China's Home Appliance Industry 2026: White-Goods Kingdom — From Selling the Most to Selling the Priciest

1. Prologue: A Ranking of the World's No. 1 Brand

Every January, the market research firm Euromonitor International releases a global ranking of major home-appliance brands by retail volume. And at the very top of this ranking, one name has remained unchanged for 17 consecutive years (2009 through 2025)—Haier. In refrigerators, Haier has been No. 1 in the world for 18 straight years; in washing machines, No. 1 for 17 straight years; in wine cabinets and freezers, it has also been the world's No. 1 for many consecutive years. A home-appliance brand from Qingdao, China, holding the title of the world's No. 1 major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 years running—this is an exceedingly rare achievement across all of Chinese manufacturing.

The significance of this ranking cannot be overstated. Because in the grand narrative of Chinese manufacturing, one regret recurs again and again—"big but not strong; capacity without brands." China makes the most tires in the world, but the premium brands are Michelin and Bridgestone; China makes most of the world's power tools, but many are made on an OEM basis for Bosch and TTI; China makes the most clothing, shoes, and toys in the world, but the brands standing on the shelves are mostly not Chinese. Chinese manufacturing has long been the "world's factory"—making the most, yet rarely able to turn its own brands into the No. 1 in the minds of global consumers.

Home appliances, however, are a dazzling exception to this regret. Haier has been the world's No. 1 major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 consecutive years—this is not OEM, not white-labeling, but "Haier," an independent Chinese brand, genuinely becoming the major-appliance brand that global consumers buy the most. At the same time, another Chinese home-appliance giant, Midea, posted revenue of 458.5 billion yuan (about 64 billion USD) in fiscal 2025, making it the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue—surpassing the appliance businesses of Whirlpool, Electrolux, BSH, and even LG and Samsung. By brand retail volume, Haier is No. 1 in the world; by group revenue scale, Midea is No. 1 in the world—China's "Haier + Midea" have together reached the summit of the global home-appliance industry on both dimensions of "volume" and "value."

This is the story this report will tell—home appliances are the most successful and most complete sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey from "world's factory" to "world's brand." It is not merely "big" (the world's largest producer and exporter of home appliances, accounting for over 80% of global air-conditioner output and about 70% of microwave ovens); it has genuinely built "world brands" (Haier as the world's No. 1 brand, Midea as No. 1 in global revenue). And its brands are "independent brands going global"—through acquiring the world's top brands (Haier acquiring GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, and Candy; Midea acquiring Toshiba's appliance business and KUKA) and through building its own brands (Haier's Casarte, Gree's GREE), Chinese home appliances have planted their own brands right inside the homes of global consumers. This is the most successful breakthrough in Chinese manufacturing's rise "from big to strong, from factory to brand."

What is even more remarkable is that this home-appliance breakthrough rests on top of global dominance in core components. The most critical component of a home appliance is the compressor—the "heart" of an air conditioner. And on this heart, China has already reached the global summit: China accounts for nearly 95% of global rotary air-conditioner compressor output, and four Chinese companies—Midea's GMCC, Gree's Landa, Highly, and Rechi—have virtually monopolized the "heart" of the world's air conditioners; in refrigerator compressors, China's Huayi group is also one of the largest domestic players in the world. This global dominance in core components goes further than that of construction machinery, whose hydraulic systems remain constrained by Germany and Japan—it means that Chinese home appliances possess not only the finished products and the brands, but also the most critical "heart" of the finished product. From finished products to core components to brands, Chinese home appliances have built a complete chain that leads the world from the inside out.

But this "most successful sample," home appliances, has not yet finished the entire journey. It already "sells the most"—No. 1 in the world by output, No. 1 in the world by brand sales. But from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest," it still has one final stretch to go. That final stretch consists of three highlands yet to be conquered. First, home-appliance chips—the main-control MCUs and variable-frequency power modules used in white goods have a domestic-substitution rate of only about 27%, and the self-sufficiency rate for high-end power devices is below 10%; this remains a "chokehold" link. Second, brand premium—Chinese home appliances win on scale and value-for-money, but in the high-end markets of Europe, the U.S., and Japan, brand premiums still trail those of BSH, Miele, and Japanese premium brands; although Haier's high-end brand Casarte is already the domestic high-end benchmark, its pricing power also faces challenges. Third, high-end kitchen appliances—dishwasher penetration in China is below 5% (about 75% in Europe and the U.S.), and built-in kitchen-appliance penetration is about 8% to 10%; this is the category where the gap between Chinese and Western appliances is largest.

This is the complete picture of China's home-appliance industry in 2026—it is the most successful sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world's brand" (Haier as the world's No. 1 brand, Midea as No. 1 in global revenue, dominance in compressors), and it already "sells the most"; but from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest," it still has one final stretch—home-appliance chips, brand premium, and high-end kitchen appliances—to go. This report will use 50,000 words, starting from this ranking of the world's No. 1 brand, to walk through the category summits of air conditioners, refrigerators, microwave ovens, and small appliances; through the stories of the three giants Midea, Haier, and Gree; through the acquisition empires by which Haier and Midea bought up global brands; through the summit of the compressor as a core component and the chokehold climb of home-appliance chips; through Casarte's exploration of high-end premium and the largest gap in high-end kitchen appliances; through the overseas expansion of new forces such as robot vacuums and Anker, and the challenges of trade barriers and cutthroat competition; and finally back to the core proposition—how Chinese home appliances can finish that final stretch from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest."

This is not just the story of one industry, but the longest and most successful leg of Chinese manufacturing's climb "from big to strong, from factory to brand." Understand the brand summit of Chinese home appliances, and you understand the kind of road Chinese manufacturing must travel to truly plant its own brands in the hearts of global consumers. And that ranking, atop which Haier has sat for 17 consecutive years, is the most dazzling milestone on this road.

2. The Value Chain of a Home Appliance: Finished Product, Core Components, and Brand

To understand the situation of Chinese home appliances moving "from selling the most to selling the priciest," we first have to take apart a home appliance and see its value chain clearly—see where the value actually lies, see which links China has already captured, and see which links it is still climbing.

Take the most typical example, the air conditioner. An air conditioner can be roughly divided into three layers of value. The first layer is finished-product manufacturing—the casing, heat exchanger, fan, piping, and final assembly, the parts that the finished-goods makers (Midea, Gree, Haier) design, manufacture, and assemble themselves. The second layer is the core components—the compressor (the "heart" of the air conditioner, which determines the core of cooling and heating), the motor (which drives the fan and the compressor), and the control chip (the main-control MCU and the variable-frequency power module, the air conditioner's "brain" and "nerves"). The third layer is brand and channel—brand recognition, consumer trust, sales channels, and the premium the brand brings. Finished product, core components, brand—these are the three layers of a home appliance's value chain.

Across these three layers of value, the degree to which Chinese home appliances command each one is starkly different—and this is precisely what constitutes the divide between "selling the most" and "not yet selling the priciest."

Look first at the finished product—China already dominates globally. In finished-product manufacturing, Chinese home appliances have long been the absolute mainstay of the world. China accounts for over 80% of global air-conditioner output, about 70% of microwave ovens, and roughly half each of refrigerators and washing machines. China is the world's largest producer and exporter of home appliances, with appliance exports reaching 111.4 billion USD in 2025. Finished-product manufacturing is the foundation of the "bigness" of Chinese home appliances—enormous capacity, a complete supply chain, and extreme cost control have enabled China to make the most home appliances in the world. This layer, China holds firmly.

Look next at the core components—here too China has largely reached the summit, and this is where home appliances are stronger than many other Chinese manufacturing industries. On the compressor, the most critical component of a home appliance, China already dominates globally: China accounts for nearly 95% of global rotary air-conditioner compressor output, with GMCC, Landa, Highly, and Rechi virtually monopolizing the heart of the world's air conditioners; in refrigerator compressors, the Huayi group is also one of the largest domestic players in the world. In motors, China's brushless direct-current (BLDC) motor market has already surpassed 100 billion yuan in size, and Wolong and Broad-Ocean rank among the world's top ten motor brands. In TV panels (the core of consumer electronics), China's BOE and TCL CSOT already account for 70% of the world's large-size LCD panels. Compressors, motors, panels—on these mechanical and display core components of home appliances, China has already reached the global summit. This is the deep foundation of the "strength" in the Chinese home-appliance value chain—it goes further than construction machinery (where hydraulics remain constrained).

But within the core components, there is one piece China has not yet captured—home-appliance chips. The main-control chips (MCUs) and variable-frequency power modules (IPM/IGBT) of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines are the "brain" and "nerves" of home appliances, and they have long depended on imports (mainly from Japan's Renesas/Toshiba, Germany's Infineon, and Europe's STMicroelectronics). Although domestic substitution is advancing rapidly (the white-goods MCU domestic-substitution rate rose from under 2% in 2016 to about 27% in 2023), the self-sufficiency rate for high-end power devices is still below 10%. Home-appliance chips are a core component still being climbed in the Chinese home-appliance value chain—it is the "chokehold" link, and one of the pieces to be filled in on the way from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest."

Finally, look at the brand—Chinese home appliances have gone further than many industries, but there is still distance to the summit. On the brand layer, Chinese home appliances have already achieved something rare in other Chinese manufacturing industries—Haier has been the world's No. 1 major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 consecutive years, and Midea is No. 1 in the world by revenue. Chinese home appliances go global as independent brands (through acquiring global brands and building their own), not merely as OEMs. This is the brand foundation of "selling the most." But on the layer of brand premium, Chinese home appliances are still climbing—in the high-end markets of Europe, the U.S., and Japan, the brand premium is still partly held by BSH, Miele, and Japanese premium brands; Chinese home appliances win on scale and value-for-money, and their unit prices and net margins are still lower than those of high-end rivals. Brand is the core of the final stretch of Chinese home appliances "from selling the most to selling the priciest"—it must move from "the brand that sells the most" to "the brand that sells the priciest."

Once this value chain is clear, the situation of Chinese home appliances becomes clear: global dominance in finished products (big), summit in most core components (strong, deeper than most Chinese manufacturing), and No. 1 in the world in brand sales (a world brand, a rare achievement)—this is the foundation of "selling the most"; while the chokehold in home-appliance chips, the gap in brand premium, and the shortfall in high-end categories—this is the final stretch it still has to travel from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." What Chinese home appliances have "already captured" in the value chain (finished products, mechanical core components, brand sales) and what they are "still climbing" (home-appliance chips, brand premium, high-end kitchen appliances) together sketch out the present and future of their "reign over white goods and summit of brands."

This value chain also reveals what makes Chinese home appliances unique relative to other Chinese manufacturing industries—it is one of the few industries to have achieved major breakthroughs across all three layers of finished product, core components, and brand. Tires and power tools stop at the finished product (big but not strong, brands constrained); construction machinery has captured the finished product and is attacking core components (hydraulics) and brand; power batteries have captured the finished product and core components (but are caught in a three-fold siege); while home appliances are an industry that has reached the summit in all three layers of finished product, mechanical core components, and even brand sales—it has traveled the most completely and most successfully. Understand the degree to which Chinese home appliances command these three layers of value in the value chain, and you understand why home appliances are the most successful sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from big to strong, from factory to brand," and you also understand the final stretch it still has to travel "from selling the most to selling the priciest." All the analysis that follows in this report—category summits, the three giants, the acquisition empire, compressors and chips, brand premium and high-end kitchen appliances—unfolds around this value chain. And the most vivid way to unfold this value chain is to first look at where Chinese home appliances stand on the global chessboard.

3. The Global Chessboard: China's Two Champions Reach the Summit as the West's Old Guard Recedes

To position Chinese home appliances, the most intuitive way is to look at their seat on the global chessboard, and at the profound changes taking place on that chessboard. And the global home-appliance chessboard of 2025 to 2026 is staging an intriguing historical turning point—China's two champions reaching the summit, while the old-guard giants of the West and of Japan and Korea recede one after another.

Look first at the summit reached by China's two champions. By brand retail volume, Haier has been the world's No. 1 major-appliance brand for 17 consecutive years; by group revenue scale, Midea, with 458.5 billion yuan (about 64 billion USD) in 2025, has become the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue. Haier Smart Home posted 2025 revenue of 302.3 billion yuan (about 42.5 billion USD), breaking 300 billion for the first time. China's "Midea + Haier" have reached the summit on both dimensions of volume and value—and their revenue scale has already clearly surpassed that of any Western or Japanese/Korean home-appliance giant.

Look next at the recession of the old guard of the West and of Japan and Korea, a scene of even greater historical significance on the global chessboard. Whirlpool—the old-guard white-goods leader of the United States, with 2024 revenue of about 16.6 billion USD, down more than 5 billion USD from 2021 and continuing to decline; moreover, Whirlpool has already sold its China business to China's Galanz. Electrolux—the white-goods giant of Sweden, with 2025 revenue of about 14.3 billion USD, under continued profit pressure. Samsung Electronics—its television (VD) plus home-appliance (DA) businesses posted, in full-year 2025, the first annual loss since these two divisions were established (about 200 billion Korean won), and it has already announced its exit from the home-appliance market in mainland China. LG Electronics—although 2025 revenue hit a record high, operating profit fell by double digits, growing revenue without growing profit. The home-appliance old guard of the West and of Japan and Korea is receding one after another—decline, losses, and even market exit.

This advance-and-retreat sketches out a historic reversal in the pattern of the global home-appliance industry. On one side, China's two champions (Midea, Haier) have reached the summit in revenue scale, with continuously rising share; on the other, the Western old guard (Whirlpool, Electrolux) is declining and ceding ground, and the Japanese/Korean giants (Samsung, LG) are under pressure. Chinese home appliances are moving from a chaser on the global chessboard to a dominator—not only dominating in output (long No. 1 in the world), but comprehensively surpassing the old-guard giants of the West and of Japan and Korea in brand, revenue, and share. This reversal is the most powerful proof of Chinese home appliances' journey "from world's factory to world's brand"—it not only makes the most, but in global competition has thrown the industry's former overlords behind it one by one.

Especially emblematic are several cases of "exit" and "sale." Galanz's acquisition of Whirlpool's China business—this once-U.S. white-goods overlord was defeated in the Chinese market and handed its business to a Chinese company. Samsung's exit from the mainland China home-appliance market—this Korean giant, faced with high-end substitution by Chinese domestic brands, chose to withdraw. These cases are a microcosm of the reversal in the global home-appliance landscape—not only are Chinese companies expanding globally, but the giants of the West and of Japan and Korea are being defeated in China and even in global markets. Chinese home appliances are completing a transfer of dominance over the global home-appliance industry—from the West and from Japan and Korea, to China.

But the reversal on the global chessboard is not total or absolute. In the high-end market, the West and Japan and Korea still hold advantages. BSH (Bosch and Siemens)—Europe's largest home-appliance group, with 2025 revenue of about 15 billion euros, still dominates the European high-end market (especially built-in kitchen appliances). Miele—Germany's top-tier home-appliance brand, representing the very highest end of home appliances. LG and Samsung—still hold strong positions in the North American high-end market and in certain categories (such as high-end TVs and premium appliances). Japanese home appliances—still lead in compressor technology, variable-frequency control, and energy efficiency under extreme operating conditions. The reversal on the global chessboard has taken place mainly in the low-to-mid-range and mainstream markets (which China comprehensively dominates), while in the very highest-end market (Western and Japanese premium goods), the West and Japan and Korea still guard their last fortress. This is precisely the global portrait of Chinese home appliances "selling the most, but not yet selling the priciest."

This pattern on the global chessboard sets the coordinates for the analysis in this report—Chinese home appliances have already reached the summit as two champions on the global chessboard (comprehensively leading in volume, value, and share), the Western and Japanese/Korean old guard is receding (decline, losses, exit); but in the very highest-end market, the West and Japan and Korea still guard their fortress. The story of Chinese home appliances is one of a dominator that has already conquered the mainstream global market and is launching a final assault on the highest-end market—it already "sells the most," and is attacking the last fortress of "selling the priciest."

This global chessboard of "China's two champions reaching the summit, the Western old guard receding, and the high-end fortress still standing" is the coordinate for understanding Chinese home appliances. It tells us that Chinese home appliances are not a chaser starting from zero, nor a challenger yet to break through, but a dominator that has already reached the summit of the mainstream global market and is now assaulting the highest-end fortress. Its story is one of having already won most of the battlefields and now attacking the last highland. Next, let us begin with the categories in which Chinese home appliances have reached the summit, and see how China, one category at a time, has sent itself to the top of the world. And the most core of these, and the one that best represents the strength of Chinese home appliances, is the air conditioner.

4. Air Conditioners: Gree and Midea at the Front of Global Production and Sales

Of all the categories of Chinese home appliances, the air conditioner is the most core and the one that best represents the strength of Chinese home appliances. It is the category with high technical content, large market scale, and the fiercest competition among home appliances, and it is also one of the fields where Chinese home appliances most thoroughly dominate globally. The story of the air conditioner—the all-round summit from finished product to compressor to variable-frequency technology—is the most powerful sample for understanding how Chinese home appliances are "big and progressively strong."

Look first at the global status of Chinese air conditioners. China is the absolute mainstay of the world's air conditioners—China produces over 80% of the world's air conditioners. At the company level, Gree and Midea rank at the front of global household air-conditioner production and sales: Gree is one of the world's largest household air-conditioner manufacturers by sales volume (revenue about 29.2 billion USD), while Midea leads on scale and cost. Together with Japan's Daikin (No. 1 by revenue including commercial HVAC, at about 36.3 billion USD), Gree, Midea, and Daikin sit firmly at the front of the global air-conditioner industry. And in the Chinese domestic market, in 2025 Midea, Gree, and Haier held the top three positions by revenue share (Midea about 29%, Gree about 17%, Haier about 15%), with Xiaomi rapidly cutting in at about 10% share. The air conditioner is the core category in which Chinese home appliances dominate globally and competition is fiercest.

The deepest root of global dominance in air conditioners lies in the compressor—the "heart" of the air conditioner. As mentioned earlier, China accounts for nearly 95% of global rotary air-conditioner compressor output—GMCC (owned by Midea, with a global market share of about 45%), Landa (owned by Gree), Highly, and Rechi have virtually monopolized the heart of the world's air conditioners. This global dominance in compressors is the deepest moat of Chinese air conditioners—it means that Chinese air conditioners not only make the finished product, but also command the most core and most difficult heart of the finished product. Moreover, both Midea and Gree produce their own compressors (GMCC, Landa), and this "finished product + compressor" vertical integration gives them extremely strong control over cost, supply, and technology. The heart of the air conditioner is in China, in the hands of Midea and Gree themselves—this is the deepest confidence behind Chinese air conditioners' global dominance.

Another technological commanding height of the air conditioner is variable-frequency (inverter) technology. Variable-frequency air conditioners (which precisely adjust compressor speed through inverter technology to achieve energy savings and comfort) are the direction of air-conditioner technology upgrading. And China's variable-frequency air-conditioner penetration reached 89% in 2025—variable-frequency is now the absolute mainstream. Chinese companies (Gree, Midea) have invested heavily in variable-frequency technology; Gree announced as early as 2010 that it had broken foreign monopolies on core inverter technology. The popularization of variable-frequency and the advancement of technology are the upgrade of Chinese air conditioners from "usable" to "well-usable and energy-saving"—it makes Chinese air conditioners dominant not only in output, but also catching up with and even running alongside the leaders in technology.

But in the very highest-end air-conditioner technology—especially compressor control logic under extreme operating conditions—China still has a gap with Japanese companies. Variable-frequency air-conditioner technology was successfully developed in Japan in the 1970s; more than 50 years on, the best technology is still in Japanese hands. Japanese air conditioners have an advantage in compressor control logic—for example, under extreme low temperatures of minus 15 degrees, a Japanese air conditioner's air outlet can reach 50 degrees, whereas a domestic air conditioner at the same price point may need to activate auxiliary electric heating to achieve the equivalent heating effect. This control precision under extreme conditions is a gap that Chinese air conditioners are still catching up on with Japanese companies. However, this is a gradual catch-up, not a hard chokehold—Chinese air conditioners (Gree, Midea) keep breaking through in variable-frequency and control technology, and the gap is narrowing. The very highest-end control technology of the air conditioner is a short stretch that Chinese air conditioners, "big and progressively strong," are still climbing.

The air conditioner also reveals the deep advantage of Chinese home appliances' "vertical integration." Midea and Gree not only make the air-conditioner finished product, but also produce their own compressors (GMCC, Landa), develop their own chips (Midea's Meiren Semiconductor, Gree's Zero-Boundary), and produce their own motors—they keep the core components of the air conditioner in their own hands as much as possible. This vertical integration from finished product to core components to chips is the deepest advantage of Chinese air-conditioner giants relative to other countries—it makes Chinese air conditioners lower in cost, more stable in supply, and better in technical coordination. Japanese, European, and U.S. air-conditioner companies often lack China's kind of complete vertical integration from finished product to compressor to chip. The vertical integration of the air conditioner is a concentrated embodiment of the completeness and coordination of the Chinese home-appliance industrial chain.

The air-conditioner category is the most powerful sample of Chinese home appliances being "big and progressively strong." Its finished product dominates globally (80% of output), its compressor has reached the global summit (nearly 95%), variable-frequency has become the mainstream (89% penetration), and its companies rank at the front of the world (Gree, Midea)—this is ample proof of both "big" and "strong." Its gap with Japanese companies in the very highest-end control technology, and the fierce competition in the domestic market (the fight among Midea, Gree, Haier, and Xiaomi), are the challenges it is still climbing and facing. The story of the air conditioner condenses the overall picture of Chinese home appliances—global dominance in core categories (finished product, compressor, variable-frequency), but still climbing in the very highest-end technology and brand premium. And beyond the air conditioner, Chinese home appliances have several other categories that have reached the global summit—refrigerators, washing machines, and microwave ovens. Among these, refrigerators and washing machines are the fields where Haier has been the world's No. 1 for more than a decade running, and that is the subject of the next chapter.

5. Refrigerators and Washing Machines: Haier's Eighteen Years and Seventeen Years

If air conditioners are the home turf of Gree and Midea, then refrigerators and washing machines are the kingdom of Haier. In these two categories, Haier has created an achievement rare in Chinese manufacturing—18 consecutive years for refrigerators and 17 consecutive years for washing machines as the world's No. 1 brand by retail volume. These two "world firsts of more than a decade" are the most powerful proof of Chinese home appliances as "world brands," and are also the core of Haier's growth from a small factory in Qingdao into a global home-appliance giant.

