In January 2026, official data released by the German Machine Tool Manufacturers Association attracted the attention of the global manufacturing industry.
In 2025, China’s machine tool exports increased by 18% year-on-year, ranking first in the world for the first time with a global market share of 21.6%, while Germany, which has long held the leading position, relegated to second place with a share of 16.7%, and exports fell by 10% year-on-year.
This is not an accidental outbreak, but the inevitable result of China’s machine tool industry getting rid of the foreign technology blockade and continuing to develop for more than 20 years.
Once upon a time, China’s machine tool industry was stuck in the dilemma of “big but not strong”.
High-end machine tools basically rely on imports. Five-axis machine tools from Japan and Germany are expensive and come with stringent conditions. 33 countries around the world have also restricted the export of high-precision machine tools to China through the Wassenaar Agreement.
The domestic manufacturing industry is in urgent need of high-end machine tools to upgrade. The processing of the landing gear of the large aircraft C919 was delayed for three years due to restrictions on imported equipment. Key components for nuclear power plants had to be purchased at sky-high prices.
Around 2010, China spent more than 20 billion US dollars importing machine tools every year, and its import dependence in the high-end field was as high as 93%.
The turning point occurred under the dual drive of policy and market.
In 2015, “Made in China 2025” clearly listed high-end CNC machine tools as a key development area, and in 2022, the “14th Five-Year Plan and 2035 Vision Goals Outline” further proposed cultivating high-end CNC machine tool industry clusters.
From the national level to the enterprise level, a closed loop of “policy support + technical research + market verification” has been formed, step by step breaking the shackles of foreign investment.
Today, domestic machine tools have not only gotten rid of their dependence on foreign core technologies, but have also achieved standard breakthroughs.
The S test piece detection method independently developed by Shenyang Machine Tool has been incorporated into ISO international standards, becoming the first international standard in China’s machine tool field, allowing us to change from “following the rules” to “participating in setting the rules.”
The fact that Chinese machine tools can surpass Germany and reach the top is a concentrated explosion of three major advantages: industrial scale, technological breakthroughs, and market adaptation.
In terms of industrial scale, China’s CNC machine tool industry will reach 1.4 trillion yuan in 2025, accounting for 38% of the global market share. The industrial scale has ranked first in the world for more than ten consecutive years, forming a complete supporting industrial chain with better cost control and delivery efficiency.
In terms of technological breakthroughs, the localization rate of mid-to-high-end CNC machine tools has increased to 72%, and the annual output of five-axis machine tools has reached 38,000 units. A number of technologies have allowed domestic machine tools to catch up with the international advanced level in terms of accuracy and efficiency.
With precise market adaptation efforts, domestic machine tools focus on new energy vehicles, wind power, aerospace and other emerging fields, avoiding head-on competition with German and Japanese companies in the traditional high-end market.
In the global machine tool market in 2025, the rise of Chinese brands is obvious.
In terms of export share, China’s 21.6% far exceeds Germany’s 16.7%; in terms of export destinations, domestic machine tools have achieved breakthroughs in both high-end European and American markets and emerging markets; in terms of core indicators, high-end five-axis machine tools are less dependent on imports and have increased market share in the aerospace field.
However, we cannot be blindly optimistic.
At present, domestic machine tools still rely on 15% of technology in the high-end field. Their reliability and stability are far behind those of foreign giants, and their brand premium capabilities are insufficient.
But the gap is closing rapidly, and is expected to shrink further in the next 5-10 years as technology continues to iterate.
Topping the world’s number one position is just the starting point. The next goal of China’s machine tool industry is to achieve “comprehensive leadership”.
By 2030, the localization rate of high-end CNC machine tools is expected to increase to 60%, and the market share of domestic systems will reach 40%.
Policies promote the in-depth adaptation of machine tool products to actual application scenarios, and enterprises develop in a more precise and intelligent direction.
China’s machine tool exports will rank first in the world in 2025, demonstrating the spirit of Chinese manufacturing in not bowing down in the face of technological blockade and not being discouraged in the face of gaps.
In the future, Chinese machine tools are expected to achieve comprehensive leadership in high-end fields, injecting strong impetus into the transformation of Made in China to Created in China.
