of 11,000 compared with the previous year, accounting for 25.8% of the national industry; the total assets amounted to 39.4 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%, accounting for 22.1% of the national industry.
As of the end of June 2025, the number of above-scale enterprises in the machinery industry reached 136,000, an increase of 6,000 compared with the same period in 2024, accounting for 26.2% of the national industry.
Research reports indicate that, in the face of complex internal and external environments, the total operating revenue of China's top 500 machinery enterprises in 2024 reached 11.42 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.75%; the total profits achieved by these top 500 enterprises amounted to 632.889 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.14%.
In 2024, the operating revenue of above-scale enterprises in the machinery industry reached 31.5 trillion yuan, exceeding 30 trillion yuan for the first time, with a year-on-year growth of 5.6%. The total operating revenue of the top 100 enterprises was 3.73 trillion yuan, with CR100 accounting for about 12%, showing the characteristic of "a large industry with small enterprises" in the industry.
Judgment and analysis of development situation
In 2024, the added value of mechanical industry above designated size increased by 6.0% year-on-year, 0.2 percentage points higher than that of the national industry. The added value of the five major categories of national economic industries mainly involved in the machinery industry all achieved growth. Among them, the automobile manufacturing industry played a leading and driving role with a growth rate of 9.1%; the growth rates of electrical machinery and instrumentation manufacturing industries were stable, at 5.1% and 6.0% respectively; the growth rates of general equipment and special equipment manufacturing industries were slightly lower, at 3.6% and 2.8% respectively.
In 2025, the internal and external environment faced by the machinery industry remains complex and severe, but the favorable factors supporting the high-quality development of the industry continue to gather and increase. It is expected that the machinery industry will continue to maintain a stable development trend in 2025, continuing to play an important engine role in the national economy. The growth rate of major economic indicators is expected to be around 5.5%, and foreign trade will remain basically stable.
Source: www.chinairn.com