Look first at just how solid these two world firsts are. According to Euromonitor International data, Haier's refrigerators for 18 consecutive years and washing machines for 17 consecutive years have been the world's No. 1 brand by retail volume. This is not the accident of a single year, but sustained No. 1 status year after year for more than a decade—which, in the fiercely competitive and ever-shifting global home-appliance market, is exceedingly rare. To remain the world's No. 1 by retail volume in a category for more than a decade running requires continuously leading products, channels spread across the globe, and a brand rooted deep in people's minds. Haier's refrigerators and washing machines, relying precisely on this sustained lead, have turned "Haier"—a Chinese brand—into the refrigerator and washing-machine brand that global consumers buy the most.

Haier's world firsts in refrigerators and washing machines rely on a unique brand path—the twin-engine drive of "building its own brand + overseas acquisitions." On one hand, Haier persists in building its own brand, taking "Haier" to the whole world (rather than doing OEM for others). On the other hand, through a series of overseas acquisitions, Haier has brought the world's top refrigerator and washing-machine brands into its fold—acquiring New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel (ultra-high-end), the U.S.'s GE Appliances, Italy's Candy (Europe), and Japan's Sanyo white goods (AQUA). Through building its own brand and overseas acquisitions, Haier has established a brand cluster that covers the globe and every price tier—Haier (mainstream), Casarte (high-end), Fisher & Paykel (ultra-high-end), GE Appliances (U.S.), Candy (Europe), AQUA (Japan and Southeast Asia), and Leader (youth). This multi-brand cluster is the brand foundation of Haier's world firsts in refrigerators and washing machines.

Another of Haier's unique traits is its "trinity" localization strategy—local R&D, local production, local sales. Haier has established 163 manufacturing centers, 126 marketing centers, and over 230,000 sales outlets around the world, achieving localized R&D, production, and sales in every major market. This deep localization enables Haier's refrigerators and washing machines to genuinely align with the needs of local consumers (consumer needs for refrigerators and washing machines vary greatly from country to country) and win local markets. Haier's trinity localization is a deeper form of globalization than that of many Chinese home-appliance companies (which merely export their products)—it plants R&D, production, and sales all within the local market. This is the key to Haier being able to lead in every market around the world.

Haier's brand path is also underpinned by a unique management philosophy—"rendanheyi" (employee-customer unity). This is the operating model pioneered by Haier founder Zhang Ruimin; its core is to directly connect employees and users ("ren" is the employee, "dan" is the user's needs), so that every employee creates value directly facing the user. Rendanheyi is Haier's innovation in management, and it is also the organizational foundation that enables Haier to maintain vitality, stay close to users, and keep leading. Haier's success is not merely the success of products and brands, but also the success of management-model innovation—rendanheyi keeps this vast global enterprise, Haier, keenly aware of and responsive to user needs.

The world firsts in refrigerators and washing machines carry great significance for Haier and for Chinese home appliances. For Haier, this is the core achievement of its growth from a small factory in Qingdao on the verge of bankruptcy (the story of Zhang Ruimin smashing refrigerators back then is widely told) into a global home-appliance giant—the world firsts in refrigerators and washing machines are the concentrated embodiment of Haier's brand and strength. For Chinese home appliances, Haier's world firsts are the most powerful proof that "a Chinese independent brand can become No. 1 in the world"—they break the curse of "Chinese manufacturing being big but not strong, capacity without brands," and prove that Chinese brands can become No. 1 in the minds of global consumers. Haier's refrigerators and washing machines are one of the most successful samples of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world's brand."

But Haier's world firsts still have room to climb—especially in the high-end and in profitability. Although Haier is No. 1 in the world by retail volume, it still has room to improve in high-end market premium and in overall profitability. Haier attacks the high end with Casarte, Fisher & Paykel, and GE Appliances, but its overall brand premium still lags the top tier of Europe and Japan (BSH, Miele, Japanese premium brands); Haier's net margin (about 6% to 7%) is not high, either. Haier's world firsts are the world firsts of "selling the most," but from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest," Haier (and Chinese home appliances as a whole) still have room to climb. This is also what the later part of this report will unfold—the final stretch from selling the most to selling the priciest.

The eighteen and seventeen years of world firsts in refrigerators and washing machines are the most powerful proof of Chinese home appliances as "world brands," and are also the core achievement of Haier's journey from a small factory to a global giant. Relying on the twin-engine drive of building its own brand plus overseas acquisitions, its trinity localization, and its rendanheyi management innovation, Haier has turned "Haier" into the refrigerator and washing-machine brand that global consumers buy the most. This is one of the most successful samples of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world's brand." And beyond major appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, Chinese home appliances have another "smaller" category that has likewise reached the global summit—the microwave oven, along with the world's largest small-appliance manufacturing base behind it. This is the subject of the next chapter.

6. Microwave Ovens and Shunde: The World's Largest Small-Appliance Base

Beyond major appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, Chinese home appliances have another "smaller" field that has likewise reached the global summit—small appliances represented by the microwave oven. And what supports this field is a globally unique industrial cluster—Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong, the world's largest manufacturing base for rice cookers, microwave ovens, and small appliances. The story of microwave ovens and Shunde is one of the most vivid samples of the industrial-cluster advantage of Chinese home appliances.

Look first at the microwave oven—yet another category in which China has reached the global summit. China is the world's largest producer of microwave ovens, with 2024 output of about 116 million units, accounting for about 67% of the world (while consumption accounts for only about 28% of the world—that is, Chinese microwave ovens are mainly for export, producing microwave ovens for the whole world). And the representative Chinese microwave-oven company is Galanz—long the world's largest microwave-oven manufacturer. Galanz's microwave ovens, at their historical peak, held a global share of about 40% to 44%, and in recent years produce about 38 million units annually. China, and Galanz, have once again proven the global dominance of Chinese home appliances through the microwave-oven category—producing most of the world's microwave ovens.

Global dominance in microwave ovens also has an intriguing footnote—a Chinese company acquired the former American overlord. Galanz, this Chinese microwave-oven leader, acquired Whirlpool's China business—the former U.S. white-goods giant Whirlpool handed its China business to China's Galanz. This acquisition is yet another microcosm of the reversal in the global home-appliance landscape—not only are Chinese companies expanding globally, but the Western old guard is being defeated in China and even in the global market, handing its business to Chinese companies. Galanz's acquisition of Whirlpool China is a marker of Chinese microwave ovens (and Chinese home appliances) moving from chaser to dominator.

And what supports microwave ovens and a host of small appliances is Shunde, Foshan—this globally unique industrial cluster. Shunde is the world's largest manufacturing base for rice cookers and microwave ovens, and also the core production area for a host of small appliances (rice cookers, blenders, induction cookers, soy-milk makers, cleaning appliances, and so on). Midea is headquartered in Shunde, and Galanz is also near Shunde. Shunde has gathered a complete small-appliance industrial chain from finished product to components, from manufacturing to design—the completeness and density of this industrial cluster are unique in the world. Shunde is the deepest industrial root of China's global dominance in small appliances—it enables China to produce the whole world's small appliances efficiently, at low cost, and with rapid iteration.

The Shunde industrial cluster reveals one of the most core competitive strengths of Chinese home appliances—the completeness and coordination of the industrial cluster. The strength of Chinese home appliances has never been merely the strength of a single company, but the strength of the entire industrial cluster. An industrial cluster like Shunde gathers a complete ecosystem from finished product to components, from manufacturing to design, from large enterprises to countless supporting small enterprises. The completeness and coordination of this industrial cluster enable Chinese home appliances to produce the whole world's appliances at the lowest cost, the fastest speed, and with the most flexible response. This is the deepest moat of Chinese home appliances relative to other countries—other countries may have one or two home-appliance companies, but they lack China's kind of complete industrial-cluster ecosystem. Shunde's small-appliance cluster, as well as the home-appliance industrial belts of the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta, are the deepest industrial roots of China's global dominance in home appliances.

The small-appliance field is also the most active track for new consumption and innovation in Chinese home appliances. Beyond the traditional rice cookers, microwave ovens, and soy-milk makers (Supor, Joyoung, Galanz), Chinese small appliances are bursting into new consumption and new categories—emerging categories such as blenders, air fryers, and coffee machines are growing rapidly; cleaning appliances (robot vacuums, floor washers) have even spawned globally leading new forces such as Roborock, Ecovacs, and Dreame (detailed later); and personal-care small appliances (hair dryers, etc.) are also rising (Laifen, etc.). Small appliances are the most active field for innovation and new consumption in Chinese home appliances—it has not only global dominance in traditional categories, but also the continuous emergence of new categories and new forces. The vitality of small appliances is an embodiment of the vitality of the Chinese home-appliance industry.

But the small-appliance field also faces the challenges of cutthroat competition and divergence. Competition on the small-appliance track is fierce—traditional categories (soy-milk makers, rice cookers) are slowing in growth or even declining (Joyoung's 2025 revenue fell 7.23%), while new categories (cleaning appliances, new consumption) are growing rapidly. The divergence among small-appliance companies is pronounced—some (Ecovacs, Dreame, Bear) are growing fast, while others (Joyoung, Supor) are under pressure. This divergence reflects the shift of the small-appliance track from stock competition in traditional categories toward new categories and new consumption. The cutthroat competition and divergence of small appliances are a microcosm of the fierce competition and active metabolism of the Chinese home-appliance industry.

Microwave ovens and Shunde are the most vivid sample of the industrial-cluster advantage of Chinese home appliances. Chinese microwave ovens have reached the global summit (about 67% of global output, with Galanz the world's largest and having acquired Whirlpool China), and what supports them is Shunde, the world's largest small-appliance manufacturing base, and its complete industrial cluster. The completeness and coordination of this industrial cluster are the deepest industrial roots of China's global dominance in home appliances. And the small-appliance field is also the most active track for new consumption and innovation in Chinese home appliances (with cleaning appliances, new categories, and new forces continuously emerging). Microwave ovens and Shunde demonstrate the comprehensive dominance and vitality of Chinese home appliances from major appliances to small appliances, from traditional categories to new consumption. At this point, we have finished reviewing the summits of Chinese home appliances across the categories of air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, and small appliances. And what supports these category summits are the several leading enterprises of Chinese home appliances. Next, let us step into these enterprises—starting with Midea, the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue.

7. Midea: The World's Largest Home-Appliance Company by Revenue

Among China's three home-appliance giants, Midea is the largest by revenue scale — 458.5 billion yuan in fiscal 2025 (about 64 billion USD), making it the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue. But Midea's story is about far more than sheer "size" — it is the story of a home-appliance manufacturer transforming into a technology group, into B2B, and into a global player. To understand the strength of China's home-appliance industry, Midea is the most comprehensive single sample.

Start with Midea's report card. In fiscal 2025, Midea Group posted total operating revenue of 458.5 billion yuan (up 12.1%) and net profit attributable to shareholders of 43.95 billion yuan (up 14%); overseas revenue reached 195.9 billion yuan (42.7% of the total, up 15.9%). This is an extremely impressive scorecard — revenue near 460 billion, net profit over 43 billion, and overseas sales approaching half of the total. Midea's revenue scale has surpassed that of any home-appliance company in the world (LG Electronics, Samsung's appliance business, BSH, Whirlpool, Electrolux). Midea is the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue — the "size" of China's home appliances is embodied most fully in Midea.

But what makes Midea distinctive is that it has long since ceased to be merely a home-appliance company; it is a diversified technology group. Beyond smart home (HVAC and consumer appliances — its core base), Midea's businesses also include robotics and automation (centered on Germany's KUKA, with 31 billion yuan in revenue in 2025), industrial technology, building technology, digital innovation, and other B2B segments. Robotics and automation has become Midea's third-largest revenue source. Midea is transforming from a company that "sells home appliances to consumers" (B2C) into a technology group that "sells both home appliances and industrial technology and solutions to enterprises" (B2B). Midea's B2B transformation is the biggest thing that sets it apart from other home-appliance companies — it is upgrading itself from a home-appliance giant into a technology group.

The core of Midea's B2B transformation is its 2016 acquisition of Germany's KUKA. KUKA is a global leader in industrial robotics (one of the "Big Four"), and Midea acquired about 94.55% of KUKA's equity for roughly 3.7 billion euros (about 4.4 billion USD) — one of the largest overseas acquisitions ever made by a Chinese company. Acquiring KUKA gave Midea an immediate entry into the high-end B2B field of industrial robotics and automation, laying the foundation for its B2B transformation. KUKA is the key step in Midea's transformation from home appliances to technology group — it gave Midea not just home appliances but also the capability of industrial robotics, a form of high-end manufacturing. Midea has also announced that it will invest more than 60 billion yuan over the next three years to build out frontier technology and innovation — it is committed to transforming into a technology group.

Midea's other main thread is globalization. In 2025, overseas revenue rose to 42.7% of the total, with overseas growth (15.9%) outpacing the company as a whole. And a major turning point in Midea's globalization is the upgrade from "OEM/ODM overseas" to "brand-led overseas expansion." Within Midea's overseas revenue, the share from OEM (contract manufacturing under other companies' labels) was once relatively high, while the share of its own brands (OBM) was relatively low — a weakness for Midea relative to Haier (which has the strongest own-brand character). But the turn is happening: in the first quarter of 2025, the share of own-brand (OBM) sales within Midea's smart-home overseas revenue broke through 40% (centered on the three-brand matrix of Toshiba, Midea, and Comfee). Midea is upgrading from "contract manufacturing for others" to "selling its own brands." This upgrade from OEM to brand is Midea's "second growth curve" in globalization.

Midea's transformation and globalization rest on its powerful manufacturing and technology foundation. Midea does not merely assemble finished appliances — it also produces its own compressors (GMCC, with about a 45% global market share in air-conditioner compressors), develops its own chips (Midea's Merit Semiconductor, with cumulative MCU sales surpassing 100 million units), and makes its own motors — keeping as many of the core components of home appliances as possible in its own hands. This vertical integration from finished products to core components to chips is the bedrock of Midea's cost and technology advantages. And Midea's manufacturing capabilities (lighthouse factories, digital manufacturing) and technology investment (60 billion in innovation) underpin its transformation toward B2B, toward the high end, and toward the global market. Midea's transformation is no castle in the air — it is built on a powerful manufacturing and technology foundation.

But Midea also has its climb ahead — especially at the high end. Although Midea ranks first in the world by revenue, its performance in the high-end home-appliance market is relatively weak. Midea's high-end brand COLMO is struggling to break through the 30 billion yuan threshold under pressure from Haier's Casarte and Fisher & Paykel — confirming Midea's weakness of being "big but not yet strong at the high end." Midea wins on scale, cost, and B2B transformation, but on the brand premium of high-end home appliances, it is still climbing. Midea's high-end predicament is how the hurdle of "from selling the most to selling the priciest" manifests in Midea's case — it sells the most (first in the world by revenue), but still has a long way to go on high-end premium.

Midea is the most comprehensive single sample of China's home-appliance industry — it is the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue (size), a pioneer transforming from home appliances toward a technology group, toward B2B, and toward globalization (transformation), and a manufacturing powerhouse built on vertical integration and technology investment (strength). But it also has room to climb on high-end premium (COLMO struggling to break 30 billion). Midea's story distills the strength and the climb of China's home-appliance industry — it has already become the world's largest, is transforming into a technology group and expanding globally, but is still climbing on the highest-end brand premium. And beyond Midea, this "king of revenue," China's home-appliance industry has another "king of brands" — Haier, with the highest share of overseas revenue and the world's No. 1 brand for 17 years running. That is the subject of the next chapter.

8. Haier: The World's No. 1 Brand with More Than Half Its Revenue Overseas

If Midea is the "king of revenue" of China's home-appliance industry, then Haier is its "king of brands" and "king of globalization." Haier has been the world's No. 1 major-appliance brand for 17 consecutive years, with overseas revenue accounting for nearly half of its total — it is the most globalized and most brand-driven of China's home-appliance companies. Haier's story is the most successful and purest sample of Chinese manufacturing going "from world's factory to world's brand."

Start with Haier's report card. In fiscal 2025, Haier Smart Home posted operating revenue of 302.3 billion yuan (breaking 300 billion for the first time, up 5.71%) and net profit attributable to shareholders of 19.553 billion yuan (an all-time high, up 4.39%). And Haier's biggest highlight is its overseas performance — overseas revenue accounts for nearly half of the total, making it the most globalized of the three giants. By region, Haier's high-end brand revenue in the United States grew 7%, ranking first in the industry for four consecutive years; in Europe it grew 19.9%; in Japan it grew 10.3%; and in emerging markets, Southeast Asia grew 13.4%, South Asia grew 23.2%, and the Middle East and Africa grew a full 55.8%. Haier's overseas business is not just high in share — it is blossoming across the board and growing rapidly. Haier is the most successful sample of globalization in China's home-appliance industry.

The core of Haier's globalization is its distinctive brand path — the twin-engine drive of "overseas acquisitions plus building its own brands," which has established a cluster of seven major brands covering the whole world and every price point. These seven brands are: Haier (mainstream), Casarte (high end), Leader (young consumers), GE Appliances (United States), Candy (Europe), Fisher & Paykel (ultra-high-end, New Zealand), and AQUA (Japan and Southeast Asia). This brand cluster is arranged vertically into four tiers — ultra-high-end (Fisher & Paykel), high-end (Casarte plus GE Appliances), mainstream (Haier plus Candy plus AQUA), and young/niche (Leader). Through this multi-brand cluster, Haier covers consumers across every market and every price segment worldwide. This is Haier's deepest brand advantage relative to other Chinese home-appliance companies — it does not conquer the world with a single brand, but covers the globe with a multi-brand cluster.

Another distinctive feature of Haier's globalization is its "trinity" localization — local R&D, local production, and local sales. Haier has built 163 manufacturing centers, 126 marketing centers, and more than 230,000 sales outlets worldwide, achieving localization in every major market. This deep localization allows Haier's products to genuinely align with the needs of local consumers and win local markets. After acquiring GE Appliances, Haier also led this once-declining American brand to overtake Whirlpool in multiple product categories — proving that Haier does not merely acquire brands, but can use China's integration capabilities and localization strategy to restore the competitiveness of acquired Western legacy brands. Haier's trinity localization is the methodology behind its globalization success.

Haier's success also owes much to its distinctive management philosophy — "Rendanheyi." This is a business model pioneered by founder Zhang Ruimin, whose core is to connect employees and users directly, so that every employee creates value facing users directly. Rendanheyi keeps this vast global enterprise sharp and responsive to user needs and keeps the organization vital. From the story of Zhang Ruimin smashing refrigerators years ago (destroying defective refrigerators to instill a sense of quality) to today's Rendanheyi model — Haier's success is also a success of management philosophy and organizational innovation. Haier's current chairman and CEO is Zhou Yunjie, while Zhang Ruimin is honorary chairman. Haier's management innovation is the organizational underpinning behind its brand and globalization success.

Haier's status as king of brands is also reflected in its high-end explorations — Casarte. Casarte is Haier's self-built high-end brand, leading the high end for 10 consecutive years, growing more than 20% in the first half of 2025, with a brand value reaching 92.8 billion yuan. Casarte leads in high-end market share — about 59% share of refrigerators priced above 15,000 yuan and about 90% share of high-end washing machines. Casarte is the most successful sample of a self-built high-end brand in China's home-appliance industry — it proves that China's home-appliance industry can attack the high end not only through acquisition (GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel) but also, through building its own brand (Casarte), gain a foothold in the high-end market. Casarte is the vanguard of Haier's — indeed China's home-appliance industry's — assault on "selling the priciest."

But Haier's — and China's home-appliance industry's — kingship of brands still has room to climb, especially on profitability and at the very high end. Although Haier is the world's No. 1 brand with more than half its revenue overseas, its net margin (about 6% to 7%) is not high; and even Casarte, a domestic high-end benchmark, still lags first-tier European and Japanese players (BSH, Miele, premium Japanese brands) on brand premium, and faces pressure from cross-industry players like Xiaomi's Mijia and Huawei (detailed later). Haier's kingship of brands is a kingship of "selling the most," but from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest" (higher premium and stronger high-end mindshare), Haier still has room to climb.

Haier is the most successful and purest sample of Chinese manufacturing going "from world's factory to world's brand." It has been the world's No. 1 brand for 17 consecutive years, with more than half its revenue overseas, a seven-brand cluster covering the globe, trinity localization, and Rendanheyi management innovation — it has made "Haier," a Chinese brand, into the major-appliance brand that global consumers buy the most, and has led acquired Western legacy brands to regain competitiveness. This is the most successful sample of a Chinese manufacturing brand breaking through. And Haier's climb on high-end premium (Casarte's explorations and challenges) is the final leg of its journey "from selling the most to selling the priciest." Midea's kingship of revenue, Haier's kingship of brands — China's two home-appliance giants each have their own summit. But the third of the three giants, Gree, encountered a different situation in 2025 — declining revenue and difficulties going global. That is the subject of the next chapter.

9. Gree: The King of Air Conditioners in Decline and Struggling to Go Global

Among China's three home-appliance giants, Gree is a special case — it is the "king of air conditioners," focused on air conditioning and pushing it to the extreme; but in 2025 it encountered a different situation — declining revenue, setbacks in diversification, and difficulties going global. Gree's story is a cautionary sample among China's three home-appliance giants — it shows the price of "over-concentration on a single product category" and "lagging in overseas expansion."

Start with Gree's report card — a declining one. In fiscal 2025, Gree Electric posted operating revenue of 170.447 billion yuan (down 9.9%) and net profit attributable to shareholders of 29.003 billion yuan (down 9.89%). Both revenue and net profit declined — the defining feature of Gree in 2025. That said, Gree's net operating cash flow surged 57.93% (to 46.383 billion yuan), showing that it tightened cost control. Gree's decline is directly related to its heavy dependence on air conditioning in its business structure — its consumer-appliance revenue of 133 billion yuan (down 10.44%) was the main drag on the revenue decline. Gree, once a home-appliance star, hit a growth predicament in 2025.

