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China’s export mix supports other nations’ industrial supply chains

China’s consumer goods export share fell to about 33 percent, while its capital goods share held near 20 percent, pointing to a shift toward intermediate inputs, according to Oxford Economics.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Trade & Tariffs

A senior China economist writing in South China Morning Post argues that a widely repeated Western narrative, that China is trying to crush fragile industries across the Global South, does not match export data. The article says China’s export composition has changed over time: the share of consumer goods fell from about 36 percent to roughly 33 percent, while the share of capital goods stayed around 20 percent. The author frames this as evidence that China is acting more like a supply partner than a competitor trying to squeeze out local producers.

The piece highlights specific categories where head-to-head competition might be expected, such as labor-intensive consumer goods. It says China’s share of global garment exports fell to just under 30 percent in 2024 from a peak of over 40 percent about a decade earlier.

On footwear, it adds that China’s share has declined while Indonesia and India have gained ground. The author also cites an Oxford Economics report that nearly half of China’s total exports are intermediate goods, described as components and raw materials that feed into other countries’ production lines rather than finished consumer products.

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