60% of world’s cement and 52% of steel: China global footprint

• Among the world’s largest 500 companies more than 130 are located in China alone. This includes some bigger names like BYD, Huawei, Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi etc.
• China has a huge share in few commodities such as steel and cement. This country accounts for 60% of world’s cement production and more than 50% of steel production

It all started in 1978 when China opened their markets for the world. Since then the country grew like anything by focusing on rapid industrialization and on being self sufficient. The rise of China from one of the poorest countries to a global manufacturing powerhouse is a case study in itself primarily because it was quickest for any country. Today the China global footprint is massive and is spread across all sectors wheather it’s cement, tech, chemical, ore etc.

Here we’ll take a look at all those sectors which are led by China. Today the manufacturing prowess of China is so huge that it literally holds a monopoly in few sectors or commodities like cement, chemical and tech. That’s why the country has the world’s 2nd largest economy by nominal GDP which stands at close to $21 trillion. Meanwhile the GDP of USA stands at close to $33 trillion.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Economy of China

When it comes to agricultural products China sits at top in both production and consumption. It is the world’s largest rice producer and also produces significant amount of wheat, maize, tobacco and fish. It is among one of the world’s largest pig, egg and chicken producing countries. According to a data China fed the 18% population on global scale by using just 7% of arable land.

China produces 60% of world’s cement

In commodities like cement China holds the absolute monopoly. On global scale China alone accounts for 60% of world’s cement production as of data of the year 2004. In that year China grab the biggest chunk of global cement production which still now stands at close to 52%. This country produces more than 2 billion tonnes of cement per year which is largely aided by the massive size of construction industry in the country itself.

Construction Industry in China

The construction industry in China is massive putting it on global scale. In 2010 the country’s construction and housing market became the largest in the world. The real estate alone holds 20% of the Chinese economy and the most interesting part here is 90% of urban people have their own house which is highest than even USA (its closest competitor).

Energy, Oil & Gas industry of China

While the world is moving away from fossil fuels for meeting energy needs China does the exact opposite. The country still has 80% of its power generated from fossil fuels like coal. Coal powers the 75% of China’s energy needs. For this the country has always been in question for CO2 emissions but seems like they don’t care about it. When it comes to oil since 1993 the country imports oil from Middle East.

Coal Mining industry in China

China has about 200+ active minerals for mining. Due to heavy regulation by PRC this industry is comparatively small. 4.6 million tonnes (about 17% of world’s total) of Lithium reserves are in China and the government uses it to establish a monopoly in battery and cell industry. That’s why probably all the phones you see has a made in China battery, this also applies to cells as well. When it comes to coal it is at 140 to 150 billion tonnes, the world’s 4th largest and 13% of the total). China sits at top in both the production/consumption of coal.

Solar Industry in China

Even though china meets 80% of its energy needs through coal none of the countries even came close when it comes to solar power. China is the world’s largest producer of solar panels. It has an absolute monopoly over the production of solar panels as 98% of wafers and ingots used in production of solar panels are produced in China. In solar cells China holds 92% share and in production of final panels it stands at 85%. The production of solar panels requires four stages and in all four stages China has close to 90% share.

Steel Industry in China

About 50% of world’s crude steel is produced by China. Out of 45 world’s largest steel producing companies 21 belongs to China alone. In fact the world’s largest steel producer is Baowu Steel Group located in Shanghai (the financial capital of China,). In 2020 on global scale China produced about 1000+ million tonnes of steel which was more than 50% of world’s total.

Automotive Industry of China

China is home to some of the world’s most advanced automobile companies like BYD which is the closest competitor of Tesla. More than 32 million vehicles were produced by China in 2024 out of which around 6 million were exported. It’s hard to believe that in 1975 the production capacity was not even 2 lakhs and by 2010 it became bigger than USA and Japan combined.

When US players like Ford, Chevrolet entered China to grab a share of its huge automotive consumption the country forced them to establish joint venture with local players to be operational and through tech transfer China made their local automotive players as competent as US ones. Today it has BYD, Geely, GWM all established through JVs with US companies like Ford and Chevrolet. Around 58% of electric vehicles are sold in China alone. This is because companies like CATL and BYD also holds the indigenous battery tech marking China on global scale.

$240 billion China’s Semiconductor Industry

China’s semiconductor industry stands at close to $240 billion. More than 53% of chips sold worldwide were produced in China alone. The government plans to double down on chip production by 2030.

Electronic Industry of China

China is home to some of the world’s most famous electronic companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Lenovo, TCL, DJI and Huawei. 70% of phones produced globally are made in China, for personal computers it stands at around 90%. In air conditioning system too China holds more than 70% share globally.

90% of World’s containers are produced in China

China has a export oriented economy and so it has a large shipping industry as well. COSCO (China ocean shipping company) handles all the shipping activities in the country. If we are talking about shipping industry then Port of Shanghai must be talked. It is the world’s largest port and also the busiest one.

Tourism Industry of China

There are about 59 world heritage sites in China. The tourism industry is here worth $216 billion and it contributes to 2.6% of China’s GDP. Stringet security measures by Chinese government itself has forced tourists to look elsewhere hence preventing growth of this industry to quite an extent.

500 million people in China play video games

On global scale China has the largest chunk of video game players. In this country close to 500 million people play video games. The global video game industry is about of $100 billion and China has a market share of 25% in it.

So these were few infos about the China global footprint. I hope you’ve found this useful, if you did please share. THANK YOU!