Economic Performance of the General Machinery Industry in the First Half of 2026
Release time:
2026-08-25 14:46
Source:
China General Machinery Industry Association CGMA
In the first half of 2026, amid the continued spillover effects of national industrial policies and the accelerated development of emerging industries, the general machinery sector is expected to maintain a development trajectory characterized by steady progress.
In the first half of 2026, amid the continued release of benefits from national industrial policies and the accelerated development of emerging industries, the general machinery sector is expected to maintain a development trajectory characterized by steady progress. Production, sales, and exports are projected to remain on an upward trend, while the pace of industrial transformation and upgrading will accelerate. Positive strides in high-quality development will lay a solid foundation for achieving the year’s targets and ensuring a strong start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
Status of Achievement of Key Indicators in the National Industrial and Mechanical Industries
In the first half of the year, the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size nationwide increased by 5.4% year on year. Specifically, the mining sector’s value added rose by 3.6%, the manufacturing sector by 5.6%, and the electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply sector by 5.5%. Within manufacturing, the value added of the equipment manufacturing sector grew by 9.3%, while that of the high-tech manufacturing sector expanded by 13.3%, outpacing the overall growth of industrial enterprises above designated size by 3.9 and 7.9 percentage points, respectively.
The value added of large-scale enterprises in the machinery industry increased by 6.4% year on year, with value added rising 7.6%, 8.2%, 7.0%, 6.1%, and 8.8% respectively in the general-purpose equipment, special-purpose equipment, automotive, electrical machinery, and instrument‑and‑meter manufacturing sectors. In June, growth rates improved markedly, and all subsectors showed a broad-based recovery. Large-scale machinery‑industry enterprises recorded operating revenue of RMB 16.1 trillion, up 6.5% year on year, while total profits declined by 6.5% compared with the same period last year.
Economic Performance of the General Machinery Industry
In the first half of the year, large-scale enterprises in the general machinery sector posted a modest increase in operating revenue, but their total profits declined sharply year on year. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, 8,997 large-scale enterprises in the general machinery industry generated RMB 515.542 billion in operating revenue during the period, up 1.09% year on year—a deceleration of 3.36 percentage points compared with the same period last year. Total profits amounted to RMB 31.139 billion, down 15.53% year on year, a decline of 19.48 percentage points from the previous year.
Both revenue and profit growth rates fell short of the same period last year, primarily due to sustained declines in product prices and rising energy and raw-material costs, underscoring the industry’s pronounced trend of “revenue growth without profit growth.”
[Production remains relatively stable, with output of most products continuing to grow]
In the first half of the year, among the six major product categories closely monitored in the general machinery sector, output increased year over year for pumps, valves, gas separation and liquefaction equipment, and gear reducers; by contrast, output declined for fans and gas compressors. (In the same period last year, all six key products had posted year-over-year growth.) The magnitude of both increases and decreases was modest, indicating that production remains relatively stable.
[Import and export trade maintains strong momentum]
In the first half of the year, the general machinery sector continued to post double-digit growth in both exports and imports. However, export growth slowed markedly compared with the same period last year, while import growth picked up slightly, underscoring the sector’s robust dynamism.
According to customs data, in the first half of the year, the total import and export value of 47 key general machinery products reached US$28.924 billion, up 8.41% year on year. Specifically, exports totaled US$21.101 billion, an increase of 9.57% year on year—slowing by 10.03 percentage points compared with the same period last year—while imports amounted to US$7.823 billion, up 5.41% year on year—accelerating by 1.25 percentage points from the previous year.
In the first half of the year, the top ten countries or regions for exports of key products in the general machinery industry were: the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China. Among these, exports to the United States increased by 0.79% year on year, exports to Russia rose by 2.66%, and exports to Indonesia surged by 19.27%.
The top ten countries or regions of origin for imports are, in order: Germany, Japan, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea, France, Norway, Singapore, and Vietnam. Among these, imports from Germany decreased by 9.3% year on year, imports from Japan fell by 6.09% year on year, while imports from the United States increased by 8.78% year on year.
By region, in the first half of the year, exports to the 10 ASEAN countries increased by 10.81% year on year, exports to the 27 EU member states rose by 13.18% year on year, and exports to the five Central Asian countries grew by 13.11% year on year.
[Key contact enterprises report stable production, but revenue and profits declined year over year]
According to statistics from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing covering 249 key member enterprises, in the first half of the year, these companies recorded a total industrial output value of RMB 73.944 billion, up 3.17% year on year; operating revenue reached RMB 70.403 billion, down 0.09% year on year; and total profits amounted to RMB 5.524 billion, a decline of 11.52% compared with the same period last year.
Among them, approximately 54% of companies reported year-on-year revenue growth, while about 46% saw a decline; roughly 43% recorded year-on-year growth in total profits, compared with around 57% that experienced a decrease; and approximately 78% were profitable, while about 22% reported losses.
In the first half of the year, the general machinery industry exhibited the following characteristics: First, production remained stable, though the growth rate slowed compared with the same period last year; second, supply‑demand imbalances persisted, with weak demand intensifying firms’ “involutionary” competition; third, rising costs—driven by increases in the prices of non‑ferrous metals such as copper and aluminum, crude oil, and chemical products, as well as the appreciation of the renminbi—pushed up corporate expenses and squeezed profit margins; fourth, uncertainty in the external trade environment increased, and international geopolitical tensions have had significant adverse effects on the security of industrial and supply chains.
