Due to sanctions and restrictions imposed by the United States, as well as the continuous slump in the Chinese consumer market, China’s global market share in 15 commodities and services saw a decline in 2024, with both Alibaba and Huawei, cloud service providers, experiencing a decrease in market share. Economists indicate that due to the considerable sluggishness in domestic consumption in China, Chinese enterprises will further see a decrease in their global market share.
According to a report by Nikkei Asia on Tuesday, September 2nd, a survey conducted by Nikkei News in 2024 on the top five enterprises in global market share for 71 commodities and services revealed a decline in the global market share of Chinese enterprises in 15 categories. The market share of Chinese telecom companies experienced a decline due to restrictions and bans imposed by the United States.
Currently, the U.S. government has prohibited Chinese telecom operators such as China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom from providing phone and retail internet services in the United States.
The global market share of China’s largest refrigerator manufacturer, Haier, decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 22.8%. In the household air conditioner sector, the combined market share of the top five Chinese enterprises dropped to 51.8%, with market shares of Midea and Gree Electric also witnessing a decline.
Four out of the top five global surveillance camera manufacturers are from China, but their combined market share decreased from 52.5% in 2024 to 49.9%. Hikvision, which has been blacklisted by the U.S. government, saw a 1.8 percentage point drop in market share.
In the cloud services sector, the market share of Alibaba Group, ranked fourth, decreased by 0.7 percentage points, falling further behind Google, ranked third. The market share of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., ranked fifth, also experienced a decline.
Since 2021, China has been grappling with a slump in the real estate market. The real estate and related industries previously contributed about 30% of China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), impacting not only the sales of home appliances and other products but also dragging down the overall economy.
Naotaka Sonoda, Senior Economist at PwC, pointed out: “Based on income and economic conditions, Chinese consumers have shifted towards a ‘buy what you need’ mindset – purchasing only necessary items and in necessary quantities.”
However, Chinese enterprises have made progress in emerging markets by leveraging their price advantage. Smartphone manufacturer Transsion has risen in regions like Africa with its Tecno brand. Tim Chuah, Senior Global Insights Manager for Home Appliances at Euromonitor, mentioned that Chinese brands are highly competitive in price, and are popular in regions like Latin America.
Sonoda stated, “Although the expansion of market share in emerging economies can offset some impacts, domestic demand in China remains quite subdued,” and “With government subsidies set to expire soon, the market share of Chinese enterprises may further decline.”