The first root of Gree's predicament is over-dependence on air conditioning. Gree is the "king of air conditioners" — its air-conditioning technology, brand, and market position are all extremely strong (first in the industry in the share of online retail sales of household air conditioners, and first domestically in central-air-conditioning market share for 14 consecutive years). But Gree's business is over-concentrated in air conditioning — the vast majority of its revenue comes from air conditioners. This intense focus is an advantage when the air-conditioning market is booming (focused, taken to the extreme), but becomes a drag when the air-conditioning market is under pressure (a downturn in real estate, demand pulled forward, intensifying competition) — Gree lacks other product categories to hedge against the air-conditioning decline. By contrast, Midea (multi-category plus B2B) and Haier (multi-category plus globalization) have more diversified businesses and stronger resilience. Gree's over-concentration is one root of its 2025 decline.

The second root of Gree's predicament is lagging in overseas expansion. As noted earlier, all three of China's home-appliance giants are pushing hard to go global — Midea's overseas share is 42.7% and Haier's is close to half. But Gree's overseas expansion clearly lags — in 2025, Gree's overseas revenue accounted for only 16.06% of total revenue, and it was the only one of the four leading white-goods companies whose overseas business declined for the full year. Gree's chairman Dong Mingzhu stated bluntly at the 2025 annual shareholders' meeting that "Gree's export performance has not been good." While Midea and Haier used overseas expansion to hedge against pressure in the domestic market, Gree, lagging in going global, lacked the overseas growth engine and had to absorb the full impact of the domestic market decline. Lagging overseas expansion is the second root of Gree's 2025 decline.

That said, Gree's lag in going global is also related to the overseas path it chose — the own-brand route. Gree has taken the route of cultivating its own brands overseas (the three brands GREE, TOSOT, and KINGHOME), with own brands accounting for about 70% of total exports and over 85% along the Belt and Road. This path of building its own brand is slower and harder than Haier's acquisition route (directly acquiring global brands), and lags in scale in the short term. Gree has topped household air-conditioner share in Canada, Brazil, Hungary, and Saudi Arabia, and has made breakthroughs in high-end villa central air conditioning in the United States, but its overall scale still trails Haier and Midea. Gree's difficulty going global is, in a sense, the short-term price of the harder road of "building its own brand" — unlike Haier, which rapidly acquired global brands and channels through acquisition, Gree expands step by step with its own brands, lagging in scale in the short term but perhaps more solid in the long term.

The third aspect of Gree's predicament is the controversy over diversification. Gree tried to break its dependence on air conditioning through diversification — it moved into new-energy vehicles/energy storage (Gree Titanium, formerly Yinlong), mobile phones, prepared meals, equipment, and more. But these diversification attempts have drawn considerable market skepticism — Gree Titanium (new-energy vehicles) has sustained losses that dragged on Gree's performance; attempts in mobile phones, prepared meals, and the like have also shown no significant results. Gree's diversification reflects its effort to break air-conditioning dependence, but the results have been poor and the controversy considerable. Compared with Midea's successful B2B transformation (KUKA) and Haier's successful globalization, Gree's diversification explorations look inadequate. The setback in diversification is yet another aspect of Gree's predicament.

Gree's predicament is also closely tied to Dong Mingzhu, its forceful chairman. Dong Mingzhu is Gree's soul, known for being forceful, focused, and outspoken. She pushed Gree's air conditioning to the extreme, but also made Gree highly dependent on her personal judgment and style. Many of Gree's diversification attempts (Gree Titanium, mobile phones, etc.) bear the imprint of Dong Mingzhu's personal will. Gree's successes and predicaments are both closely tied to this forceful leader. How to achieve a smooth succession and transformation after Dong Mingzhu is a long-term challenge Gree faces. Gree's story is also a sample of the relationship between a corporate leader and the fate of the enterprise.

Gree is a cautionary sample among China's three home-appliance giants. It is the "king of air conditioners," having pushed air conditioning to the extreme; but in 2025, because of over-dependence on air conditioning, lagging overseas expansion, and setbacks in diversification, it hit a predicament of declining revenue. Gree's predicament shows the price of "over-concentration on a single product category" and "lagging in overseas expansion" — when the air-conditioning market is under pressure, Gree, lacking other categories and overseas markets to hedge, can only absorb the impact of the decline. Compared with Midea's diversification and B2B transformation and Haier's globalization and multi-brand strategy, Gree's road looks narrower and more perilous. That said, Gree's own-brand overseas expansion (though lagging in the short term) may be a more solid road in the long run. Gree's story is a microcosm of the divergence among China's three home-appliance giants — all leading white-goods companies, yet Midea and Haier are marching ahead while Gree hit a predicament. And the shared main thread of the three giants — going global, and especially the empire of global brands that Haier and Midea built through acquisitions — is what the next several chapters will unfold.

10. Two Roads to Going Global: Brand-Led Overseas Expansion and OEM/ODM Overseas

Going global is the shared main thread of China's three home-appliance giants and the key to understanding how China's home-appliance industry goes "from world's factory to world's brand." But China's home-appliance industry does not go global by one road; it takes two entirely different roads — brand-led overseas expansion (OBM, selling one's own brand) and OEM/ODM overseas (contract manufacturing under other companies' labels). Understanding the divide between these two roads is the key to understanding the true quality of China's home-appliance globalization.

Start with the difference between the two roads. OEM/ODM overseas — Chinese home-appliance companies manufacture appliances under the labels of foreign brands (such as Whirlpool, Electrolux, and even some channel brands), and the products are sold overseas, but under someone else's brand. The characteristics of OEM/ODM overseas are — capacity and exports, but no brand of one's own, thin profits, and dependence on others. Brand-led overseas expansion (OBM) — Chinese home-appliance companies sell their own brands (Haier, Midea, Gree, Casarte, etc.), making their own brands stick in the minds of overseas consumers. The characteristics of brand-led overseas expansion are — one's own brand, a brand premium, and control of one's own destiny, but greater difficulty and a longer cycle. OEM/ODM overseas is the road of the "world's factory," and brand-led overseas expansion is the road of the "world's brand."

The greatness of China's home-appliance industry lies in being one of the few segments of Chinese manufacturing to break through, at scale, on "brand-led overseas expansion." Many Chinese manufacturing sectors (tires, power tools, furniture, toys) have long remained stuck in OEM/ODM overseas — capacity and exports, but no global brand of their own. Yet China's home-appliance industry, especially Haier, broke through on brand-led overseas expansion at scale — Haier has been the world's No. 1 brand for 17 consecutive years precisely on the strength of "Haier," its own brand, not on contract manufacturing. China's home-appliance industry upgrading from "OEM/ODM overseas" to "brand-led overseas expansion" is the most central breakthrough in its journey "from world's factory to world's brand." This is also what distinguishes China's home-appliance industry from most of Chinese manufacturing — it does not just sell capacity, it sells brands.

But the three giants travel these two roads in different ways, with different quality. Haier — the strongest in brand-led overseas expansion, having directly won a global high-end brand matrix (GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, Candy, Casarte) through "overseas acquisitions plus building its own brands," with overseas revenue over half the total and almost all of it own-brand. Midea — about 40% of revenue from overseas, but the OEM share was once relatively high and brand-building progress relatively weak; the turning point is that in 2025 the share of Midea's overseas own-brand (OBM) broke through 40% (the Toshiba, Midea, and Comfee matrix), and it is upgrading from OEM to brand. Gree — taking the road of cultivating its own brands, with own brands accounting for about 70% of exports, but overall overseas expansion lagging and scale trailing. The quality of the three giants' brand-led overseas expansion — Haier the highest (almost all own-brand), Midea upgrading (from OEM toward brand), Gree the purest but trailing in scale (building its own brand but lagging).

The divide between brand-led overseas expansion and OEM/ODM overseas also reveals a deeper challenge for China's home-appliance globalization — how to upgrade from "selling capacity" to "selling brands." OEM/ODM overseas has scale, but thin profits, no premium, and dependence on others; brand-led overseas expansion is hard, but has premium, control, and higher value. The upgrade direction of China's home-appliance globalization is from OEM/ODM overseas (selling capacity) to brand-led overseas expansion (selling brands) — which is exactly what Midea is doing (OBM share breaking 40%). And this upgrade is part of China's home-appliance industry going "from selling the most to selling the priciest" — from selling someone else's brand (OEM) to selling one's own brand (OBM), and then to selling a high-premium brand (high-end). The upgrade of brand-led overseas expansion is at the core of raising the true quality of China's home-appliance globalization.

The road of brand-led overseas expansion also reveals two ways to build a global brand — acquisition and self-creation. Haier takes the "acquisition-led" path — directly acquiring the world's top brands (GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, Candy, Sanyo) to rapidly gain brand, technology, and channels. Gree takes the "self-creation-led" path — cultivating its own brands such as GREE and expanding overseas step by step. Midea combines "acquisition plus self-creation" — acquiring Toshiba's appliance business and KUKA while also developing its own Midea and Comfee brands. The two ways each have their pros and cons — acquisition is fast but requires integration capability (Haier's integration capability is strong, restoring GE Appliances' competitiveness), while self-creation is slow but more solid (Gree's own brands are purer but trail in scale). China's home-appliance industry built global brands through both acquisition and self-creation — this is the methodology behind its brand-led overseas expansion success.

The two roads to going global are the key to understanding the true quality of China's home-appliance globalization. OEM/ODM overseas (selling capacity) is the road of the "world's factory," and brand-led overseas expansion (selling brands) is the road of the "world's brand." The greatness of China's home-appliance industry lies in breaking through, at scale, on brand-led overseas expansion (Haier the world's No. 1 brand), upgrading from "world's factory" to "world's brand" — this is what distinguishes it from most of Chinese manufacturing. And the different quality of the three giants' brand-led overseas expansion (Haier the highest, Midea upgrading, Gree lagging), together with the two ways of building brands — acquisition and self-creation — form the complete picture of China's home-appliance globalization. Brand-led overseas expansion is the most central link in China's home-appliance industry going "from selling the most to selling the priciest" — it must upgrade from selling capacity to selling brands, and then to selling high-premium brands. And the most dazzling form of China's home-appliance brand-led overseas expansion — Haier's acquisition empire — is what the next chapter will unfold specifically. How China's home-appliance industry, by acquiring the world's top brands, built up a global brand empire step by step — that is the subject of the next chapter.

11. Haier's Acquisition Empire: Sanyo, Fisher & Paykel, GE Appliances, and Candy

Among all the stories of China's home-appliance industry going "from world's factory to world's brand," Haier's series of overseas acquisitions is the most successful and most systematic sample. From Japan's Sanyo, to New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel, to America's GE Appliances, to Italy's Candy — Haier used a series of precise acquisitions to build a brand empire covering the globe and every price point. This is the most successful road of China's home-appliance globalization.

Start with the map of this acquisition empire. In 2011, Haier acquired the white-goods business of Japan's Sanyo — entering the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets, from which the AQUA brand came. In 2012, Haier acquired New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel — entering the Australian and New Zealand markets, and Fisher & Paykel is now Haier's ultra-high-end brand. In 2016, Haier acquired the appliance business of America's General Electric (GE Appliances, GEA) for about 5.58 billion USD — breaking into the North American market, one of the largest Chinese home-appliance acquisitions in the United States. In 2018 to 2019, Haier acquired Italy's Candy for 475 million euros — entering the European market. Sanyo, Fisher & Paykel, GE Appliances, Candy — through these four acquisitions, Haier brought the top home-appliance brands of Japan, Australia/New Zealand, North America, and Europe into its fold, building a brand empire covering the globe.

The heaviest deal in this acquisition empire is the acquisition of GE Appliances. In 2016, Haier acquired the appliance business of America's General Electric for about 5.58 billion USD — a landmark acquisition. GE Appliances is a legacy American home-appliance brand, and acquiring it gave Haier an immediate breakthrough into the high-end, vast North American market. Moreover, the acquisition also included GE Appliances' equity stake in the Mexican appliance maker Mabe — which became Haier's lever for subsequently producing nearby in Mexico to supply the American market. The "GE" brand name still belongs to General Electric, and Haier uses it under a long-term trademark license lasting 40 years. The acquisition of GE Appliances is a milestone in Haier's globalization — it gave Haier a top brand and channels in the North American market, and demonstrated China's home-appliance industry's capability and boldness in acquiring Western legacy brands.

The most remarkable thing about Haier's acquisition empire is not the acquisitions themselves but the integration — its ability to restore the competitiveness of acquired Western legacy brands. Before being acquired by Haier, GE Appliances was a declining American legacy brand; after Haier's acquisition, GE Appliances overtook Whirlpool in multiple product categories. This overtaking proves that Haier does not merely acquire brands, but can use China's integration capability, localization strategy, and supply-chain advantages to revitalize acquired Western legacy brands. This is the deepest value of Haier's acquisition empire — it does not simply buy brands, but can integrate, empower, and make acquired brands stronger. Compared with many failed cross-border acquisitions (bought but poorly integrated, getting worse over time), Haier's integration capability is the key to the success of its acquisition empire.

Haier's acquisition empire has also built a vertically tiered brand ladder — covering every price segment from ultra-high-end to young/niche. Ultra-high-end — Fisher & Paykel (New Zealand's top brand). High-end — Casarte (self-built) plus GE Appliances (United States). Mainstream — Haier plus Candy (Europe) plus AQUA (Japan and Southeast Asia). Young/niche — Leader. This vertically tiered brand ladder lets Haier cover consumers across every price segment worldwide — using ultra-high-end brands to attack the highest-end market, mainstream brands to hold the mass market, and young brands to capture emerging demographics. This multi-brand, multi-price-point brand cluster is Haier's deepest brand advantage relative to single-brand Chinese home-appliance companies.

The success of Haier's acquisition empire also lies in combining acquisition with "trinity" localization. Haier does not merely acquire brands, but through localization (local R&D, local production, local sales) makes these acquired brands genuinely take root in local markets. GE Appliances operates locally in the United States, Fisher & Paykel localizes in Australia/New Zealand, and Candy localizes in Europe — Haier uses localization to keep these global brands competitive and vital in their respective markets. This combination of "acquisition plus localization" is Haier's globalization methodology — acquisition gains the brand, localization lets the brand take root. Haier's acquisition empire is therefore not a pile of isolated brands, but a set of global brands each deeply rooted and vital in its local market.

Haier's acquisition empire is the most successful and most systematic sample of China's home-appliance industry going "from world's factory to world's brand." From Sanyo to Fisher & Paykel to GE Appliances to Candy, Haier used a series of precise acquisitions and powerful integration to build a globe-spanning, vertically tiered brand empire, and restored the competitiveness of acquired Western legacy brands. This is the most successful road of China's home-appliance globalization — becoming a true global brand enterprise through acquiring the world's top brands, plus powerful integration and localization. Haier's acquisition empire proves that China's home-appliance industry can not only make the most, but can also, by acquiring and integrating global brands, truly build itself into a world brand. And beyond Haier's acquisition empire, another giant, Midea, has also built its own acquisition map — not just home appliances, but extending to industrial robotics. Midea's acquisition map is the subject of the next chapter.

12. Midea's Acquisition Map: KUKA, Toshiba, and B2B Ambition

If Haier's acquisition empire focuses on home-appliance brands, then Midea's acquisition map shows greater ambition — not just home appliances, but extending into industrial robotics and B2B. From Germany's KUKA, to Japan's Toshiba appliances, to Italy's Clivet, Midea used a series of acquisitions to both reinforce home-appliance globalization and break into the high-end manufacturing field of B2B. Midea's acquisition map is the key to its transformation from home-appliance giant to technology group.

Start with the heaviest deal in Midea's acquisition map — the acquisition of Germany's KUKA. In 2016, Midea acquired about 94.55% of KUKA's equity for roughly 3.7 billion euros (about 4.4 billion USD) — one of the largest overseas acquisitions ever made by a Chinese company. KUKA is a global leader in industrial robotics (one of the world's "Big Four" in industrial robotics), and acquiring it gave Midea an immediate entry into the high-end B2B field of industrial robotics and automation. By 2025, Midea's robotics and automation business (centered on KUKA) reached 31 billion yuan in revenue, becoming Midea's third-largest revenue source. The acquisition of KUKA is the key step in Midea's transformation from home appliances to technology group — it gave Midea not just home appliances but also the capability of industrial robotics, a form of high-end manufacturing. KUKA is the most strategically significant deal in Midea's acquisition map.

Next look at Midea's acquisition in the home-appliance field — the acquisition of Japan's Toshiba appliances. In 2016, Midea acquired 80.1% of the equity of Japan's Toshiba home appliances for about 470 million USD, and also obtained a 40-year license for the Toshiba brand (through 2056). Acquiring Toshiba appliances gave Midea the well-known Japanese Toshiba brand, along with Toshiba's patents and technology. The Toshiba brand became an important lever for Midea to do mid-to-high-end business overseas (especially in Southeast Asia and Japan) — Midea uses a brand combination of Toshiba for the mid-to-high end and Midea for the mid-to-low end, covering different market tiers. The acquisition of Toshiba appliances is an important step in Midea's home-appliance globalization and brand upgrade — it gave Midea a Japanese high-end brand to reinforce its relatively weak brand high-endization.

Midea's acquisition map also includes several other deals. In 2016, Midea acquired 80% of the equity of Italy's Clivet (HVAC) — reinforcing HVAC and B2B business in Europe. That same year, Midea acquired America's Eureka (vacuum cleaners, purchased from Electrolux) — securing a professional vacuum-cleaner brand in North America. These acquisitions either reinforced home-appliance categories (Eureka's vacuum cleaners), or reinforced B2B business (Clivet's HVAC), or reinforced regional markets (Europe, North America). Midea's acquisition map is a diversified map that simultaneously reinforces home appliances, expands B2B, and covers the globe — reflecting Midea's ambition to transform from a home-appliance giant into a diversified technology group.

What is distinctive about Midea's acquisition map is its "dual objective" — reinforcing home-appliance globalization while breaking into high-end B2B. Haier's acquisitions focus on home-appliance brands (all home-appliance companies), whereas Midea's acquisitions have two directions — home appliances (Toshiba, Eureka, Clivet reinforcing home appliances and globalization) and B2B (KUKA breaking into industrial robotics). This dual objective reflects the different strategies of Midea and Haier — Haier focuses on being the world's king of home-appliance brands, while Midea aims to be a diversified technology group (home appliances plus robotics plus industrial technology plus building technology). Midea's acquisition map is the vehicle for this "diversified technology group" strategy — through acquisitions, Midea both grew its home appliances and broke into the high-end manufacturing field of B2B.

But Midea's acquisition map also faces integration challenges — especially with KUKA. After acquiring KUKA, Midea's integration of KUKA was not smooth sailing — as a German high-end industrial-robotics company, KUKA has its own culture, systems, and management, and Midea's integration of it went through friction and adjustment. Industrial robotics is a very different field from home appliances (more B2B, more high-end, higher technical barriers), and for Midea to integrate KUKA well, realize synergies, and achieve profitability requires time and capability. Compared with Haier's successful integration of a home-appliance brand (GE Appliances), Midea's integration of KUKA (cross-field, cross-culture) is more difficult. KUKA's integration is a still-ongoing, still-challenging matter in Midea's acquisition map.

Midea's acquisition map is the key to its transformation from home-appliance giant to technology group, and it also shows the greater ambition of Chinese home-appliance companies. From KUKA (industrial robotics) to Toshiba appliances, Clivet, and Eureka, Midea used a series of acquisitions to both reinforce home-appliance globalization and brand high-endization and to break into the high-end manufacturing field of industrial robotics and B2B. This "home appliances plus B2B" dual acquisition map reflects Midea's strategy of being a diversified technology group — it is not content to make only home appliances, but wants to make industrial technology and solutions. Haier's home-appliance brand empire, Midea's diversified technology map — the acquisitions of China's two home-appliance giants demonstrate the capability and ambition of Chinese home-appliance companies to acquire global resources and expand toward the global and the high end. And behind these acquisitions lies a larger backdrop — the exit of Western legacy home-appliance brands, handing over brands and markets to Chinese companies one by one. The exit of Western legacy brands is the subject of the next chapter.

13. Compressors: The Heart Where China's Home Appliances Have Already Reached the Summit

Among all the core components of home appliances, the compressor is the most critical and the hardest of all — it is the "heart" of air conditioners and refrigerators, determining their core cooling and heating capabilities. And on this heart, China's home-appliance industry has already reached the global summit. This ascent has gone further and more thoroughly than the hydraulic systems in construction machinery (which remain constrained by Germany and Japan) — it is the most powerful evidence of China's home appliances being "big and growing strong," and the key thing that sets China's home appliances apart from most of Chinese manufacturing.

Look first at air-conditioner compressors — China already dominates globally. China accounts for nearly 95% of the world's rotary air-conditioner compressor output — almost every air-conditioner heart in the world is made in China. In the 2025 cooling year, China's total output of rotary air-conditioner compressors broke through 300 million units for the first time (312 million units for the full cooling year, up 14%). And this market is highly concentrated in the hands of a few Chinese firms: GMCC (Midea) holds about a 45% domestic share (its global air-conditioner-compressor share is also about 45%, earning it the title of "the world's largest compressor maker," assembling a compressor every 6 seconds), Landa (Gree) about 19%, Highly about 14%, and Rechi about 7%. The industry concentration (CR3) of domestic rotary compressors reaches 78%. These Chinese firms — GMCC, Landa, Highly, and Rechi — have all but monopolized the heart of the world's air conditioners.

The global dominance in air-conditioner compressors carries a deeper strategic significance — it is the core of vertical integration. Note that GMCC, the world's largest air-conditioner-compressor maker, belongs to Midea, and Landa, the second-largest, belongs to Gree — China's air-conditioner giants hold the heart of the air conditioner in their own hands. This "whole unit + compressor" vertical integration is the deepest advantage China's air-conditioner giants hold over those of other countries — they do not merely build the whole units; they command the most core and hardest heart of those units (the compressor), giving them formidable control over cost, supply, and technical coordination. Japanese, European, and American air-conditioner firms often lack this complete vertical integration from whole unit to compressor. Global dominance in air-conditioner compressors is the deepest foundation of the vertical-integration, cost, and technology advantages of China's air-conditioner giants.

