Chinese Economics Thread

[tphuang]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2035838876275925437

I wrote about China and the need to move beyond LNG from insecure countries here. Not just Qatar, but Australia & countries like that.

Part of that will be met by pipeline gas from Russia & Central Asia.

Long term, the goal should be to connect Xinjiang to Iran.

 

[antiterror13]

This is a bit misleading. Chinese brand of cars are overwhelmingly sold inside China, while Japanese brands are mostly sold overseas. Which means the amount of actual foreign usage of Chinese cars is still significantly lower than Japanese cars.

Actually China now has taken over Japan in car export in 2025. China exported 8.32M cars and Japan at 5.65M (new and used) cars

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Of course you still see the dominant of Japanese cars on the road as Japan had been domination for at least 20 years, but this is changing

 

[tamsen_ikard]

Actually China now has taken over Japan in car export in 2025. China exported 8.32M cars and Japan at 5.65M (new and used) cars

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Of course you still see the dominant of Japanese cars on the road as Japan had been domination for at least 20 years, but this is changing

Again misleading, Japan makes most of its cars outside Japan, which will not register as a Japanese export of a finished car, but its a Japanese branded car with a huge input of components from Japan and design also done in Japan.

China still has a long way to go to build its factories outside China.

 

[henrik]

Actually China now has taken over Japan in car export in 2025. China exported 8.32M cars and Japan at 5.65M (new and used) cars

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Of course you still see the dominant of Japanese cars on the road as Japan had been domination for at least 20 years, but this is changing

China broke the 40 yr old world record for car exports in 2025.

 

[antiterror13]

Again misleading, Japan makes most of its cars outside Japan, which will not register as a Japanese export of a finished car, but its a Japanese branded car with a huge input of components from Japan and design also done in Japan.

China still has a long way to go to build its factories outside China.

you are moving the goal post (again)

 

[tamsen_ikard]

you are moving the goal post (again)

My point is China is nowhere near Japan when it comes to overseas sales of its branded cars compared to Japanese brands. Its just starting up. Japanese brands are ubiquitious and extremely popular. If we look at combined sales of the world then yes Chinese brands are selling well, but that's because the vast majority of it is coming from China's own domestic market. They need to go a long way before they can match Japan's global brand recognition and soft power when it comes to Cars.

 

[Michael90]

This is a bit misleading. Chinese brand of cars are overwhelmingly sold inside China, while Japanese brands are mostly sold overseas. Which means the amount of actual foreign usage of Chinese cars is still significantly lower than Japanese cars.

Yes , I was about to say that as well. It’s mostly due to Chinas internal market firstly. The fact that Japan’s auto industry still sells as much as China despite having a far smaller market shows their sales comes mostly abroad. China still has a long way to go to match Japan’s global car presence but they will get there as Chinese cars are now very competitive and as the world moves more and more towards EVs. So this coming decade will be an interesting transition.
Moreover we should always make a distinction between western/Japanese brands made in China products exported around the world from Made in China products sold abroad from Chinese companies . Those are two different things. lol.
Mexico and Thailand are the world’s 5th and 10th largest car exporters but very few are Mexican/Thai companies/brand . So we should also look at that.
plus the value of car exports matters as well . Germany for example earned far more ($178billion ) from car exports in 2025 than Japan ($108) despite exporting far less number of cars than Japan/China . So their value are higher as well. China earned ($105billion) . So value earned is also important for the country than just numbers.
however China is catching up very fast, I’m sure in a few years from now China will surpass in both value and quantity , not just quantity .

 

[FriedRiceNSpice]

Automaking is one of Japan's last remaining flagship industries, whereas for China automaking is just one of many industries. China's goal is total supply chain independence in all key industries, whereas Japan is desperately trying to maintain its hold on one of the few industries it's still competitive in. Japan previously was dominant in shipbuilding, electronics, semiconductors, and countless other sectors- now all dominated by China/Korea (the latter is also now rapidly losing ground to the former). Today, automaking and robotics are Japan's final bastions, and China is rapidly encroaching in both fields.

 

[antiterror13]

My point is China is nowhere near Japan when it comes to overseas sales of its branded cars compared to Japanese brands. Its just starting up. Japanese brands are ubiquitious and extremely popular. If we look at combined sales of the world then yes Chinese brands are selling well, but that's because the vast majority of it is coming from China's own domestic market. They need to go a long way before they can match Japan's global brand recognition and soft power when it comes to Cars.

I can't "argue" with you if you keep moving the goal post! what next? car produce per capita or size of the country ?

 

[Nevermore]

Although most Chinese cars are sold domestically in China, you should be aware that Chinese cars are completely shut out of the U.S. market, and many pro-U.S. countries also impose discriminatory policies on Chinese vehicles.

I also have a different perspective on the economic comparison between gasoline-powered cars and electric vehicles. Many people in China drive around 10,000 kilometers a year—or even less (though the national average is higher than that)—and you can’t convince them to take the subway, because a man simply has to own a car. As a result, the average annual cost of owning a gasoline-powered car is actually lower than that of an electric vehicle, because by the eighth year, an electric car has depreciated so much that it’s practically worth nothing but scrap metal. Furthermore, by the tenth year, even if your battery capacity is still at 75%, changes in the battery’s internal condition cause its resistance to skyrocket. This reduces the actual driving range below the rated capacity and compromises safety.
To really save money with an electric vehicle, you need to drive at least 14,000 kilometers a year; the more you drive, the more you save.