Key Scientific and Technological Innovation Achievements in the General Machinery Industry
In the first half of the year, the general machinery sector aligned itself with strategic priorities such as supporting major national infrastructure projects, ensuring energy security, and advancing the “dual carbon” goals. Driven by technological innovation, the industry continued to deliver breakthroughs in the localization of high-end equipment, steadily accelerating the pace of domestic substitution. Leading enterprises achieved numerous “first-of-its-kind” milestones, underscoring the sector’s resilience and strength in independent innovation.
1. Localization of Major Technological Equipment
The six “6+1” ultra-large air‑separation compressor units (rated at 115,000 m³/h) supplied by Shenyang Blower Group for Baofeng Energy’s 2.6‑million‑ton‑per‑year coal‑to‑olefins project have undergone long‑term stable operation and, in the first half of this year, passed expert appraisal. The appraisal committee concluded that these units fill a domestic gap, with their overall technology reaching the advanced level of comparable international products; moreover, their aerodynamic and mechanical performance are internationally leading.
Shenyang Blower Group has successfully completed the trial run of China’s first fully electric‑driven ethylene “three‑machine” set for the Tarim 1.2 million‑ton‑per‑year Phase II ethylene project, helping the domestic petrochemical industry advance its shift from steam‑to‑electric power and achieve a green, low‑carbon transformation. Meanwhile, the world’s first 2,000 kN ultra‑high‑thrust reciprocating compressor, supplied for the Fuhai Chuang Petrochemical Project, has been delivered on schedule, marking a major breakthrough for China in the field of high‑end reciprocating compressor equipment.
The steam turbine developed in-house by Hangzhou Steam Turbine Group for a 120,000‑Nm³/h air separation unit has successfully completed full‑process no‑load commissioning tests, once again setting a new national record for ultra‑large‑scale air separation plant‑integrated turbines. This equipment will provide critical support for the construction of major national projects in coal chemical and petrochemical industries, as well as for ensuring the security of the nation’s energy sector.
2. Other Key Equipment
A 40-megapascal high-pressure centrifugal compressor has been officially commissioned at the Yaha Gas Storage Facility in the Tarim Oilfield, China’s largest ultra-deep gas storage site, marking a new breakthrough for China in the critical equipment sector of gas storage facilities.
The first gas‑turbine‑driven centrifugal compressor unit for offshore platforms has been successfully commissioned at a gas‑field platform in the South China Sea, with stable operation and performance metrics meeting design specifications. This achievement advances the application of compressors in China from onshore to deep‑water conditions and provides an engineering benchmark for the domestication of critical equipment in offshore oil and gas development.
The first unit of the CAP1000 series’ nuclear‑level passive residual heat removal flow control valve has successfully broken the international monopoly, marking the first domestically produced supply.
Key valves manufactured from the domestically produced high‑temperature steel G115 have been successfully deployed in Datang Yuncheng’s world‑first 630°C double‑reheat ultra‑supercritical 1‑million‑kW coal-fired power unit, filling a critical gap in this field.
The world’s largest coal-fired power carbon capture demonstration project has successfully developed a 15 MPa-class single‑shaft centrifugal CO₂ compressor, bolstering the advancement of supercritical CO₂ power generation cycles and CCUS technologies.
A horizontal screw‑settling composite centrifuge with a drum diameter of 1,150 mm and a maximum processing capacity of 200 t/h has been successfully deployed in large-scale petrochemical plants, thereby resolving the critical “bottleneck” issue in key equipment for large‑scale petrochemical centrifuges.
The world’s first horizontal polycondensation reactor for nylon 66 was successfully commissioned at Liaoyang Petrochemical in a single startup, producing qualified products and filling a technological gap in China’s high‑performance new‑material drying equipment.
2026 Development Outlook
Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, the general machinery industry will continue to face challenges stemming from shifting external conditions and market uncertainties. However, favorable factors underpinning high-quality development are steadily accumulating, and overall, these positive forces outweigh the adverse ones.
As the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, measures to expand domestic demand, stabilize growth, and promote structural transformation have been rolled out in succession, with fiscal funding being disbursed at an accelerated pace. Policies supporting “new infrastructure” and “two major projects” are steadily advancing. The 109 major projects outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan have begun construction one after another, and investment in key initiatives—centered on next-generation infrastructure networks, water‑supply systems, smart grids, computing‑power networks, next‑generation communication networks, urban underground utility networks, and logistics networks—is set to exceed RMB 7 trillion. This will generate steady incremental demand for general‑purpose machinery products such as compressors, pumps and valves, fans, and gas‑separation equipment.
On the international market front, emerging markets such as those along the Belt and Road Initiative, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia are experiencing rapid growth, while exports have demonstrated considerable resilience. As a result, annual export growth is expected to remain robust.
In terms of transformation and upgrading, as artificial intelligence and large‑model technologies become deeply integrated with the equipment manufacturing sector, smart manufacturing technologies, intelligent equipment, and digital services will be rapidly scaled up, driving the industry’s accelerated transition toward smart manufacturing, green manufacturing, and service‑oriented manufacturing.
It is expected that, in the second half of 2026, the general machinery sector will continue its development trajectory of “steady progress with structural optimization,” driven by both policy support and market dynamics. Full-year revenue is projected to post modest growth, while profits are likely to bottom out in the second half and then recover to some extent.
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