Look next at refrigerator compressors — China is also one of the world's leaders. In refrigerator compressors (hermetic compressors), China's Huayi group (Changhong Huayi, whose brands include Huayi, Jiaxipera, and Kuicold) is one of the leaders of the global refrigerator-compressor industry. In 2023 the top three in global refrigerator-compressor output value were Embraco (now owned by Japan's Nidec), Huayi Compressor, and Panasonic — Huayi is one of the largest domestic players in the world. And Jiaxipera, with annual production and sales of over 40 million refrigerator compressors, ranked first by production scale in variable-frequency compressors in 2024. In refrigerator compressors, China is likewise moving from being one of the world's leaders toward dominance.

The global ascent in compressors is a comeback story from import dependence to global dominance. China's compressor industry was heavily dependent on imports in its early days — the core technology of refrigerator compressors long rested with foreign firms such as Embraco and Panasonic, and air-conditioner compressors once relied on imports too. But through the scaled investment and variable-frequency breakthroughs of domestic firms such as GMCC, Landa, Highly, Huayi, and Jiaxipera, China's compressors achieved a comeback from import substitution to dominance in global capacity and market share. This comeback is the most powerful evidence of China's home appliances reaching the summit at the level of "mechanical core components" — it proves that China's home appliances can not only build whole units but can also make the most core and hardest heart of those units (the compressor) globally dominant.

The ascent in compressors is especially worth contrasting with construction machinery. As the earlier construction-machinery report explained, the core component of construction machinery — high-end hydraulic systems — remains constrained by Germany and Japan (Bosch Rexroth, Kawasaki), and is the deepest shortcoming behind construction machinery being "big but not strong." Yet the core component of home appliances — the compressor — is already globally dominated by China (nearly 95%). This contrast is telling — for the same category of made-in-China core components, the home-appliance compressor has gone further and more thoroughly than construction-machinery hydraulics. This is because home appliances (especially air conditioners and refrigerators) are among the earliest and most fully market-driven competitive industries in China, and over decades of fierce competition Chinese firms have perfected this core component, the compressor, to the point of global dominance. The ascent in compressors reflects how China's home appliances have "stronger core components" than industries such as construction machinery.

The global ascent in compressors is the most powerful evidence of China's home appliances being "big and growing strong." China accounts for nearly 95% of the world's air-conditioner compressor output (dominated by GMCC, Landa, Highly, and Rechi), and is also one of the world's leaders in refrigerator compressors (the Huayi group) — China's home appliances not only build whole units but command the most core heart of those units. This ascent in a core component has gone further than construction-machinery hydraulics, and is the deepest foundation of what sets China's home appliances apart from most of Chinese manufacturing and makes them "big and growing strong." It proves that China's home appliances already dominate globally on core components — the hardest strength behind "selling the most." But the core components of home appliances are not only mechanical parts like the compressor — there are also chips. And on home-appliance chips, China has not yet reached the summit; it is still climbing. Home-appliance chips are the biggest chokepoint in China's home appliances going "from selling the most to selling the priciest." That is the subject of the next chapter.

14. Home-Appliance Chips: The Biggest Chokepoint in Being Big and Growing Strong

If the compressor is the heart on which China's home appliances have already reached the summit, then home-appliance chips are the "brain" and "nerves" on which China has not yet reached the summit and is still climbing. The main-control chips (MCUs) and variable-frequency power modules (IPM/IGBT) of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines have long depended on imports — this is the biggest chokepoint in China's home appliances being "big and growing strong," and a piece that must be filled in to go "from selling the most to selling the priciest."

Look first at how deep this chokepoint runs. Home-appliance chips are mainly of two types — main-control MCUs (microcontrollers, the "brain" of home appliances, controlling their operating logic) and variable-frequency power modules (IPM/IGBT, the "nerves" of home appliances, driving variable-frequency compressors and motors). And on both of these chip types, China has long depended on imports. Take white-goods MCUs as an example — their domestic-production rate was still below 2% in 2016, then reached 11.1% in 2019, 17.4% in 2021, and about 27.2% in 2023. Although localization is rising rapidly, by 2023 it was still only about 27% — over 70% of white-goods MCUs still rely on imports. And the import sources are highly concentrated — mainly from Japan (about 38%, Renesas and Toshiba) and Germany (about 25%, Infineon), plus Europe's STMicroelectronics. Home-appliance chips are a core component of China's home-appliance supply chain that is still controlled by others.

The severity of this chokepoint is also reflected in the enormous demand. Home appliances are a heavy consumer of chips — take 2022 as an example: demand for white-goods MCUs was 430 million units for air conditioners, 153 million units for washing machines, and 109 million units for refrigerators and freezers. Because China builds the most home appliances in the world, it needs a colossal volume of home-appliance chips. And more than 70% of this colossal chip demand relies on imports — meaning the "brain" and "nerves" of China's home appliances are, to a large extent, held in the hands of others (Japan, Germany, Europe). Should these chips be cut off or their prices rise, China's home appliances would take a hit. The home-appliance-chip chokepoint is the deepest strategic hidden danger in China's home appliances being "big and growing strong."

Within home-appliance chips, the hardest and most stuck are high-end power devices. Beyond MCUs, for the high-end power devices needed by variable-frequency appliances — mid-to-high-end power MOSFETs and IGBTs — China's self-sufficiency rate is below 10%. The intelligent power modules (IPMs) of inverter air conditioners have long been dominated by Mitsubishi, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and Toshiba. These high-end power devices are the core of variable-frequency appliances (energy-saving, comfort), with high technical barriers and high added value, yet China's self-sufficiency rate is extremely low. High-end power devices are the hardest piece of the home-appliance-chip chokepoint — harder to localize than MCUs, they are the highest stretch of the climb in China's home-appliance chips.

The home-appliance-chip chokepoint is especially worth watching because it grows ever more critical amid the trends of appliance intelligentization and variable-frequency conversion. As home appliances move toward variable frequency (inverter air-conditioner penetration had reached 89% in 2025) and toward intelligence (AI entering appliances), their dependence on chips (MCUs, power modules, and even AI chips) grows ever deeper. When home appliances upgrade from "mechanical appliances" to "intelligent, variable-frequency appliances," chips shift from auxiliary components to core components. And this is precisely the link where China's dependence is highest — herein lies the worry of the home-appliance-chip chokepoint: it grows ever more critical in the intelligent, variable-frequency future of home appliances, yet China has not yet secured it. Filling in this home-appliance-chip chokepoint is a battle China's home appliances must win to move toward "selling the priciest" (intelligent, high-end appliances).

That said, the domestic substitution of home-appliance chips is also accelerating. On one hand, the localization rate is rising rapidly (white-goods MCUs went from below 2% in 2016 to about 27% in 2023). On the other hand, the pressure on international majors has opened a window for domestic players — in 2024 Renesas cut 5% of its workforce, and STMicroelectronics saw net profit plunge 63% and cut 3,000 jobs; the strain on international chip majors has given domestic home-appliance-chip firms a chance to substitute. And China's home-appliance-chip firms (such as Sinowealth, the leading domestic home-appliance MCU maker, with over 20% domestic share in home-appliance MCUs and over 60% global share in microwave-oven main-control chips) and the in-house chip efforts of home-appliance giants (Gree Zero Boundary, Midea Meiren, detailed later) are all advancing the domestic substitution of home-appliance chips. This home-appliance-chip chokepoint is being conquered step by step — not yet at the summit, but domestic substitution is accelerating.

Home-appliance chips are the biggest chokepoint in China's home appliances being "big and growing strong," and a piece that must be filled in to go "from selling the most to selling the priciest." The main-control MCUs and variable-frequency power modules of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines have long depended on imports (white-goods MCU localization about 27%, high-end power device self-sufficiency below 10%, imports mainly from Japan and Germany) — this is a core component of China's home-appliance supply chain still controlled by others. And amid the trends of appliance intelligentization and variable-frequency conversion, home-appliance chips grow ever more critical — filling this in is the decisive battle for China's home appliances to move upmarket and toward "selling the priciest." That said, domestic substitution of home-appliance chips is accelerating (localization rising rapidly, international majors under strain, domestic firms and giants' chip-making rising). And the most eye-catching part of this campaign is the giants making chips themselves — both Gree and Midea have built their own chip companies. The story of the giants making chips is the subject of the next chapter.

15. Giants Make Chips: Gree Zero Boundary, Midea Meiren, and Sinowealth

Facing the home-appliance-chip chokepoint, Chinese home-appliance firms did not sit and wait — they went in and made chips themselves. Gree built Zhuhai Zero Boundary, Midea built Shanghai Meiren, and together with the independent home-appliance-chip leader Sinowealth, China's home appliances are conquering the home-appliance-chip chokepoint along two paths: "giants making chips" and "specialized manufacturers." The story of the giants making chips is a vivid sample of China's home appliances climbing toward "selling the priciest" (mastering core chips).

Look first at Gree's chip-making — Zhuhai Zero Boundary Integrated Circuit. In August 2018, Gree invested 1 billion yuan to establish Zhuhai Zero Boundary Integrated Circuit, making home-appliance MCUs, AIoT chips, and power devices. Zero Boundary's results are impressive — its chip shipments broke 10 million units in October 2019, exceeded 100 million units cumulatively by 2022, and reached nearly 200 million units cumulatively by the end of 2024. In 2023, Gree's chip business generated about 10 billion yuan in revenue (up 50%) and about 2 billion yuan in net profit (up 100%). Moreover, Dong Mingzhu stressed that Gree's chip-making "did not take a single cent from the state" — it was Gree's own investment and its own hard-fought effort. Gree Zero Boundary is a successful sample of a home-appliance giant developing chips in-house to achieve core-component self-sufficiency — it let Gree's air conditioners use chips Gree made itself.

Look next at Midea's chip-making — Shanghai Meiren Semiconductor. In 2018, Midea established Shanghai Meiren Semiconductor, making MCUs, power devices, and power-management chips. Meiren's first chip entered mass production in 2021 (about 10 million units that year), and by 2024 Meiren had four major series and 14 chips in mass production, with cumulative MCU sales breaking 100 million units, supplying mainstream home-appliance makers, and its MCUs entering the top five of China's home-appliance market. Like Gree, Midea's chip-making is a home-appliance giant's effort to climb toward core components (chips) — it lets Midea's appliances increasingly use chips Midea made itself. Midea Meiren and Gree Zero Boundary are the twin champions of China's two largest home-appliance giants "making chips."

Beyond the giants making chips, there is also a specialized home-appliance-chip manufacturer battling on — Sinowealth. Sinowealth is the leader of domestic home-appliance main-control MCUs — its home-appliance MCUs hold over 20% domestic share, and its microwave-oven main-control chips hold over 60% global share, deeply bound to top clients such as Midea, Gree, and Haier. Sinowealth is also advancing variable-frequency upgrades — its new-generation "dual-motor + high-frequency PFC control" single-chip solution for inverter air conditioners is expected to enter mass production by the end of 2025, and its variable-frequency MCUs have already broken into the supply chain of China's leading white-goods makers. Sinowealth represents the battle of independent, specialized home-appliance-chip manufacturers — together with the giants making chips (Gree, Midea), it forms the two paths of domestic substitution in China's home-appliance chips.

The two paths — giants making chips and specialized manufacturers — each have their advantages. The advantage of giants making chips (Gree Zero Boundary, Midea Meiren) is that the giants have stable, massive home-appliance-chip demand (their own air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines), can customize chips for their own appliances, and can achieve "defensive self-sufficiency" (securing their own chip supply, free from others' control). The advantage of specialized manufacturers (Sinowealth and others) is that they focus on chips, have deep technical accumulation, and can supply many home-appliance firms to build scale. These two paths jointly advance the domestic substitution of China's home-appliance chips — giants making chips secure self-sufficiency, and specialized manufacturers build scale. The campaign for China's home-appliance chips proceeds along two fronts at once: "giants making chips + specialized manufacturers."

But giants making chips and domestic substitution still have limits — they mainly cover the mid-to-low end, while the high end still relies on imports. The chip-making of Gree Zero Boundary and Midea Meiren mainly covers mid-to-low-end dedicated home-appliance MCUs and some power devices — achieving "defensive self-sufficiency" (securing their own mid-to-low-end chip supply). High-end, high-precision control chips, advanced-process MCUs, and some high-voltage power devices still rely on imports. Specialized manufacturers such as Sinowealth are also mainly in the mid-to-low end. This means the domestic substitution of China's home-appliance chips has eased the chokepoint (mid-to-low-end self-sufficiency) but has not yet removed it (the high end still relies on imports). Giants making chips and domestic substitution are a process of "moving from peripheral substitution toward core substitution" — the mid-to-low end has been captured, but the high end is still being climbed.

Giants making chips is a vivid sample of China's home appliances climbing toward "selling the priciest" (mastering core chips). Gree Zero Boundary (nearly 200 million units shipped cumulatively, 10 billion yuan in chip-business revenue), Midea Meiren (cumulative MCU sales breaking 100 million units, entering China's top five), plus the specialized manufacturer Sinowealth (over 20% domestic share in home-appliance MCUs, over 60% global share in microwave-oven chips) — China's home appliances are conquering the home-appliance-chip chokepoint along two paths: giants making chips and specialized manufacturers. This is China's home appliances climbing from "using others' chips" to "using their own chips," their effort to master core components and move upmarket. Although domestic substitution is still mainly in the mid-to-low end and the high end still relies on imports, the campaign is accelerating. Giants making chips demonstrate the determination and capability of China's home appliances to conquer the chip chokepoint. And beyond MCUs, home-appliance chips have an even harder bone — variable-frequency power modules (IPMs). The battle over this bone, and the gap behind it versus Japanese firms, is the subject of the next chapter.

16. Variable-Frequency Power Modules and the Gap With Japan: The Last Short Stretch

In the campaign for home-appliance chips, there is a bone harder than MCUs — variable-frequency power modules (IPM/IGBT), and the technology gap behind them versus Japanese firms. This bone is the last short stretch still being climbed in China's home appliances being "big and growing strong." Understanding the battle over variable-frequency power modules and the gap with Japan is to understand exactly where the difficulty lies in the short stretch that separates China's home appliances from "reaching the full summit."

Look first at what variable-frequency power modules are and why they are hard. Variable-frequency power modules (IPM, intelligent power module; IGBT, insulated-gate bipolar transistor) are the core devices of variable-frequency appliances — they drive variable-frequency compressors and motors to achieve precise speed regulation, and are the key to the energy savings and comfort of variable-frequency appliances. And the technical barrier of variable-frequency power modules is high — they require design, manufacturing, and packaging capabilities in power semiconductors, and have long been dominated by Japan's Mitsubishi and Toshiba, Germany's Infineon, and Europe's STMicroelectronics. The power modules of China's variable-frequency appliances have long depended on imports — this is the hardest piece of the home-appliance-chip chokepoint (high-end power-device self-sufficiency below 10%).

Look next at China's battle over variable-frequency power modules. Domestic substitution is catching up — Silan is a representative: its white-goods IPM module share has already exceeded 20%, and it has also achieved breakthroughs in automotive-grade silicon-carbide (SiC) main-drive modules, forming an IDM ecosystem of "power devices + integrated circuits + advanced packaging." BYD Semiconductor has also entered the power devices of variable-frequency appliances (covering MOSFETs, IGBTs, IPMs, and SiC). Together with domestic power-semiconductor players such as Wingtech Nexperia and CRRC Times — China is catching up on variable-frequency power modules from import dependence toward domestic substitution. Silan's white-goods IPM share exceeding 20% is an important advance in domestic substitution — it proves that China is gnawing away, step by step, at this hardest bone of variable-frequency power modules.

But on variable-frequency power modules, and on variable-frequency control technology more broadly, China still has a gap with Japanese firms — this is the short stretch that separates China's home appliances from "reaching the full summit." Inverter air-conditioner technology was successfully developed by Japan in the 1970s, and over 50 years on, the best technology still rests with Japanese firms. Japanese firms have an advantage in compressor control logic — for example, in extreme low temperatures of minus 15 degrees, the air outlet of a Japanese air conditioner can reach 50 degrees, whereas a domestic air conditioner in the same price range may need to start electric auxiliary heating to achieve the same heating effect. This control precision and energy efficiency under extreme conditions is the gap China's variable-frequency appliances are still catching up on versus Japanese firms. The gap in variable-frequency power modules and variable-frequency control technology is the last short stretch still being climbed in China's home appliances being "big and growing strong" — it is not being fatally blocked, but a gradual catch-up.

That said, this gap should be viewed objectively — it is a "gradual catch-up" rather than "being fatally blocked," and China has already broken through in many areas. Gree announced back in 2010 that it had broken the foreign monopoly on core variable-frequency technology, and Midea too has mastered the core low-frequency technology of central air conditioners. China's inverter air-conditioner penetration has reached 89% — variable frequency is already the absolute mainstream, and Chinese firms are investing heavily and continuously breaking through in variable-frequency technology. The gap between China and Japanese firms lies mainly in control precision and energy efficiency at the highest end and under the most extreme conditions — this is a gap in "top-tier refinement and control precision," not a gap in "being unable to build inverter air conditioners." China's variable-frequency appliances versus Japanese firms are a gradual catch-up with the gap narrowing, not being fatally blocked and out of reach. This objective judgment is the true situation of China's home-appliance variable-frequency technology.

The variable-frequency power module and the gap with Japan also reveal a characteristic of China's home appliances being "big and growing strong" — they have already reached the summit on most fronts (whole units, compressors, variable-frequency adoption), lacking only the last short stretch (the high end of variable-frequency power modules, the highest-end precision of variable-frequency control). This is consistent with the overall situation of home-appliance chips — the mid-to-low end has been captured (domestic substitution), the high end is still being climbed (import dependence). China's home-appliance climb has already reached the last short stretch — not catching up from scratch, but making the final breakthrough at the highest and most sophisticated points. Although this last short stretch is hard (high-end power devices, extreme-condition control), it is "the last short stretch before the summit," not "an unbridgeable chasm."

The variable-frequency power module and the gap with Japan are the last short stretch still being climbed in China's home appliances being "big and growing strong." Variable-frequency power modules (high-end power-device self-sufficiency below 10%) are the hardest piece of home-appliance chips, and China is pursuing domestic substitution through the likes of Silan (white-goods IPM over 20%); in variable-frequency control technology, China still has a gap with Japanese firms in control precision at the highest end and under extreme conditions, but this is a gradual catch-up rather than being fatally blocked (China's variable-frequency penetration already at 89%, core technology already broken through). This last short stretch is the distance that separates China's home appliances from "reaching the full summit" — they have already reached the summit on most fronts, lacking only the final breakthrough at the highest and most sophisticated end. With this, we have surveyed the core components of home appliances — compressors (already at the summit) and home-appliance chips (still climbing). And beyond core components, home appliances have two more parts that echo other segments of Chinese manufacturing — motors and display panels. The China landscape of these two parts is the subject of the next chapter.

17. Motors and Display Panels: Two Echoing Components

Beyond compressors and chips, home appliances have two more important core components — motors and display panels. One drives the operation of appliances (the motor), the other is the core of "black goods" (TVs) — the display panel. And these two components happen to echo the earlier reports in this series — they showcase the completeness of China's home-appliance supply chain and confirm China's manufacturing's global dominance in these parts.

Look first at motors — the brushless DC motors (BLDC) used in home appliances. Motors are the "muscles" of home appliances, driving fans, compressors, and washing-machine drums. And on the brushless DC motors (BLDC — energy-saving, efficient, quiet, the upgrade direction for home-appliance motors) used in appliances, China already leads the world in scale. China's BLDC-motor market grew from 28.6 billion yuan in 2019 to 84.8 billion yuan in 2024 (a compound annual growth rate of 24%), breaking through 100 billion yuan in 2025 — growing faster than the global market. Home appliances are the largest application field for BLDC motors. China's motor leaders — Wolong Electric Drive and Dayang Motor, among others — rank among the world's top ten motor brands. Motors are yet another core component in China's home-appliance supply chain that leads the world in scale.

Look next at display panels — the core of "black goods" (TVs), which directly echoes an earlier report in this series. TVs are an important category of home appliances (black goods), and the most core component of a TV is the display panel. As the earlier "China's Display Panels" report explained, China's display panels already dominate globally — in the first half of 2025, China's panel makers (BOE, TCL CSOT, HKC, and others) held a combined global share of 70.6% in large-size LCD TV panels, with BOE first in the world (about 27%) and TCL CSOT second (about 23%). TV panels are, after compressors, another landmark link in China's home-appliance supply chain that has gone "from chokepoint to dominance." China's TVs use panels that China itself dominates — giving China's TV firms (TCL, Hisense, Skyworth, Xiaomi) the support of a core component.

Motors and display panels form a profound echo with the earlier reports in this series — they showcase the completeness and mutual support of China's manufacturing supply chain. Display panels (the protagonist of an earlier report) support the TVs within home appliances; motors (the component discussed here) also connect with the motors of industries such as construction machinery and power batteries. The strength of Chinese manufacturing has never been the isolated strength of a single industry, but the strength of supply chains supporting and empowering one another. China's panel industry supports China's TV industry; China's motor industry supports multiple industries including home appliances, construction machinery, and new-energy vehicles. This mutual support among supply chains is a deep expression of the overall strength of Chinese manufacturing — understanding the echo of motors and display panels with home appliances is to understand the completeness and coordination of China's manufacturing supply chain.

The China landscape of motors and display panels also confirms this chapter's core judgment — on the mechanical and display core components of home appliances, China already dominates globally. Compressors (nearly 95%), motors (leading the world in scale, breaking 100 billion yuan), display panels (large-size LCD about 70%) — on these mechanical and display core components of home appliances, China already dominates globally or leads in scale. This is the deepest supply-chain foundation of China's home appliances being "big and growing strong" — they not only build whole units but command most of the units' core components (compressors, motors, panels). This is also where home appliances are stronger than much of Chinese manufacturing — the localization of their core components is higher and more globally dominant. The core component China's home appliances are still truly climbing is mainly chips (MCUs, power modules) — on the other mechanical, display, and power core components, China has already reached the summit on most fronts.

That said, display panels, like home-appliance chips, still have a high-end climb. As the earlier panel report explained, China already dominates globally in large-size LCD panels, but on high-end OLED (especially small-to-medium flexible OLED and the Apple supply chain) and on upstream panel materials (glass substrates, OLED materials, evaporation equipment), there is still room to climb. This is consistent with the situation of home-appliance chips — the mid-to-low end and the mainstream have already reached the summit (LCD panels, mechanical components), while the high end is still being climbed (OLED, chips). China's home-appliance core components have, on the whole, already reached the summit on most fronts, but on the highest-end components (high-end chips, high-end OLED) there is still a final climb. This picture of "most fronts at the summit, the highest end still being climbed" is the complete portrait of China's home-appliance core components.

