2020 China Valve Industry Export Status & Analysis

2020 China Valve Industry Export Status & Analysis

China’s valve market features fierce competition. Currently, most domestic enterprises are small- and medium-sized, accounting for over 90% of the total industry. Most manufacturers lag behind in technical capability and are confined to the low-end market, resulting in weak international competitiveness and a lack of high-end product development.

In the domestic valve market, while low-pressure valves have gained global acceptance, high-pressure valves still rely heavily on imports. Against the backdrop of a slowing macro economy and shifting international trade patterns, the industry’s export volume has fluctuated significantly.

- 2018 total import and export volume: 23.952 billion USD

- 2019 total import and export volume: slightly down to 23.385 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 2.37%

Industry Challenges: Price Competition & Trade Headwinds

From 2012 to 2019, China’s valve import volume showed an overall upward trend. However, due to Sino-US trade frictions from 2018 to 2019, both import volume and growth rate declined notably:

- 2018 import value: 7.328 billion USD, up 19.95% YoY

- 2019 import value: 7.154 billion USD, down 2.37% YoY

On the export side:

- 2018 export value: 16.624 billion USD, up 13.5% YoY

- 2019 export value: 16.231 billion USD, down 0.02% YoY

Manufacturing Capability Gap

At present, domestic manufacturers are capable of designing and producing valves in compliance with global standards including ISO, DIN (German), and AWWA (American). The overall industry manufacturing level has improved greatly in recent years.

That said, domestic products still suffer from unstable quality, with common defects like leakage and sealing failure, and there remains a notable gap in supporting capacity compared with international advanced counterparts.

Outlook & Recommendations

In recent years, global market demand has contracted amid rising trade frictions, bringing unprecedented challenges to international trade.

Under this context, Chinese valve enterprises must prioritize upgrading product quality, increase investment in high-end R&D, close the technological gap with global leaders, and enhance core international competitiveness.