Motors and display panels are two core components of home appliances that echo the earlier reports in this series. Motors (BLDC breaking 100 billion yuan, Wolong and Dayang among the world's top ten) lead the world in scale, and display panels (large-size LCD about 70%, BOE and TCL CSOT the world's top two) already dominate globally — together with compressors, they showcase China's global dominance in the mechanical and display core components of home appliances, and confirm the completeness and mutual support of China's manufacturing supply chain. China's home-appliance core components have, on the whole, already reached the summit on most fronts (compressors, motors, panels), with only chips (and high-end OLED) still being climbed — this is the deepest supply-chain foundation of their being "big and growing strong." With this, we have surveyed the first two layers of the home-appliance value chain — whole units (globally dominant) and core components (most at the summit, chips still climbing). And the third layer of the value chain — brands, especially the brand premium of going "from selling the most to selling the priciest" — is the core of China's home appliances' final leg. This leg begins with the exploration of high-end brands — that is Haier's Casarte.

18. Casarte: A Domestic High-End Benchmark and Its Premium Worries

Among all the efforts of China's home appliances to climb toward "selling the priciest," Casarte is the most successful and most representative. This high-end brand independently created by Haier is the most successful sample of China's home appliances going high-end on their own — it proves that China's home appliances can attack the high end not only through acquisition but also by establishing a foothold in the high-end market through independent brand-building. But Casarte's premium is also beginning to face worries. Casarte's story is the most vivid sample of the hurdle of China's home appliances going "from selling the most to selling the priciest."

Look first at Casarte's success. Casarte is a high-end brand independently created by Haier, leading the high end for 10 consecutive years, with growth exceeding 20% in the first half of 2025 (the only high-end brand with positive growth across all categories in the first half), and a brand value reaching 92.8 billion yuan. And what is most convincing about Casarte is its share in high-end segments — about 59% of the refrigerator market above 15,000 yuan, about 90% of the high-end washing-machine market, and about 49% to 53% of the air-conditioner market above 15,000 yuan. By the first quarter of 2026, Casarte's share of refrigerators above 15,000 yuan had reached 71%, and high-end washing machines 80%. Casarte is, in China's high-end home-appliance market, an undisputed benchmark — it proves that a Chinese homegrown brand can lead in the high-end market.

Casarte's pricing power is especially striking. The average unit price of Casarte's refrigerators and washing machines reaches 2.2 times the industry average, and its overall average unit price reaches 2.4 times the whole industry — that is, for the same refrigerator or washing machine, Casarte can sell it at more than twice the industry average price. This pricing power is the most successful sample of China's home appliances "selling at a high price" — it proves that a Chinese homegrown brand can command a high premium and make consumers willing to pay more for the brand. Casarte has also accumulated over 20 million high-end members. Casarte's premium is the most successful step of China's home appliances climbing from "selling the most" toward "selling the priciest" — it has made "Casarte" a high-end home-appliance brand in the minds of Chinese consumers, able to command the kind of premium of top-tier European and Japanese brands.

Casarte's success is of major significance. It proves that China's home appliances' climb toward "selling the priciest" is feasible — a Chinese homegrown brand can win not only through scale and value-for-money (selling the most) but also command a premium through brand and the high end (selling at a high price). Casarte is the most successful sample of China's home appliances going high-end on their own, and the most powerful proof of China's home appliances going "from selling the most to selling the priciest." Together with Fisher & Paykel and GE Appliances (high-end brands acquired by Haier), it forms the two paths of China's home appliances attacking the high end — independent brand-building (Casarte) and brand acquisition (Fisher & Paykel, GE Appliances). Casarte proves the feasibility of attacking the high end through independent brand-building — harder than acquisition, but also more solid and more autonomous.

But Casarte's premium is also beginning to face worries — these are the real challenges of the hurdle of China's home appliances "selling the priciest." First is intensifying competition. Casarte faces competition from many directions — traditional high-end brands (COLMO, Gree, Siemens) and cross-industry newcomers (Mijia, Huawei). Cross-industry players such as Mijia and Huawei in particular are eating into the high-end market with an intelligent ecosystem plus value-for-money — using "smart" and "relatively cheap" to strike at Casarte's high-end premium. Second is the questioning of its "gold content." Some media have questioned Casarte's "declining gold content" and the strain on its pricing power — as Casarte expands in scale and moves downmarket, whether it can maintain its high-end tone and pricing power is a question mark. Casarte's premium worries are the real challenges of the hurdle of China's home appliances "selling the priciest" — a high-end premium is hard to build and even harder to maintain.

Casarte's premium worries also reveal the deep difficulty of the hurdle of China's home appliances "selling the priciest." A brand premium rests on long-accumulated brand trust, high-end tone, and a sense of scarcity — these are hard to build and easily diluted amid scale expansion and intensifying competition. The hard-won high-end premium Casarte has built (2.4 times the unit price) is not easy to maintain under the cross-industry assault of Mijia and Huawei and the dilution of its own scale expansion. This is the deepest difficulty of China's home appliances going "from selling the most to selling the priciest" — not merely selling at a high price (which can be done through product and marketing), but maintaining a high premium over the long term (which rests on continuous brand-building and steadfast adherence to a high-end tone). Casarte's premium worries are a true portrait of the difficulty of this hurdle.

Casarte is the most successful and most representative sample of China's home appliances climbing toward "selling the priciest." It has led the high end for 10 consecutive years, with a unit price reaching 2.4 times the industry and leading share in high-end segments — proving that a Chinese homegrown brand can establish a foothold in the high-end market and command a high premium, the most powerful proof of China's home appliances going "from selling the most to selling the priciest." But Casarte's premium is also beginning to face worries (cross-industry assault from Mijia and Huawei, questions over gold content) — revealing the real difficulty of the hurdle of "selling the priciest": a high premium is hard to build and even harder to maintain. Casarte's success and worries are the most vivid sample of China's home appliances climbing toward "selling the priciest." And beyond Casarte (high-end white goods), China's home appliances have a field with the largest high-end gap — high-end kitchen appliances. This category, with the largest gap versus Europe and the United States, is the subject of the next chapter.

19. High-End Kitchen Appliances: The Category With the Widest Gap vs. Europe and the US

In the picture of Chinese home appliances climbing toward "selling the priciest," there is one category where the gap is widest and the opportunity is greatest—high-end kitchen appliances, especially built-in kitchen appliances and dishwashers. This is the category where Chinese home appliances lag furthest behind the mature markets of Europe and the US, and it is also the largest remaining space for the premiumization of Chinese home appliances. The gap and opportunity in high-end kitchen appliances is the most concrete single sample for understanding the hurdle Chinese home appliances face in "selling the priciest."

First, consider how large this gap is—take dishwashers as an example. Dishwasher penetration in Chinese households is under 5%, whereas in Europe it is 50% to 70% and in the US around 75%. This gap is enormous—among equally developed home-appliance markets, China's dishwasher penetration is less than one-tenth that of Europe and the US. Similarly, built-in kitchen appliances (built-in steam ovens, ovens, and integrated steam-oven-microwave units) have a penetration of about 8% to 10% in China, also a clear gap versus mature Western markets. High-end kitchen appliances (dishwashers, built-in units) are the category where Chinese home appliances lag furthest behind Europe and the US—in this category, China is far from global dominance, and even domestic penetration remains very low.

One deeper reason for the large gap in high-end kitchen appliances is the difference between Chinese and Western cooking methods. Western cooking is based mainly on ovens and induction cooktops, without stir-frying, so the grease and smoke are minimal; Chinese cooking, by contrast, uses open flames, high-temperature stir-frying, and high heat output—this is a hard requirement of Chinese cuisine. This difference is, on one hand, a moat for domestic brands—Chinese-style range hoods and cooktops (from domestic brands such as Robam and Fotile), because they best understand the needs of Chinese stir-frying (smoke control, high heat output), are exactly where high-end Western brands (such as Siemens) struggle to adapt, and domestic brands hold the dominant position. On the other hand, the Chinese-Western cooking difference also slows the adoption of some high-end Western kitchen-appliance categories (such as dishwashers and built-in units) in China—Chinese tableware and cooking habits do not perfectly match the design of Western dishwashers and built-in kitchen appliances, requiring localized adaptation. The Chinese-Western cooking difference is both a moat for domestic brands and a reason high-end kitchen appliances spread slowly.

The gap in high-end kitchen appliances is also reflected in the premiumization dilemma of Chinese brands. Take Midea as an example—it is a home-appliance empire with 300 billion yuan in revenue, yet its high-end brand COLMO, squeezed by Haier's Casarte and Fisher & Paykel, is struggling to break through the 30-billion-yuan threshold. Midea's high-end predicament confirms the shortcoming of Chinese home appliances being "large but not yet strong at the high end"—even Midea, the world's largest home-appliance company by revenue, struggles to break through in the high-end kitchen-appliance (and even high-end home-appliance) market. China's top five high-end kitchen-appliance players—Robam (AI Chinese-style cooking), Fotile (smoke control), COLMO (whole-home smart aesthetics), Siemens (German precision), and Vatti (value-oriented high end)—reflect the competitive landscape of China's high-end kitchen-appliance market: domestic brands (Robam, Fotile) dominate by understanding Chinese cooking, but at the very top end of brand premium, German brands (Siemens) and others still hold a place.

But the gap in high-end kitchen appliances is precisely what signals enormous opportunity. Dishwasher penetration in China is under 5% (75% in Europe and the US), and built-in kitchen-appliance penetration is about 8% to 10%—this low penetration means enormous room for growth. As Chinese consumption upgrades and lifestyles change, the penetration of high-end kitchen appliances (dishwashers, built-in units) is expected to rise substantially—China's dishwasher retail sales were about 13 billion yuan in 2025 and are expected to reach 25 billion to 30 billion yuan by 2030; the market for integrated steam-oven-microwave units was about 12 billion to 15 billion yuan in 2025. High-end kitchen appliances are the largest single space for the premiumization of Chinese home appliances—the widest gap also means the greatest opportunity. Whoever can seize the rising penetration of high-end kitchen appliances can gain the first-mover advantage in the premiumization of Chinese home appliances.

The gap and opportunity in high-end kitchen appliances also echo China's high-end penetration overseas. Chinese home appliances are accelerating in overseas high-end markets too—in the first half of 2026, China's air-conditioner exports to the EU reached 3.76 billion USD, a sharp year-on-year increase of 43% (driven by Europe's energy crisis and its originally low air-conditioner penetration). But in kitchen appliances, China accounts for about 25% to 30% of the global kitchen-appliance market, and its average product price and degree of premiumization still lag clearly behind mature Western markets. High-end kitchen appliances, whether domestically (low penetration) or overseas (average-price gap), are the category where Chinese home appliances have the widest gap and the greatest opportunity in premiumization. It is the hardest to crack, yet also the most spacious, part of the hurdle Chinese home appliances face on the road "from selling the most to selling the priciest."

High-end kitchen appliances are the category where Chinese home appliances lag furthest behind Europe and the US, and where the opportunity for premiumization is greatest. Dishwasher penetration is under 5% (75% in Europe and the US), and built-in kitchen appliances are at about 8% to 10%—this enormous gap stems, on one hand, from the difference between Chinese and Western cooking methods (both a moat for domestic brands and a reason for slow adoption), and on the other hand reflects the premiumization dilemma of Chinese home appliances (Midea's COLMO struggling to break through 30 billion yuan). But the widest gap also means the greatest opportunity—the low penetration of high-end kitchen appliances is the largest single growth space for the premiumization of Chinese home appliances. The gap and opportunity in high-end kitchen appliances is the most concrete sample of the hurdle Chinese home appliances face in "selling the priciest"—it reveals the hardest-to-crack yet most spacious part of Chinese home-appliance premiumization. At this point, we have examined two samples of Chinese home appliances climbing toward the high end—Casarte (the success and hidden concerns of high-end white goods) and high-end kitchen appliances (the category with the widest gap). Now it is time to bring these together into one core proposition—from selling the most to selling the priciest, the hurdle of brand premium for Chinese home appliances. That is the theme of the next chapter.

20. From Selling the Most to Selling the Priciest: The Hurdle of Brand Premium

By this point, the picture of Chinese home appliances is already clear—they already "sell the most" (first in the world in output, first in the world in brand sales, and topping the charts in most core components), but from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest," they still have one final leg to walk. And at the core of this final leg is the hurdle of brand premium. This chapter brings together the threads scattered earlier and directly answers the proposition running through this entire report—from selling the most to selling the priciest, what do Chinese home appliances still lack.

First, let us clarify the difference between "selling the most" and "selling the priciest." "Selling the most"—that is being first in scale, in output, in sales volume. Chinese home appliances have already achieved this: the world's largest home-appliance producer and exporter, Haier the world's number-one major-appliance retail-volume brand for 17 consecutive years, and Midea the home-appliance company with the largest revenue globally. "Selling the priciest"—that is premium, high-end, brand pricing power. This means getting consumers willing to pay a higher price for your brand, and gaining high premiums through the brand, the way BSH, Miele, and premium Japanese brands do. "Selling the most" relies on scale and value for money; "selling the priciest" relies on brand and the high end. Chinese home appliances already "sell the most" and are now assaulting "selling the priciest."

From "selling the most" to "selling the priciest," Chinese home appliances face several specific hurdles. The first is establishing and maintaining a brand premium. Chinese home appliances win on scale and value for money, and their unit prices and net margins still trail high-end rivals (Chinese home appliances have net margins of about 9% to 10%, while high-end brands rely more on premium). To "sell the priciest," Chinese home appliances must establish a brand premium—getting consumers willing to pay a higher price for the high-end products of Chinese brands. Casarte has already done this (2.4 times the unit price), but its premium also faces hidden concerns (the impact of Mijia and Huawei, and doubts about its true substance). Establishing and maintaining a brand premium is the most core hurdle of "selling the priciest."

The second hurdle is mindshare in the highest-end market. In the highest-end home-appliance markets of Europe, the US, and Japan, consumer mindshare is still partly occupied by BSH (Bosch/Siemens), Miele, and LG/Samsung. Chinese home appliances attack the high end through Casarte, Fisher & Paykel, and GE Appliances, but to truly occupy the "highest-end home appliance" mindshare of Western and Japanese consumers, there is still a long way to go. Mindshare is the hardest thing to win—it is long-accumulated brand perception, not something one or two products can change. Mindshare in the highest-end market is a deep hurdle of "selling the priciest"—Chinese home appliances must get global consumers to associate Chinese brands with "the highest end."

The third hurdle is the shortcoming in high-end categories. As discussed earlier, high-end kitchen appliances (dishwashers, built-in units) are the category where Chinese home appliances have the widest gap versus Europe and the US. And these high-end categories are precisely the high-premium, high-value-added categories. To "sell the priciest," Chinese home appliances must break through in these high-end categories—building up dishwashers, built-in kitchen appliances, and other high-end categories to capture the premium of high-end categories. The shortcoming in high-end categories is yet another hurdle of "selling the priciest"—it is the largest space for the premiumization of Chinese home appliances and also the hardest part to crack.

But it must also be recognized that on this hurdle of "selling the priciest," Chinese home appliances have already made progress rarely seen in other parts of Chinese manufacturing. Casarte's 2.4-times unit price and 10 consecutive years of high-end leadership is the most successful sample of China's homegrown high end; Haier's high-end brand has been number one in its industry in the US for four consecutive years; and China's air-conditioner exports to the EU are premiumizing (up 43% in the first half of 2026). China's climb toward "selling the priciest," though not yet complete, has already blazed a trail that other parts of Chinese manufacturing have not managed to walk—it already has a successful high-end brand (Casarte), a sample of high premium (2.4 times the unit price), and breakthroughs in high-end markets (the US, Europe). For Chinese home appliances, "selling the priciest" is "in progress, with progress made," not "out of reach."

From "selling the most" to "selling the priciest" also reveals a direction for the overall upgrade of Chinese manufacturing. Many Chinese industries face this upgrade from "selling the most" (scale, value for money) to "selling the priciest" (brand, high end, premium)—tires and power tools remain stuck at "selling the most" (large but not strong), construction machinery is climbing toward "selling for more" (rising overseas gross margins), and home appliances have gone the furthest (with a successful high-end brand like Casarte). Home appliances' "from selling the most to selling the priciest" is a leading sample of the overall upgrade direction of Chinese manufacturing—it shows how Chinese manufacturing can upgrade from scale and value for money toward brand and premium. Understand this hurdle for home appliances, and you understand the road that Chinese manufacturing as a whole must walk in its upgrade.

From "selling the most" to "selling the priciest" is the final leg for Chinese home appliances, and also the core proposition of their story of "reigning over white goods and topping the charts in brand." Chinese home appliances already "sell the most" (leading the world in scale, sales volume, and core components) and are now assaulting "selling the priciest" (brand premium, highest-end mindshare, high-end categories). This hurdle has three specific challenges—establishing and maintaining a brand premium, mindshare in the highest-end market, and the shortcoming in high-end categories. But on this hurdle, Chinese home appliances have already made progress rarely seen in other parts of Chinese manufacturing (Casarte's success, samples of high premium, breakthroughs in high-end markets). From "selling the most" to "selling the priciest" is the furthest-advanced and most leading stretch of upgrade for Chinese home appliances—it is a sample of the overall upgrade direction of Chinese manufacturing. And beyond the high-end climb of white goods, Chinese home appliances also have a "new force" that, in an entirely new category, has directly achieved global dominance—robot vacuums. The story of this new force is the theme of the next chapter.

21. Robot Vacuums: The Global Dominance of China's New Force

Beyond the traditional white-goods giants (Midea, Haier, Gree), Chinese home appliances have also given rise to a "new force"—one that, in an entirely new category, has directly achieved global dominance. That category is robot vacuums (household cleaning robots); that new force is Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Narwal, and Xiaomi. Their story is a sample of Chinese home appliances "topping the charts on debut" in an emerging category, and also the latest footnote to Chinese manufacturing moving from "following" to "leading."

First, consider how thorough this new force's global dominance is. In 2025, global shipments of household cleaning robots reached 32.72 million units (up 20.1%); and in the first three quarters of 2025, the global top five in shipments—Ecovacs, Dreame, Roborock, Xiaomi, and Narwal—were all Chinese brands, together holding a 65.6% share. For every three robot vacuums sold worldwide, two are Chinese brands. By comparison, in the first half of 2023, Chinese manufacturers held a combined share of only 44.7% in the top five—in a little over two years, China's robot vacuums went from "leading" to "global dominance." In this category, China's new force has achieved overwhelming global dominance.

Within this new force, Roborock stands out especially. In 2025, Roborock's revenue reached 18.7 billion yuan (up 56.51%), with overseas revenue breaking 10 billion yuan for the first time (10.4 billion yuan, up 63%); under IDC's full-year metric, Roborock shipped 5.8 million units globally (up 76.5%), with a 17.7% global market share, topping the world for the first time. Roborock, from a Chinese robot-vacuum company, became number one in the world. Meanwhile Ecovacs (first-half 2025 revenue of 8.68 billion yuan, net profit up 60.8%) and Dreame (22.5 billion yuan in revenue for the first three quarters of 2025, pushing for 30 billion yuan for the full year) are also growing rapidly. China's robot-vacuum new force is advancing triumphantly in the global market.

The most emblematic event of this new force's global dominance is overtaking and acquiring America's veteran iRobot. iRobot (the parent company of Roomba) is the originator and former global overlord of robot vacuums. But in 2024, iRobot's global shipments fell 6.7% and its market share shrank to 13.7%, overtaken by Roborock in both shipment volume and revenue. Even more emblematic—iRobot was ultimately acquired by Chinese capital (Picea). This story of "the originator overtaken and then acquired" is the most powerful proof of China's global dominance in robot vacuums—the Chinese new force not only overtook this category's creator but also brought it into the fold. This is of a piece with the home-appliance stories of Whirlpool acquired by Galanz and GE Appliances acquired by Haier—Chinese companies are not only expanding globally but also absorbing the former pioneers and overlords of the industry.

Behind this new force's global dominance is technological leadership and innovation. China's robot-vacuum technology—LiDAR navigation, AI smart recognition, automatic dust collection, and automatic mop washing—keeps iterating and upgrading, running ahead of the world. In early 2025, Roborock unveiled at CES a robot vacuum equipped with an AI robotic arm (able to pick up obstacles), representing the evolution of cleaning robots toward "embodied intelligence." China's robot vacuums not only dominate globally in scale but also lead in technology—they have upgraded the robot vacuum from a simple "automatic sweeper" into a "smart cleaning robot" equipped with LiDAR, AI, and a robotic arm. Technological leadership and continuous innovation are the foundation of the global dominance of China's robot-vacuum new force.

This new force also demonstrates the latest paradigm of Chinese home appliances moving from "following" to "leading." In traditional white goods (air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines), China went from following (importing, imitating) to running alongside and then to dominating. But in the new category of robot vacuums, China's new force has essentially "led on debut"—from the rise of this category, Chinese companies stood at the very forefront of technology and market, directly achieving global dominance, and even overtaking and acquiring the category's creator (iRobot). This paradigm of "leading a new category on debut" is the latest and most thorough sample of Chinese manufacturing moving from "following" to "leading"—it proves that, in emerging home-appliance categories, China is no longer a follower but a leader from the very start. Robot vacuums are the benchmark for Chinese home appliances (and even Chinese manufacturing) "topping the charts on debut" in a new category.

That said, this new force also faces the challenges of cutthroat competition and profitability. The robot-vacuum arena is fiercely competitive—Roborock traded price for volume to charge hard on scale, with 2025 revenue surging 56% but net profit falling 31% (rising revenue without rising profit); Ecovacs, by contrast, achieved high-quality profit growth (net profit up 118%). This divergence reflects the robot-vacuum arena's shift from scale competition to profit competition. And companies such as Dreame are still aggressively expanding across borders (into automobiles and kitchen appliances)—the sustainability of such aggressive expansion also remains to be seen. The cutthroat competition and profitability challenges of the robot-vacuum new force are the hidden concerns behind this fast-growing arena.

Robot vacuums are a sample of China's home-appliance new force achieving "global dominance" in an entirely new category. Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi, and Narwal—the global top five are all Chinese brands (65.6% combined), with Roborock topping the world and even overtaking and acquiring the category's creator, iRobot. This new force, through technological leadership (LiDAR, AI, robotic arm) and continuous innovation, has achieved global dominance, demonstrating the latest and most thorough paradigm of Chinese home appliances (and even Chinese manufacturing) moving from "following" to "leading"—topping the charts on debut in a new category. Although it also faces the challenges of cutthroat competition and profitability, it is the most powerful proof of the vitality and innovative capacity of the Chinese home-appliance industry. And beyond the overall landscape of robot vacuums, within this new force there is one phenomenal company that has pushed cross-border ambition to the extreme—Dreame. The Dreame phenomenon is the theme of the next chapter.

22. The Dreame Phenomenon: The Cross-Border Ambition of the Cleaning New Force

Within China's home-appliance new force, there is one phenomenal company worth observing on its own—Dreame. Starting from robot vacuums, it is now aggressively expanding across borders into white goods, automobiles, and even more categories. The "Dreame phenomenon" is a concentrated expression of the vitality and ambition of China's home-appliance new force, and it also reflects how the competitive landscape of Chinese home appliances is being reshaped by new forces.

First, consider Dreame's rise. Dreame is a new force in cleaning appliances (robot vacuums, floor washers, hair dryers, etc.), and it has grown extremely fast—revenue of 22.5 billion yuan for the first three quarters of 2025, pushing for 30 billion yuan for the full year; in the European market, Dreame's revenue from January to July 2025 surged 139% year-on-year, and its robot-vacuum market share in Europe reached 25.5%, first in the region. In global robot-vacuum share, Dreame at one point overtook Ecovacs. Dreame is the fastest-growing and most aggressive of China's new cleaning-appliance forces—in just a few years, it grew from a new brand into a major global player in cleaning appliances.

What is most striking about Dreame is its aggressive cross-border expansion ambition. Dreame is not content to make only cleaning appliances—it is aggressively expanding into multiple categories. Expanding into white goods—at IFA 2025, Dreame debuted a smart-home ecosystem, showcasing 22 product lines (including 15 entirely new categories), with its core system entering refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines. Expanding into kitchen appliances—Dreame extends its technology into the kitchen. It is even expanding into automobiles—Dreame announced its entry into the automobile industry. From robot vacuums to white goods, kitchen appliances, and automobiles—Dreame's cross-border expansion is remarkable in the scale of its ambition and the speed of its steps. The "Dreame phenomenon" is the ultimate expression of the vitality and ambition of China's home-appliance new force.

The "Dreame phenomenon" reflects how the competitive landscape of Chinese home appliances is being reshaped by new forces. Traditionally, Chinese home appliances have been a landscape dominated by white-goods giants (Midea, Haier, Gree). But today, new cleaning-appliance forces (Dreame, Roborock, Ecovacs) are rising and expanding into white goods—they use the technology (motors, AI, smart control), brand, and channels accumulated in cleaning appliances to assault white goods (refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines). This breaks the traditional white-goods-giant landscape—the white-goods market is no longer solely the domain of Midea, Haier, and Gree, but also has cleaning-appliance new forces like Dreame entering across borders. The "Dreame phenomenon" is a microcosm of the competitive landscape of Chinese home appliances being reshaped by new forces—new forces are expanding from a new category (cleaning appliances) into traditional white goods, intensifying competition in the home-appliance market.

Behind Dreame's cross-border moves lies a deeper logic—the reuse of technology and capability. The core technologies Dreame accumulated in cleaning appliances (high-speed motors, AI, smart control) can be reused across other categories—white goods (which need motors and smart control), kitchen appliances, and even automobiles (which need motors and intelligence). This logic of "reusing core technology, expanding across categories" is the confidence behind Dreame's aggressive cross-border moves—it is not expanding blindly, but reusing the core capabilities accumulated in cleaning appliances into adjacent categories. This is also the common logic of many Chinese new forces (Xiaomi's ecosystem chain, Dreame's cross-border moves)—using one core capability (technology, supply chain, channels, brand) to expand into multiple categories. The Dreame phenomenon is an extreme sample of this logic of "reusing core capability, expanding across categories."

But the "Dreame phenomenon" also comes with risks and doubts. Aggressive cross-border expansion, especially into an industry as capital-intensive, high-barrier, and brutally competitive as automobiles, carries great risk—Dreame's entry into automobiles has been questioned by some commentators as "not needing yet another dream-driven narrative" (alluding to the high risk of cross-border carmaking). Aggressive expansion may scatter resources, dilute core competitiveness, and bring management and funding pressure. Whether Dreame can maintain its core competitiveness (cleaning appliances) amid aggressive cross-border moves, and succeed in new categories (white goods, automobiles), remains to be seen. The ambition of the "Dreame phenomenon" is striking, but its sustainability and success rate are still question marks. Dreame's cross-border push is a high-risk, high-reward gamble.

The "Dreame phenomenon" is a concentrated expression of the vitality, ambition, and reshaped competitive landscape of China's home-appliance new force. Starting from robot vacuums (revenue pushing for 30 billion yuan, first in European market share), Dreame is now aggressively expanding across borders into white goods, kitchen appliances, and automobiles (debuting 22 product lines at IFA), relying on the logic of "reusing core technology, expanding across categories." The "Dreame phenomenon" reflects how the competitive landscape of Chinese home appliances is being reshaped by new forces—cleaning new forces expanding into traditional white goods, breaking the white-goods-giant landscape. Although aggressive cross-border moves come with risks and doubts (especially carmaking), the Dreame phenomenon showcases the most vivid vitality and ambition of the Chinese home-appliance industry. It is a vivid microcosm of the metabolism, fierce competition, and active innovation of the Chinese home-appliance industry—in this industry there is not only the steadiness of traditional giants but also the drive and ambition of new forces. The vitality of Chinese home appliances stems precisely from this industrial ecosystem in which traditional giants coexist with new forces, and steadiness coexists with drive. This vitality is one of the deepest sources of confidence for Chinese home appliances heading into the future and completing the final leg "from selling the most to selling the priciest."

23. Anker: The Cross-Border Benchmark From OEM to Brand

In the overseas map of Chinese home appliances, beyond the brand going-global of traditional giants (Haier, Midea) and the category going-global of new forces (Roborock, Ecovacs), there is another distinctive going-global model—the cross-border DTC brand. Its benchmark is Anker Innovations (Anker). Anker grew from a cross-border seller of charging products into a global consumer-electronics brand with overseas revenue exceeding 96%—its story is the purest sample of China's new-consumption going-global "from OEM to brand."

First, consider Anker's results. In 2025, Anker Innovations' revenue reached 30.5 billion yuan (about 4.4 billion USD, up 23.49%, breaking 30 billion for the first time), with net profit attributable to the parent of 2.545 billion yuan (up 20.37%). What is most distinctive about Anker is its overseas nature—overseas revenue exceeds 96%, with mainland China accounting for just 3.38%. Anker is almost a Chinese company that "does only overseas"—its products are sold mainly to consumers overseas (especially North America and Europe). North America is its largest single market (revenue of 14.1 billion yuan, 46.31% of the total), and its European-market revenue grew 43%. Anker is one of the most successful samples of Chinese new-consumption brands going global—it has made a Chinese consumer-electronics brand part of overseas consumers' homes.

Anker's distinctiveness lies in the "cross-border e-commerce DTC" path it took overseas. Anker's sales channels—Amazon accounts for 52.29% (revenue of 15.96 billion yuan), DTC independent sites (the official sites of brands such as Anker, eufy, and Soundcore) account for a portion, and offline is also expanding (accounting for nearly 30%). Anker started from cross-border e-commerce (especially Amazon)—through platforms such as Amazon it sells its own branded products directly to overseas consumers (DTC, direct-to-consumer). This "cross-border e-commerce DTC" path differs from the brand going-global of traditional home-appliance giants (Haier's localized operations and acquisitions)—it is lighter, faster, and more reliant on e-commerce platforms and digital marketing. Anker is the benchmark for Chinese new-consumption brands going global through cross-border e-commerce DTC.

Anker's product map is also extending from charging into smart home and energy storage. Anker started from charging products (power banks, chargers) and has now expanded into—charging and energy storage (revenue of 15.4 billion yuan in 2025, of which the Solix energy-storage series grew 62%, with balcony energy storage first in global sales volume), eufy smart innovation products (including cleaning and security, revenue of 8.27 billion yuan, with eufy security maintaining about 15% of the global share in DIY home security cameras), and Soundcore audio, among others. Anker has expanded from charging products into energy storage, cleaning, security, audio, and multiple other smart-home and consumer-electronics categories—it is growing from a "charging brand" into a multi-category global consumer-electronics brand. Anker's category expansion demonstrates the growth of Chinese new-consumption brands from a single category toward a platform.

Anker's story is the purest sample of China's new-consumption going-global "from OEM to brand." China has countless cross-border sellers doing OEM work for overseas brands or selling white-label products on Amazon. Anker stood out from these cross-border sellers and built a genuine brand—it has its own brands (Anker, eufy, Soundcore), a brand premium, and brand loyalty. Anker has proven that Chinese cross-border sellers can do more than OEM and white-label—they can build a genuine global brand through brand building, product innovation, and digital marketing. Anker's "from OEM to brand" is the purest sample of the upgrade of China's new-consumption going-global—together with the brand going-global of home-appliance giants, it demonstrates the two paths for Chinese manufacturing to upgrade from "selling capacity" to "selling brand."

But Anker also faces risks and challenges. In 2025, Anker's operating cash flow fell sharply (reported to be down about 80%), and it recalled more than 2.38 million products (power banks and the like)—this reflects the quality and operational risks of Anker's rapid expansion. Moreover, Anker relies heavily on Amazon (52% of revenue) and the North American market (46%), and this dependence on a single platform and single market is also a risk—should Amazon's policies change, or should the North American market (tariffs, trade) shift, Anker would be significantly affected. Anker's risks and challenges are the hidden concerns behind the rapid expansion of a cross-border DTC brand—alongside high growth, it must manage quality, operations, and its dependence on a single platform and market.

Anker is the purest cross-border DTC benchmark of China's new-consumption going-global "from OEM to brand." It grew from a cross-border seller of charging products into a global consumer-electronics brand with overseas revenue exceeding 96% and revenue of 30 billion yuan, relying on the cross-border e-commerce DTC path, brand building, product innovation, and category expansion. Anker has proven that Chinese cross-border sellers can do more than OEM and white-label—they can build a genuine global brand. This is the purest sample of the upgrade of China's new-consumption going-global. Although it also faces the risks of quality, operations, and dependence on a single platform, it is yet another vivid sample of Chinese manufacturing upgrading from "selling capacity" to "selling brand." The brand going-global of traditional giants, the category going-global of new forces, and Anker's cross-border DTC—the going-global of Chinese home appliances demonstrates multiple paradigms of "brand going-global." And beyond going global, Chinese home appliances are also undergoing a profound transformation of intelligence—AI entering home appliances, and the battle for the smart home. That is the theme of the next chapter.

24. Smart Home: The Battle Over Bringing AI Into Appliances and Owning the Gateway

The next transformation of home appliances is happening in intelligence. As AI—especially large language models—enters appliances, and as appliances evolve from "individual electrical devices" into an "intelligent home," a battle over the smart-home gateway is unfolding among China's home-appliance and technology giants. Bringing AI into appliances and the fight over the smart-home gateway is the single most important transformation facing Chinese home appliances in the future, and it is the key to their upgrade from "selling hardware" to "selling intelligent experiences."

Consider first the wave of AI entering appliances. 2025 has been dubbed the inaugural year of the "AI+" race by China's appliance industry—AI (especially large models) is entering appliances, moving them from "connected" (able to network) to "adaptive" (able to understand and proactively serve). Haier designated 2025 as its "year of full-scale AI deployment," releasing several AI air conditioners and announcing that Haier Smart Home had integrated the DeepSeek large model. Xiaomi's Mijia is redesigning the appliance experience with AI—the Mijia Air Conditioner Pro Eco learns user preferences, and the Mijia Washer-Dryer Pro has a built-in "AI laundry expert." Huawei's HarmonyOS Connect, built on HarmonyOS and the Pangu large model, gives its voice assistant "scenario understanding" and "proactive service" capabilities. AI entering appliances is upgrading them from "electrical devices operated by people" into "intelligent devices that can understand, learn, and proactively serve."

Behind AI entering appliances lies a battle over the smart-home gateway. When all appliances are networked and intelligent, whoever becomes the "central gateway of the smart home" (unifying control of all appliances and connecting all scenarios) claims a strategically decisive position. Several forces are contending in this battle. The technology giants—Xiaomi (Mijia), Huawei (HarmonyOS Connect / HarmonyOS), and Alibaba (Tmall Genie)—compete for the smart-home gateway on the strength of AIoT ecosystem integration, operating systems, and AI large models. The appliance giants—Haier (Sanyiniao whole-home smart living) and Midea (Meiju)—compete on the strength of their own appliance hardware and scenarios. The fight over the smart-home gateway is a pivotal contest between China's appliance and technology giants: whoever controls the gateway controls the leadership of the smart home.

This battle over the gateway is a particularly severe test for the appliance giants. Traditionally, the appliance giants (Haier, Midea, Gree) sold hardware—they made air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines. But in the smart-home era, value is shifting from "individual hardware" toward "intelligent scenarios and experiences"—and the gateway to those scenarios and experiences (the operating system, the AI assistant, ecosystem integration) is precisely the strength of the technology giants (Xiaomi, Huawei). If the appliance giants merely guard their hardware and lose the gateway, they risk being reduced to mere "hardware suppliers" within the technology giants' smart-home ecosystems. That is why the appliance giants (Haier's Sanyiniao, Midea's Meiju) are also aggressively fighting for the smart-home gateway—unwilling to be mere hardware makers, they too want to command the scenarios and experiences of the smart home. This battle over the gateway is a decisive fight for the appliance giants to hold on to their leadership of value in the age of intelligence.

AI entering appliances has also given rise to cross-sector competition and convergence. The robot-vacuum insurgents mentioned earlier (Dreame and others) are expanding into major appliances—at IFA 2025, Dreame unveiled its smart-home ecosystem for the first time, showcasing 22 product lines (including 15 entirely new categories), with its core system moving into refrigerators, air conditioners, and washing machines. Cleaning-appliance makers are expanding into major appliances, technology giants (Xiaomi, Huawei) are penetrating appliances, and appliance giants (Haier, Midea) are extending into intelligent ecosystems—on this new smart-home battlefield, the boundaries between traditional major appliances, cleaning-appliance insurgents, and technology giants are blurring, with competition and convergence occurring simultaneously. The smart home is a new battlefield of cross-sector competition and ecosystem convergence—and it is reshaping the competitive landscape of Chinese home appliances.

AI entering appliances and the smart home carry major significance for Chinese home appliances. This is the key to their upgrade from "selling hardware" to "selling intelligent experiences"—when appliances upgrade from "individual devices" into an "intelligent home," value shifts from hardware to intelligent scenarios and experiences. This upgrade is both an opportunity (the smart home opens up new value space) and a challenge (appliance giants must fight the technology giants for the gateway). And China holds unique advantages in this transformation—a world-leading appliance industry (hardware), a fast-growing AI industry (large models), and a vast smart-home market. China is leading the world in AI-powered smart homes—AI smart homes accelerated their overseas expansion in 2025, and China is ahead of the world in AI appliances. The smart home is the key transformation through which Chinese home appliances face the future and upgrade from hardware to intelligence.

Bringing AI into appliances and the fight over the smart-home gateway is the single most important transformation facing Chinese home appliances in the future. AI (large models) is upgrading appliances from "connected" to "adaptive" (Haier's DeepSeek integration, Mijia AI, Huawei's Pangu), while the smart-home gateway (the operating system, the AI assistant, ecosystem integration) is being fiercely contested between China's appliance giants (Haier's Sanyiniao, Midea's Meiju) and technology giants (Xiaomi, Huawei, Alibaba). This transformation is the key to Chinese home appliances' upgrade from "selling hardware" to "selling intelligent experiences," and a decisive fight for the appliance giants to hold on to their leadership of value. China is ahead of the world in AI smart homes—yet another advantage for Chinese home appliances as they face the future. The smart home is a new direction in which Chinese home appliances extend from "selling the most, selling the priciest" toward "selling the smartest." Beyond these opportunities, however, Chinese home appliances also face real challenges today—the double edge of policy, the squeeze of raw materials, and trade barriers. These real challenges are the subject of the next several chapters.

25. Trade-In: The Double Edge of Policy Dividend and Demand Pulled Forward

In the present reality of Chinese home appliances, there is one variable that cannot be avoided—the trade-in program. From 2024 to 2025, China's large-scale equipment-renewal and consumer-goods trade-in policies delivered an enormous policy dividend to the appliance industry; but this dividend is also a double-edged sword—while pulling demand forward, it may also have overdrawn future demand. The double edge of trade-in is the key to understanding both the current domestic sales and the future trajectory of Chinese home appliances.

Consider first how large this policy dividend is. In July 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission allocated 150 billion yuan (about 20.9 billion USD) in ultra-long special treasury bonds to support consumer-goods trade-in; in 2025, this allocation doubled to 300 billion yuan (about 41.8 billion USD), covering automobiles, home appliances, electronics, home renovation, electric bicycles, and more. Home appliances are a focus of this policy—the six major categories of large appliances enjoy a 15% subsidy. The policy's pull-through effect has been striking—in 2024, trade-in drove sales of over 62 million home appliances, and in the fourth quarter of 2024 appliance retail grew year-on-year by 20% to 39% for four consecutive months; from January to May 2025, trade-in sold 77.6 million appliances of all kinds nationwide. Trade-in is the most important policy catalyst for domestic Chinese appliance sales in recent years—against a backdrop of a declining property market and weak consumption, it propped up domestic appliance sales.

But this policy dividend is a double-edged sword—while pulling demand forward, it is also overdrawing future demand. Trade-in subsidies encourage consumers to replace appliances ahead of schedule—appliances that were going to be replaced in 2025 or 2026 got replaced in 2024 instead because of the subsidy. This creates "demand pulled forward"—the high sales volume of 2024 is partly demand borrowed from 2025 and 2026. More critically, the 2026 fiscal allocation for trade-in (62.5 billion yuan) has shrunk sharply from that of 2025 (300 billion yuan)—the marginal pull of the policy is weakening. If trade-in subsidies taper off or end, the overdrawn demand will surface—domestic appliance sales in 2026 may face the pressure of a "post-overdraft pullback," with high-end products hit hardest. The double edge of trade-in is a sword hanging over the head of domestic Chinese appliance sales.

The double edge of trade-in also reveals a deeper predicament of domestic Chinese appliance sales—demand saturation and replacement-driven growth. China's appliance ownership is already near saturation—the penetration of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines in Chinese households is already very high. This means domestic Chinese appliance sales have shifted from "incremental" (new buyers) primarily to "stock" (existing owners replacing and upgrading). And replacement demand is itself relatively stable and slow (appliances are used for many years before replacement). Trade-in subsidies, by incentivizing early replacement, "release ahead of schedule" this stable replacement demand—but this can neither create new demand (ownership is saturated) nor be sustained (demand pulls back once subsidies taper off). The double edge of trade-in fundamentally reflects the deeper predicament of domestic Chinese appliance sales—"saturated ownership, replacement-driven"—where domestic growth space is limited, and policy stimulus can only release demand ahead of schedule rather than create sustained growth.

Precisely because of this domestic predicament (saturation, demand pulled forward), Chinese home appliances increasingly rely on going overseas. When domestic sales enter a stock phase and even face a post-overdraft pullback, going overseas has become the primary engine of growth for Chinese home appliances—which is also the deeper reason, as discussed earlier, that China's appliance leaders are collectively betting on overseas expansion (over half of Haier's revenue is overseas; 42.7% of Midea's). The double edge of trade-in (a limited policy dividend and the risk of demand pulled forward) further underscores the importance of overseas expansion for Chinese home appliances—the ceiling and overdraft risk of the domestic market compel Chinese home appliances to seek growth abroad. Trade-in and going overseas are two sides of the same coin in understanding the growth logic of Chinese home appliances—domestic sales rely on policy (limited, overdrawn), while growth relies on going overseas (new space).

The double edge of trade-in also reminds us to view Chinese home appliances' short-term results soberly. In 2024 and 2025, the domestic results of Chinese home appliances benefited to a large extent from the policy dividend of trade-in—this is high growth under policy stimulus, not entirely growth spontaneously driven by the market. And as trade-in subsidies taper off (with the 2026 allocation sharply reduced), domestic Chinese appliance sales may face a post-overdraft pullback. So, in reading the results of Chinese home appliances, one must distinguish the "policy-stimulated portion" from the "market-driven portion"—the policy dividend is short-term and will taper off, while what truly supports the long-term growth of Chinese home appliances is their globalization (going overseas), premiumization (selling pricier), and intelligence (AI appliances). The double edge of trade-in reminds us to look past the policy dividend to the true long-term growth drivers of Chinese home appliances.

Trade-in is the key variable in understanding both the current domestic sales and the future trajectory of Chinese home appliances. It is a double-edged sword—in 2024 and 2025 it delivered an enormous policy dividend (150 billion to 300 billion yuan in treasury bonds, driving 62 million appliances), propping up domestic appliance sales against a declining property market and weak consumption; but it also overdrew future demand (the 2026 allocation sharply shrank to 62.5 billion yuan, potentially facing a post-overdraft pullback). The double edge of trade-in reveals the deeper predicament of domestic Chinese appliance sales—"saturated ownership, replacement-driven"—and underscores the importance of going overseas for Chinese home appliances. It reminds us that the true long-term growth drivers of Chinese home appliances are globalization, premiumization, and intelligence—not a short-term policy dividend. Beyond the double edge of policy, Chinese home appliances also face another real squeeze—raw-material costs, especially the surge in copper prices. That is the subject of the next chapter.

26. Copper Prices and Involution: The Twin Squeeze of Cost and Price War

In the present reality of Chinese home appliances, there is another twin squeeze—on one side the surge in raw-material costs (especially copper prices), and on the other the pressure of industry involution (the price war). With costs rising and prices hard to raise, the profits of Chinese home appliances are being squeezed from both ends. The twin squeeze of copper prices and involution is the key to understanding the current profit pressure of Chinese home appliances.

Consider first the cost side—raw materials, especially the surge in copper prices. Home appliances are a raw-material-intensive industry—raw materials (steel, copper, aluminum, high-grade plastics) account for more than half of appliance production costs. Among these raw materials, copper is especially critical (air conditioners, motors, and compressors all use large amounts of copper)—copper accounts for 20% to 30% of the total cost of an air conditioner. And copper prices are undergoing a surge. Since the second half of 2025, copper prices have risen rapidly—by early 2026, the copper price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was around 13,000 USD per tonne (up roughly 44% year-on-year); in the first quarter of 2026, the average domestic price of electrolytic copper broke 99,000 yuan per tonne (up 33% from the end of 2025). The surge in copper prices has directly raised appliance costs—the cost of a single air conditioner has increased by 200 to 300 yuan as a result. Combined with a roughly 80% rise in refrigerant prices and higher plastics (ABS)—the rise in raw-material costs has severely squeezed appliance gross margins.

Now consider the involution side—the industry's price war. Competition in China's appliance industry is extremely intense, and price wars have long existed. Against a backdrop of a declining property market, weak consumption, and pressured demand, appliance companies, in order to seize market share and absorb capacity, can only wage price wars—driving prices down. This price war (involution) makes it difficult for appliance companies to pass on costs through price increases. Take Joyoung as an example: its 2024 net profit fell about 69% year-on-year (partly due to competitive price-cutting pressure). The price war (involution) is the other end of the profit pressure on Chinese home appliances—it leaves appliance companies unable to raise prices when costs rise, forced to absorb the cost increases themselves.

Rising costs and the price war form a twin squeeze on the profits of Chinese home appliances. On one side costs are rising (surging copper prices, rising refrigerant prices), and on the other prices are hard to raise (involution, the price war)—the profits of Chinese home appliances are squeezed from both ends. In 2025, the average sales gross margin of China's appliance industry was about 22%—and under the twin squeeze of rising costs and the price war, this gross margin faces downward pressure. Although a wave of price increases emerged in the appliance industry in 2026 (attempting to pass on costs), whether these increases can be transmitted smoothly (in an involuted market) remains a question mark—Gree has stated it will not raise prices. The twin squeeze of copper prices and involution is a true portrait of the current profit pressure on Chinese home appliances.

This twin squeeze is a particularly severe test of the cost control and pricing power of Chinese home appliances. Faced with rising costs and the price war, appliance companies must respond either through cost control (bringing costs down) or through pricing power (raising prices or selling high-end products). And this connects precisely with the proposition of "from selling the most to selling the priciest"—if a company relies only on scale and cost-performance (selling the most), its profits will be severely squeezed under rising costs and the price war; but if it can rely on brand and premium (selling the priciest), it will have stronger pricing power to absorb the rise in costs. From the standpoint of profitability, the twin squeeze of copper prices and involution once again underscores the necessity for Chinese home appliances to move "from selling the most to selling the priciest"—only by selling pricier (high premium) can they preserve profits amid rising costs and the price war.

The twin squeeze of copper prices and involution also reveals a structural vulnerability of Chinese home appliances—high sensitivity to raw-material prices and the affliction of involution. Because raw materials account for a high share of appliance costs (more than half), and because prices of raw materials like copper are highly volatile, the costs and profitability of Chinese home appliances are highly subject to fluctuations in raw-material prices. And intense involution (the price war) makes it difficult for appliance companies to pass on costs through price increases. This structural vulnerability of "cost sensitivity plus involution" is a long-term hidden danger to the profitability of Chinese home appliances—it keeps appliance companies' profits under long-term pressure amid the twin squeeze of rising raw materials and the price war. Resolving this vulnerability depends on cost control (scale, supply chain, vertical integration) and pricing power (brand, premium)—which is also why China's appliance leaders (Midea, Haier, Gree) are more resilient than small and medium-sized firms (they have stronger cost control and brand premium).

Copper prices and involution are the twin squeeze on the current profitability of Chinese home appliances. On one side is the surge in raw-material costs (copper at around 13,000 USD per tonne in early 2026, up 44%; a 200 to 300 yuan increase in the cost of a single air conditioner), and on the other the industry's involuted price war (making it hard to raise prices to pass on costs)—the profits of Chinese home appliances are squeezed from both ends (a gross margin of about 22% facing downward pressure). This twin squeeze tests the cost control and pricing power of Chinese home appliances and once again underscores the necessity of "from selling the most to selling the priciest" (only a high premium can preserve profits). It reveals the structural vulnerability of Chinese home appliances—"cost sensitivity plus involution." Beyond costs and involution, Chinese home appliances also face a real external challenge—trade barriers, especially high U.S. tariffs. That is the subject of the next chapter.

27. Trade Barriers: U.S. Tariffs and Capacity Going Overseas

On the road of Chinese home appliances going overseas lies a real obstacle—trade barriers, especially high U.S. tariffs. As Chinese home appliances grew large and strong in the global market and exported in large volumes, they ran into a tariff blockade from the United States. And the response of Chinese home appliances has been to shift capacity overseas—using "capacity going overseas" to circumvent tariffs. Trade barriers and capacity going overseas are the real challenge and the coping strategy that Chinese home appliances face in going overseas.

Consider first the obstacle of U.S. tariffs. Since February 2025, the United States has imposed incremental tariffs on China—the rate on most appliances (air conditioners, refrigerators) exported from China to the U.S. rose from 25% to 35%; large appliances and their components face an additional 50% tariff. Chinese appliance companies such as Haier, Midea, and TCL may, at worst, face a tariff impact as high as 54%. U.S. tariffs are the most direct barrier facing Chinese home appliances going overseas (especially exports to the U.S.)—they substantially raise the cost for Chinese home appliances to enter the U.S. market and weaken their price competitiveness. In 2025, Chinese appliance exports to the U.S. fell by nearly 20% (16.6 billion USD, down 19.9% year-on-year)—the impact of U.S. tariffs has already been concretely reflected in the decline of exports to the U.S.

Faced with U.S. tariffs, the response of Chinese home appliances is "capacity going overseas"—shifting capacity abroad and using local or third-country production to circumvent tariffs on China. Haier, Midea, TCL, and others are shifting capacity to Vietnam, Egypt, Mexico, Thailand, and elsewhere. Mexico is especially critical—Haier, through the Mexican Mabe stake obtained by acquiring GE Appliances, produces close to and supplies the U.S. market (leveraging Mexico's geographic advantage and trade agreements); Hisense has built refrigerator and washing-machine plants in Mexico, and TCL has built a television plant in Mexico. Vietnam, Egypt, and Thailand have also become destinations absorbing the relocation of Chinese appliance capacity. Capacity going overseas is the primary way Chinese home appliances cope with U.S. tariffs—using "nearby production, local manufacturing" to circumvent high tariffs on China.

Capacity going overseas is also of a piece with the brand expansion and localization strategy of Chinese home appliances discussed earlier. Haier's "trinity" localization (local R&D, production, and sales) inherently includes overseas capacity; the overseas plant-building of Midea and TCL is likewise part of globalization-through-localization. So, for China's appliance leaders, capacity going overseas is not an entirely new move but an extension and acceleration of their globalization-through-localization strategy—accelerating the deployment of capacity overseas under the pressure of U.S. tariffs. This is also why rating agencies (such as Morningstar) judge the impact of U.S. tariffs on Chinese appliance manufacturers to be "limited"—because China's appliance leaders have local capacity and pricing power to hedge tariffs. Capacity going overseas gives Chinese home appliances room to cope even under the barrier of U.S. tariffs.

But capacity going overseas also faces new challenges and uncertainties. First, Mexico itself is also raising tariffs on China—which may force Chinese home appliances to further adjust their supply chains (they cannot rely on Mexico alone). Second, tariffs and trade policies across countries are volatile—Egypt's tariff remains 10% (low impact), Thailand added 10% (medium impact); policies differ by country and may change at any time. Third, the cost, efficiency, and supply-chain support of overseas plant-building are also challenges. While capacity going overseas can circumvent U.S. tariffs, it also faces new challenges such as volatile policies across countries, plant-building costs, and supply-chain support. The capacity-going-overseas of Chinese home appliances is a process of dynamic adjustment and continual coping—flexibly deploying capacity and circumventing barriers in a volatile global trade environment.

Trade barriers and capacity going overseas also reveal a rebalancing of Chinese home appliances' overseas expansion—from exports to the U.S. toward Europe and emerging markets. In 2025, under the impact of U.S. tariffs, Chinese appliance exports to the U.S. fell by nearly 20%, but exports to the EU and the UK grew by 6.6% (26.36 billion USD)—a clear regional divergence. Chinese home appliances are shifting the focus of their overseas expansion from the tariff-hit U.S. market toward Europe and emerging markets (Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East). Europe in particular—in the first half of 2026, China's air-conditioner exports to the EU surged 43% (driven by the energy crisis). Trade barriers (U.S. tariffs) are driving a regional rebalancing of Chinese home appliances' overseas expansion—reducing reliance on the U.S. and cultivating Europe and emerging markets. This rebalancing is a strategic adjustment by Chinese home appliances to cope with trade barriers and diversify risk.

Trade barriers and capacity going overseas are the real challenge and coping strategy that Chinese home appliances face in going overseas. High U.S. tariffs (35% on most appliances, an additional 50% on large appliances and components, up to 54% at worst) have hit Chinese appliance exports to the U.S. (down nearly 20% in 2025); and the response of Chinese home appliances is capacity going overseas (shifting to Vietnam, Egypt, Mexico, Thailand), using local production to circumvent tariffs, while rebalancing the focus of overseas expansion toward Europe and emerging markets. Although capacity going overseas faces new challenges such as volatile policies across countries and plant-building costs, it gives Chinese home appliances room to cope under trade barriers. Trade barriers and capacity going overseas are part of the upgrade of Chinese home appliances' overseas expansion from "made in China, sold worldwide" to "made worldwide, supplied worldwide." And on the other side of the barrier of U.S. tariffs, Chinese home appliances' overseas expansion has also welcomed an unexpected new blue ocean—the European air-conditioner market, suddenly erupting under the drive of the energy crisis. This new blue ocean is the subject of the next chapter.

28. Europe's New Blue Ocean: The Air-Conditioner Opportunity Born of the Energy Crisis

In the map of Chinese home appliances going overseas, 2026 has seen an unexpected, explosive new blue ocean—the European air-conditioner market. Driven by the energy crisis and climate change, Europe, long a market with extremely low air-conditioner penetration, has suddenly developed enormous demand for air conditioners. And this demand is being met in large volumes by China's air-conditioner companies (Midea, Gree, Haier, Hisense). Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is the most striking opportunity in the regional rebalancing of Chinese home appliances going overseas.

Consider first how explosive this new blue ocean is. In the first half of 2026, China's air-conditioner exports to the EU reached 3.76 billion USD, up 43.2% year-on-year, a record high for the same period. This explosive growth came somewhat unexpectedly—because Europe has long been a market with extremely low air-conditioner penetration. For a long time, Europe (especially Northern and Western Europe) had a mild climate, and the proportion of households installing air conditioners was very low (far below China, the U.S., and Japan). But in recent years, European summers have grown ever hotter (extreme heat brought by climate change), and the energy crisis has driven up heating costs (heat-pump air conditioners can both cool and heat, and are energy-efficient), causing European demand for air conditioners (especially heat-pump types) to erupt suddenly. This suddenly erupting demand is an enormous opportunity for Chinese air conditioners going overseas to Europe.

Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean happens to be met by Chinese air-conditioner companies. China is the world's largest air-conditioner producer (accounting for over 80% of global output), with a complete industrial chain, leading technology, and an extreme cost advantage—China's air-conditioner companies (Midea, Gree, Haier, Hisense) are the most capable and the fastest at meeting Europe's erupting air-conditioner demand. Moreover, Chinese air conditioners have an advantage in heat-pump technology (both cooling and heating, energy-efficient), which precisely matches Europe's demand for energy-efficient heating amid the energy crisis. Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean gives Chinese air-conditioner companies a new, explosive growth market against the backdrop of U.S. tariffs hitting exports to the U.S.—it is the most striking opportunity in the regional rebalancing of Chinese home appliances going overseas (from the U.S. to Europe).

Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean also reveals a deeper logic of Chinese home appliances going overseas—using a complete industrial chain and leading technology to rapidly meet erupting demand anywhere in the world. When European air-conditioner demand suddenly erupted, it was China's air-conditioner companies (rather than European local or Japanese and Korean firms) that met this demand fastest and best—because China has the world's most complete air-conditioner industrial chain, the most leading technology, and the most extreme cost. This ability to "rapidly meet erupting demand anywhere in the world" is the deepest advantage of Chinese home appliances' global dominance—wherever in the world a burst of appliance demand appears, Chinese home appliances can rapidly meet it on the strength of their complete industrial chain and cost advantage. Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is a vivid example of this ability.

Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is also related to the green transition and energy-efficiency upgrade. Europe's demand for air conditioners is largely a demand for "energy-efficient, green" air conditioners (especially heat-pump types, high energy efficiency)—which fits Europe's energy transition and carbon-neutrality goals. And Chinese air-conditioner companies are upgrading toward high energy efficiency and greenness—the penetration of inverter air conditioners in China has reached 89% (inverter energy-saving), and the share of high-end air conditioners meeting Tier-1 energy efficiency is rising. The greening and high-energy-efficiency upgrade of Chinese air conditioners precisely fits the European market's demand for energy-efficient, green air conditioners. The green transition and energy-efficiency upgrade are an important point of alignment for Chinese air conditioners going overseas to Europe (and worldwide)—they let Chinese air conditioners win the European market, with its high environmental standards, not just on cost but also on greenness and energy efficiency.

However, Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean also requires Chinese home appliances to do well on localization and premiumization. The European market has relatively high requirements for product quality, energy efficiency, design, and brand—for Chinese air conditioners to gain a lasting foothold in Europe, they cannot rely only on cost and rapidly meeting demand; they must also do well on localization (getting close to European consumers' needs), premiumization (raising brand and premium), and compliance (meeting Europe's energy-efficiency and environmental regulations). Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is an opportunity, but to turn this opportunity into a lasting market, Chinese home appliances must still work on brand, premium, and localization—which also connects with the proposition of "from selling the most to selling the priciest." Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is a starting point, not an endpoint, for Chinese home appliances going overseas to Europe—it requires Chinese home appliances to upgrade from "rapidly meeting demand" to "building brand and premium."

Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is the most striking opportunity in the regional rebalancing of Chinese home appliances going overseas. Driven by the energy crisis and climate change, Europe, long a market with extremely low air-conditioner penetration, has suddenly developed enormous demand for air conditioners (especially energy-efficient heat-pump types) (China's air-conditioner exports to the EU grew 43% in the first half of 2026), and this demand is being rapidly met by Chinese air-conditioner companies on the strength of their complete industrial chain, leading technology, and green energy-efficiency upgrade. Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean gives Chinese home appliances a new growth market against the backdrop of U.S. tariffs hitting exports to the U.S., and reveals the deeper advantage of Chinese home appliances "rapidly meeting erupting demand anywhere in the world." But to turn this opportunity into a lasting market, Chinese home appliances must still do well on localization and premiumization. Europe's air-conditioner new blue ocean is yet another vivid example of Chinese home appliances going global and upgrading toward green. Beyond these overseas and market opportunities, the vitality of Chinese home appliances also stems from their distinctive entrepreneurs and organizations. That is the subject of the next chapter.

29. Entrepreneurs and Organizations: Zhang Ruimin, He Xiangjian, and Dong Mingzhu

The rise of Chinese home appliances is inseparable from a group of outstanding entrepreneurs and distinctive organizational models. Haier's Zhang Ruimin, Midea's He Xiangjian, and Gree's Dong Mingzhu—these three entrepreneurs shaped the character and destiny of China's three appliance giants. Their stories, and the organizational models behind them, are the deeper clue to understanding why Chinese home appliances were able to rise, and why they moved toward different fates.

Consider first Haier's Zhang Ruimin—the most philosophically minded entrepreneur in Chinese home appliances. Zhang Ruimin became director of the Qingdao Refrigerator General Factory in 1984, and the following year publicly smashed 76 refrigerators with quality defects—the story of "smashing refrigerators" became a landmark event in Chinese home appliances' establishment of quality consciousness. Thereafter, Zhang Ruimin led Haier from a small factory on the brink of collapse to a global appliance giant. And Zhang Ruimin's most distinctive contribution is his management thinking—"rendanheyi" (uniting employees with user value). Rendanheyi directly connects employees (ren) with user needs (dan), letting every employee directly create value facing the user, turning a vast enterprise into countless micro-organizations that directly face users. Rendanheyi is Zhang Ruimin's original contribution to management science and the organizational foundation for Haier to maintain vitality, stay close to users, and keep leading. Zhang Ruimin is the most philosophically minded entrepreneur in Chinese home appliances, the one who most values management innovation.

Now consider Midea's He Xiangjian—the entrepreneur in Chinese home appliances most skilled at delegation and transformation. He Xiangjian is the founder of Midea, and he led Midea from a small township factory to the appliance company with the world's largest revenue. He Xiangjian's most distinctive trait is his "delegation" and "professional-manager" system—he did not pursue family succession but handed Midea over to professional managers (Fang Hongbo) to run, stepping into the background himself. This delegation and professionalization made Midea's management more modern and professional, and enabled Midea to continually transform and innovate (from appliances to a technology group, toward B2B). He Xiangjian's delegation and professionalization are the organizational foundation that enabled Midea to keep growing and keep transforming. Midea's current chairman and president, Fang Hongbo, is precisely the professional manager cultivated by He Xiangjian—Midea's success is also the success of the model of "founder delegates, professional manager takes the baton."

Now consider Gree's Dong Mingzhu—the most forceful and most personally distinctive entrepreneur in Chinese home appliances. Dong Mingzhu is known for being forceful, focused, and outspoken. She took Gree's air conditioners to the extreme—Gree air conditioners are extremely strong in technology, quality, and brand. Dong Mingzhu's forcefulness and focus achieved Gree's status as the king of air conditioners. But Dong Mingzhu's forcefulness also made Gree highly dependent on her personally—Gree's diversification attempts (Gree Titanium, phones, prepared dishes) many carry Dong Mingzhu's personal will, and the results of these attempts have been poor and much disputed. Dong Mingzhu's personal stamp is the core of Gree's character—it both achieved the ultimate in Gree air conditioners and brought about Gree's excessive dependence on the individual and the difficulty of transformation. How to achieve a smooth succession and transformation after Dong Mingzhu is a long-term challenge facing Gree.

These three entrepreneurs and their organizational models profoundly shaped the different characters and destinies of the three giants. Haier (Zhang Ruimin's rendanheyi)—the one that most values management innovation, stays closest to users, and has the deepest globalization, becoming the world's number-one brand. Midea (He Xiangjian's delegation and professionalization)—the one most skilled at transformation and most modernized, becoming the company with the world's largest revenue, transforming toward a technology group. Gree (Dong Mingzhu's forcefulness and focus)—the most focused on air conditioners and most personally distinctive, becoming the king of air conditioners, but also, due to excessive focus and dependence on the individual, running into difficulty in 2025. The different fates of the three giants (Midea and Haier advancing triumphantly, Gree running into trouble) stem largely from the different characters and organizational models of these three entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs and organizations are the deeper clue to understanding the fates of China's three appliance giants.

These three types of entrepreneurs and organizational models also reveal different paths of success and succession for Chinese home appliances (and indeed Chinese enterprises). Zhang Ruimin's "management innovation" path—maintaining vitality through original management thinking (rendanheyi). He Xiangjian's "delegation and professionalization" path—achieving modernization and continual transformation through delegation and the professional-manager system. Dong Mingzhu's "forceful focus" path—taking a single category to the extreme through a forceful leader, but facing the risk of excessive dependence on the individual. These three paths each have their strengths and weaknesses, and each shaped a different corporate fate. And over the long term, those able to succeed continually and succeed to the next generation smoothly are often the enterprises that have both a strong leader and a modern organization and system (delegation, professionalization, management innovation). The different fates of China's three appliance giants are a vivid comparison of these three types of entrepreneurs and organizational models.

Entrepreneurs and organizations are the deeper clue to understanding the rise of Chinese home appliances and the different fates of the three giants. Zhang Ruimin's management innovation (rendanheyi), He Xiangjian's delegation and professionalization, and Dong Mingzhu's forceful focus—these three entrepreneurs and their organizational models shaped the different characters and destinies of Haier (the world's number-one brand), Midea (the world's largest by revenue, transforming into a technology group), and Gree (the king of air conditioners but running into trouble). Their stories showcase the entrepreneurial spirit and organizational wisdom behind the success of Chinese home appliances, and reveal the different fates brought about by different organizational models. The rise of Chinese home appliances is not only a rise of products, brands, and industrial chains, but also a rise of a group of outstanding entrepreneurs and distinctive organizational models. And these enterprises and entrepreneurs are facing a shared long-term proposition—how to move from rising to enduring, becoming century-old establishments. That is the subject of the next chapter.

30. From Rise to Endurance: Whirlpool's Lessons and the Century-Old-Enterprise Question

China's home appliances have already risen — they have built world brands, reached the top in core components, and come to dominate the global market. But a longer-term question now stands before them: how does one move from rising to enduring? How does one avoid the decline that befell the former Western hegemons (Whirlpool, Electrolux) and become a true century-old enterprise? Whirlpool's lessons and the "century-old-enterprise question" are subjects that Chinese home appliances must contemplate as they look to the long term.

Consider first Whirlpool's lessons. Whirlpool was once the white-goods hegemon of the United States, and indeed of the world — it had a century of history, a powerful brand, and enormous scale. But today Whirlpool is in decline — its 2024 revenue was about 16.6 billion USD, a fall of more than 5 billion USD from 2021; it sold its China business to Galanz and has continued to cede ground in the global market. Why did this former white-goods hegemon decline? The reasons are manifold — declining cost competitiveness (a cost disadvantage relative to Chinese firms), slowing innovation, sluggish response to market changes, and the comprehensive rise of Chinese firms. The decline of Whirlpool (and Electrolux) is a warning — even a former century-old hegemon, if it loses cost competitiveness, innovative vitality, and market acuity, will slide into decline.

Whirlpool's lessons are a mirror for China's rising home appliances. Today's Chinese home appliances (Midea, Haier) are like Whirlpool at its zenith — largest in scale, strongest in brand, dominant globally. But for Chinese home appliances to avoid repeating Whirlpool's fate and become enduring century-old enterprises, they must be vigilant about several of the causes of Whirlpool's decline. First, maintaining cost competitiveness — the cost advantages Chinese home appliances enjoy today (a complete industrial chain, scale, vertical integration) must be preserved over the long term; they must not lose cost competitiveness simply because scale has grown and profits have risen. Second, maintaining innovative vitality — they must keep innovating (in technology, products, models) and not slow innovation just because they have taken the lead (part of Whirlpool's decline stemmed from slowing innovation). Third, maintaining market acuity — they must stay sharp and quick to respond to market changes (intelligentization, new categories, new markets) and not grow sluggish because they have become large. Whirlpool's lessons are a cautionary mirror that Chinese home appliances must heed on the road to endurance.

The "century-old-enterprise question" also involves a challenge peculiar to Chinese home appliances — succession. The rise of Chinese home appliances has depended in large measure on a cohort of outstanding founders and entrepreneurs (Zhang Ruimin, He Xiangjian, Dong Mingzhu). And these entrepreneurs are entering, or about to enter, the succession phase — Zhang Ruimin has stepped back to honorary chairman, He Xiangjian long ago delegated power to professional managers, and Dong Mingzhu too faces the succession question. How to achieve a smooth succession after the founders and preserve the enterprise's vitality and competitiveness — this is a hurdle that Chinese home appliances must clear on the road to endurance. Midea's "delegation and professionalization" (He Xiangjian handing the baton to Fang Hongbo) offers a strong model of succession; enterprises that over-rely on an individual (such as Gree's dependence on Dong Mingzhu) face greater succession risk. Succession is a distinctive challenge for Chinese home appliances as they move from rising to enduring.

The "century-old-enterprise question" also connects with the proposition of "from selling the most to selling the priciest." To become an enduring century-old enterprise, Chinese home appliances cannot rely on scale and cost-effectiveness alone (selling the most) — because advantages of scale and cost-effectiveness may be overtaken by latecomers (such as lower-cost nations) and can hardly sustain long-term high profits and brand value. Truly enduring appliance enterprises (such as Germany's BSH and Miele) rely on brand, the high end, innovation, and deep accumulations of technology and quality (selling the priciest). For Chinese home appliances to endure, they must upgrade from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest" — building strong brand premiums, deep technological accumulation, and sustained innovative capacity, rather than relying solely on scale and cost. "From selling the most to selling the priciest" is not merely an upgrading hurdle but the only path Chinese home appliances can take to endurance.

So, can China's home appliances become enduring century-old enterprises? This article's judgment is one of cautious optimism. Optimism, because Chinese home appliances have the foundations for endurance — they have the world's number-one brand (Haier), successful high-end exploration (Casarte), a deep industrial chain (core components such as compressors having reached the top), active innovation (robot vacuums, AI appliances), and modern organization (Midea's professionalization). These foundations give them the confidence to move toward endurance. Caution, because they also face Whirlpool-style risks (cost, innovation, acuity), the challenge of succession, and the climb toward "selling the priciest." Whether Chinese home appliances can become enduring century-old enterprises depends on whether they can maintain cost competitiveness and innovative vitality, achieve smooth succession, and complete the upgrade from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." This is a subject that will require long-term effort.

From rise to endurance is a subject Chinese home appliances must contemplate as they look to the long term. The decline of Whirlpool (and Electrolux) is a mirror — even a former century-old hegemon, having lost cost competitiveness, innovative vitality, and market acuity, will decline. For Chinese home appliances to avoid repeating that fate and become enduring century-old enterprises, they must maintain cost competitiveness and innovative vitality, achieve smooth succession, and complete the upgrade from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." This is the only path for Chinese home appliances from rising to enduring. China's home appliances have already risen — they have built world brands and reached the top of the global market; whether they can endure — becoming century-old enterprises like BSH and Miele — is the most far-reaching proposition they face for the future. Whirlpool's lessons and the "century-old-enterprise question" remind Chinese home appliances that, having risen, they need the clarity and effort to move toward endurance. And that clarity and effort are precisely the key to whether Chinese home appliances can truly complete this upgrade — "from world's factory to world brand, from selling the most to selling the priciest" — and hold their lead for the long run.

31. The Comparison Group: Where Home Appliances Sit on China's Manufacturing Map

In this "Made in China" series of research reports, we have already written about tires, power tools, drones, construction machinery, power batteries, high-speed rail, and display panels. Placing home appliances alongside these industries for comparison brings out more clearly the distinctive position of Chinese home appliances on the whole map of Chinese manufacturing — they are the most successful, most complete sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world brand."

Recall first the several archetypal situations in this series. "Large but not strong" — tires and power tools, enormous in scale but with brand and the high end held in others' hands, their way out being an upward breakthrough. "Strong but besieged" — drones and power batteries, technologically leading and globally dominant, yet drawing geopolitical encirclement. "Large and growing stronger, closest to the summit" — construction machinery, running abreast or leading in complete machines, but still a last mile short on core components and brand premium. "From the pain of lacking screens to global dominance" — display panels, staging a comeback through counter-cyclical investment. "A national calling card" — high-speed rail, the most thoroughly summited but smooth to the south and obstructed to the north in going abroad. So, where do home appliances sit?

Home appliances are the most successful, most complete sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world brand" — they are the one industry in this series that has broken through on brand most successfully.

What is most distinctive and most advanced about home appliances is that they have genuinely built "world brands." This is what most sets them apart from the rest of Chinese manufacturing. Tires and power tools are "large but not strong" — they have capacity, but their brands are held in others' hands (as OEMs for Michelin and Bosch). Drones and power batteries are "strong but besieged" — technologically leading, but chiefly strong at the level of the industrial chain and technology; at the brand level (brands facing global consumers) they fall short of home appliances. Construction machinery is "large and growing stronger" — it has homegrown brands (Sany, XCMG), but the brand premium is still being climbed. Home appliances, by contrast — Haier the world's number-one major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 consecutive years, Midea the world's largest appliance enterprise by revenue — represent homegrown brands going abroad (acquiring global brands plus building homegrown brands); they have genuinely put Chinese brands into the homes of consumers worldwide. Home appliances are the industry in Chinese manufacturing where "world brand" building has been most successful.

Why is this "world brand" achievement of home appliances so rare, so far ahead? Because brands — especially consumer-facing brands — are the hardest to build. The "brands" of industrial goods (the industry-grade products of construction machinery, power batteries, drones) mainly face enterprise customers (ToB) and are relatively easy to build on product strength. But the brands of consumer goods (home appliances) must face millions upon millions of ordinary consumers (ToC), entering their minds, winning their trust, and earning their preference — this is the hardest, slowest kind of brand-building. Building brands in industrial goods (construction machinery, power batteries) is already no easy feat for Chinese manufacturing, and home appliances have built the world's number-one brand (Haier) in consumer goods — this is the hardest and most advanced achievement in Chinese manufacturing's brand-building. The "world brand" of home appliances is the most successful sample of Chinese manufacturing's upgrade from "world's factory" to "world brand."

Home appliances have another area of leadership — reaching the top in core components. In the core components of home appliances (compressors nearly 95%, motors surpassing 100 billion yuan, panels about 70%), China has largely reached the top, going further than construction machinery (whose hydraulics are held in others' hands). Home appliances have made major breakthroughs at all three levels — complete machines (global dominance), core components (mostly summited), and brand (world's number one) — which is where they have gone more completely than most of Chinese manufacturing. Tires and power tools stop at complete machines; construction machinery has taken complete machines and is now attacking core components and brand; power batteries have taken complete machines and core components (but are mired in a threefold siege); home appliances, meanwhile, have summited or lead at all three levels — complete machines, core components, and brand — going the most completely and most successfully.

But home appliances too still have their final stretch — from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." Although home appliances rank first worldwide in brand sales volume, they are still climbing in brand premium (selling the priciest), in top-tier market mindshare, in high-end categories (dishwashers, built-ins), and in appliance chips (a choke point). This is akin to construction machinery's "last mile" and power batteries' "threefold siege" — all being the final climb before summiting, or after achieving dominance. But home appliances' final stretch is "from selling the most to selling the priciest" — they already sell the most (first in scale and brand sales volume) and are now attacking selling the priciest (high premium, top tier). This "from selling the most to selling the priciest" is a leading sample of the overall upgrading direction of Chinese manufacturing (from scale and cost-effectiveness to brand premium).

As a comparison group, home appliances make the picture of this "Made in China" series more complete. From the "large but not strong" of tires and power tools, the "strong but besieged" of drones and power batteries, the "large and growing stronger" of construction machinery, the "comeback to dominance" of display panels, and the "national calling card" of high-speed rail, to the "world brand, from selling the most to selling the priciest" of home appliances — the spectrum of Chinese manufacturing from "large" to "strong," from "factory" to "brand," reaches with home appliances its most successful height of "brand breakthrough." Home appliances are the industry in Chinese manufacturing that has genuinely made a consumer-goods brand the world's number one and traveled most of the way "from world's factory to world brand." To understand home appliances' brand summit is to understand the most successful sample of Chinese manufacturing's brand breakthrough, and to understand the road of overall upgrading that Chinese manufacturing must travel from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." And before concluding on home appliances' brand summit, we must coolly list the risks that lie ahead. The risk checklist is the subject of the next chapter.

32. Risk Checklist: The Six Hurdles for China's Home Appliances

By this point, the picture of Chinese home appliances "reigning over white goods, from selling the most to selling the priciest" has become clear. But a responsible piece of industry research cannot recount only the achievements; it must also coolly list the risks that lie ahead. The road ahead for Chinese home appliances holds at least six hurdles that must be faced with clear eyes.

The first hurdle is the choke point of appliance chips. As detailed earlier, white goods' main-control MCUs (a domestic-production rate of about 27%) and variable-frequency power modules (a self-sufficiency rate of under 10% for high-end power devices) still depend on imports (mainly from Japan and Germany). This is the largest choke point in the Chinese home-appliance industrial chain, and one that must be closed to go from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest" (intelligent high-end appliances). Although the giants making chips (Gree's Zero Boundary, Midea's Mr Semiconductor) and specialized firms (Sinowealth) are advancing domestic substitution, high-end chips still depend on imports. The choke point of appliance chips is the technological risk that Chinese home appliances must most guard against as they face an intelligent, high-end future.

The second hurdle is the difficulty of climbing brand premium. Although Chinese home appliances rank first worldwide in brand sales volume, in brand premium (selling the priciest) and in top-tier market mindshare they still fall short of BSH, Miele, and Japanese premium makers. Although Casarte is already the homegrown high-end benchmark, its premium also faces cross-industry impact from Mijia and Huawei and questions over its "gold content." Brand premium relies on long-term accumulation — hard to build and even harder to maintain — this is the most central, most difficult hurdle in Chinese home appliances' journey "from selling the most to selling the priciest." If Chinese home appliances cannot continuously raise their brand premium, they will struggle to truly "sell the priciest," and thus struggle to escape the predicament of relying on scale and cost-effectiveness while their profits are squeezed.

The third hurdle is the saturation and overdraft of domestic sales. China's home-appliance ownership is already near saturation, with domestic sales shifting from incremental to stock-based (upgrade and replacement) demand and limited room for growth. And although the trade-in policy has brought a short-term dividend, it has also overdrawn future demand — with the 2026 subsidy quota sharply shrinking (from 300 billion to 62.5 billion yuan), domestic sales may face a "post-overdraft pullback," with high-end products hit hardest. The saturation and overdraft of domestic sales are an inherent predicament for the growth of Chinese home appliances — it forces them to rely increasingly on going abroad, but going abroad has barriers too (the next hurdle).

The fourth hurdle is trade barriers and the risks of going abroad. Chinese home appliances rely increasingly on going abroad, but going abroad faces trade barriers — the United States' high tariffs (35% on most appliances, up to 54% at the heaviest) have hit exports to the US (down nearly 20% in 2025). Although moving capacity abroad (shifting to Vietnam, Mexico, Egypt) can sidestep some tariffs, the shifting policies of various countries (Mexico too is raising tariffs on China), the cost of building factories, and supply-chain support are all challenges. Trade barriers and the risks of going abroad are the external challenges facing Chinese home appliances' growth engine (going abroad) — they may compress Chinese home appliances' space in certain markets (especially the US).

The fifth hurdle is the twin squeeze of raw-material costs and internal competition. Raw materials account for a high share of home-appliance costs (more than half), and prices of raw materials such as copper fluctuate greatly (copper prices rose 44% in early 2026, adding 200 to 300 yuan to the cost of a single air conditioner). And fierce industry internal competition (price wars) makes it hard for appliance firms to raise prices and pass costs on. Rising costs and hard-to-raise prices — Chinese home appliances' profits are caught in a twin squeeze (gross margins of about 22% facing downward pressure). This structural fragility of "cost sensitivity plus internal competition" is a long-term hidden danger to Chinese home appliances' profitability.

The sixth hurdle is the battle for the gateway in the intelligent era. In the transformation of AI entering home appliances and the smart home, value is shifting from "hardware" to "intelligent scenarios and experiences," and this gateway (operating system, AI assistant, ecosystem integration) is precisely the strength of the tech giants (Xiaomi, Huawei). If the appliance giants (Haier, Midea) lose the smart-home gateway, they may be reduced to "hardware suppliers" in the tech giants' ecosystems, losing control over value. The battle for the gateway in the intelligent era is a critical contest for the appliance giants as they face the future and defend their control over value — if they lose it, they may be "hollowed out" by the tech giants.

These six hurdles — the appliance-chip choke point, climbing brand premium, domestic-sales saturation and overdraft, trade-barrier risk, the cost-and-internal-competition squeeze, and the battle for the intelligent gateway — make up the risk checklist behind Chinese home appliances' journey "from selling the most to selling the priciest." They remind us that, although Chinese home appliances reign over white goods and rank first worldwide in brand sales volume, the road ahead is no smooth path.

But we must also see the confidence with which Chinese home appliances can clear these hurdles — they have the world's number-one brand (Haier, Casarte), the world's largest revenue (Midea), core components that have mostly reached the top (compressors, motors, panels), successful high-end exploration (Casarte's unit price 2.4 times the industry's), active innovation (robot vacuums, AI appliances), and the depth of globalization (over half of Haier's revenue from overseas). This confidence is the bedrock for coping with risks and clearing the six hurdles. Listing the risks with clear eyes is not to talk the industry down but to help it go more steadily, more far — only by squarely facing these six hurdles can Chinese home appliances complete the final stretch from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest."

The risk checklist is the most responsible examination of this "white-goods-reigning" industry. It lets us see both Chinese home appliances' achievements (world's number-one brand, core components summited, high-end breakthroughs) and the six hurdles behind their journey "from selling the most to selling the priciest" (chips, premium, domestic sales, trade, cost, gateway). Squarely facing these risks is the precondition for Chinese home appliances to complete the final stretch and truly "sell the priciest." And having finished listing the risks, let us return to the proposition running through this whole article, to conclude on home appliances — the most successful sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world brand." This is what the conclusion sets out to answer.

33. Conclusion: From World's Factory to World Brand, the Final Stretch

We began with a ranking of the world's number-one brand, atop which Haier has sat for 17 consecutive years, and we have traveled through the category summits of air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and microwave ovens; through the stories of the three giants Midea, Haier, and Gree; through the acquisition empires by which Haier and Midea bought up global brands; through the summit of compressors as core components and the choke-point climb of appliance chips; through Casarte's high-end premium and the largest gap in high-end kitchen appliances; through the going-abroad of new forces such as robot vacuums and Anker, the transformation of AI smart homes, and the challenges of trade barriers and internal competition. Now it is time to return to the proposition running through this whole article — the final stretch from world's factory to world brand — and conclude the story of Chinese home appliances.

Consider first how far Chinese home appliances have come. They have already come far and succeeded greatly — they are the most successful, most complete sample of Chinese manufacturing's journey "from world's factory to world brand." They "sell the most" — the world's largest home-appliance producer and exporter (air conditioners accounting for over 80% of global output), Haier the world's number-one major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 consecutive years, Midea the world's largest appliance enterprise by revenue. Their core components have reached the top — compressors globally dominant (nearly 95%), motors surpassing 100 billion yuan, panels about 70% — going further than construction machinery's hydraulics. They have genuinely built world brands — homegrown brands going abroad (acquiring GE Appliances, Fisher & Paykel, Toshiba; building homegrown brands Casarte and GREE), putting Chinese brands into the homes of consumers worldwide. They are also leading in new categories — robot vacuums globally dominant (the top five all Chinese brands), AI smart homes ahead of the world. Chinese home appliances have already summited or led across complete machines, core components, brand, and new categories — the most successful achievement of Chinese manufacturing's brand breakthrough.

But Chinese home appliances have not yet completed the whole journey — they still have the final stretch from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." This final stretch comprises three heights not yet conquered: appliance chips (white-goods MCU domestic-production rate about 27%, high-end power-device self-sufficiency rate under 10%, still dependent on Japan and Germany), brand premium (in top-tier market mindshare and premium still short of BSH, Miele, and Japanese premium makers, with Casarte's premium also facing hidden worries), and high-end categories (dishwasher penetration under 5%, built-ins about 8% to 10%, the largest gap versus Europe and America). This final stretch is the climb from "selling the most" (first in scale and sales volume) to "selling the priciest" (high premium, top tier) — it is the hardest, last leg of the upgrade from "world's factory" to "world brand," for Chinese home appliances and for Chinese manufacturing as a whole.

So, can Chinese home appliances complete this final stretch? This article's analysis gives an optimistic judgment. Optimism, because Chinese home appliances have already walked a road that other parts of Chinese manufacturing have not — they already have a successful world brand (Haier the world's number one), a successful high-end brand (Casarte's unit price 2.4 times the industry's), core components mostly summited (compressors, motors, panels), active innovation (robot vacuums, AI appliances), and the depth of globalization (over half of Haier's revenue from overseas). These achievements are rare among other parts of Chinese manufacturing — they prove that Chinese home appliances have the capability and the confidence to complete the final stretch. Although this final stretch of appliance chips, brand premium, and high-end categories remains hard, Chinese home appliances have already gone further and succeeded more than anyone — they are closer to the finish line of "selling the priciest" than any part of Chinese manufacturing.

Chinese home appliances' journey "from world's factory to world brand" is a leading sample and a hope for the whole upgrade of Chinese manufacturing. In the grand upgrade of Chinese manufacturing from "large" to "strong," from "factory" to "brand," home appliances have gone the furthest and succeeded the most — they have genuinely made a consumer-goods brand the world's number one and traveled most of the way "from world's factory to world brand." Home appliances' success offers hope and a methodology to the whole of Chinese manufacturing — it proves that Chinese manufacturing can not only make the most (the world's factory) but also build world brands (the success of Haier and Casarte). Its methodology — building homegrown brands plus overseas acquisitions, localized operations, vertical integration of core components, and leading in new categories — is one that other parts of Chinese manufacturing can learn from in their brand breakthroughs. Home appliances' brand summit is the most advanced and most hopeful sample in Chinese manufacturing's upgrade "from world's factory to world brand."

This climb of Chinese home appliances has also given us a lesson about "time." Haier's world's-number-one brand was not built overnight — from Zhang Ruimin smashing the refrigerators to establish quality in 1984, to its first global summit in 2009, to 17 consecutive years at the top, it took a full twenty-five years; Casarte's high-end premium was accumulated over ten consecutive years of high-end leadership; compressors' global dominance was the result of decades of going from import substitution to overtaking. Brand, the high end, core components — none of these "selling the priciest" capabilities can be achieved quickly; all rest on long-term persistence and accumulation. This is precisely the deepest lesson Chinese home appliances offer to the whole of Chinese manufacturing: from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest," there is no shortcut, only decades of unbroken brand-building, technological accumulation, and steadfast commitment to quality. It cannot be rushed, and it cannot be scrimped — this is the plainest and most profound law of Chinese manufacturing's brand breakthrough. And the reason Chinese home appliances have come to walk at the very front of all Chinese manufacturing is precisely that they began this long-distance run earlier than other industries: back when many parts of Chinese manufacturing were still content to do OEM work and make quick money, enterprises like Haier and Midea were already smashing refrigerators to establish quality, building homegrown brands, making overseas acquisitions, and vertically integrating core components — it is precisely these decades of unbroken persistence that have won today's Haier the world's number-one brand, Midea the world's largest revenue, and compressors global dominance. Time stands on the side of the persistent — this is the answer that Chinese home appliances, through forty years of climbing, have written for the whole of Chinese manufacturing.

Return to that opening ranking of the world's number-one brand. Haier the world's number-one major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 consecutive years — this achievement is the most dazzling milestone of Chinese manufacturing's journey from "world's factory" toward "world brand." It proves that Chinese brands can rank first in the minds of consumers worldwide, and can break the curse that "Chinese manufacturing is large but not strong, has capacity but no brand." And the Chinese home-appliance industry behind that ranking — complete machines globally dominant, core components summited, brand world's number one, new categories leading — is the most successful, most complete sample of Chinese manufacturing's brand breakthrough. Chinese home appliances have already gone from "world's factory" to "world brand," and are only a final stretch short — from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest."

Chinese home appliances now stand on the final stretch of "from world's factory to world brand." They have already completed the longest, most successful leg — building world brands, summiting core components, leading new categories. They are only a final stretch from the finish line — the choke point of appliance chips, the climb of brand premium, the breakthrough of high-end categories, the final crossing from "selling the most" to "selling the priciest." Although this final stretch is hard, Chinese home appliances have already gone further and succeeded more than any part of Chinese manufacturing — they are closer to the finish line of "selling the priciest" than anyone. When we look at the ranking atop which Haier has sat for 17 consecutive years, what we see is not merely the success of one brand or one industry, but the most successful and most hopeful breakthrough of Chinese manufacturing from "world's factory" toward "world brand." From selling the most, to selling the priciest — on this final stretch, Chinese home appliances have already set out, and walk at the very front of all Chinese manufacturing. This, then, is the lesson Chinese home appliances leave to this era: Chinese manufacturing can not only make the most, but can also build world brands and move toward selling the priciest.

Chronicle: China's Home Appliances 1984–2026

To give the story of Chinese home appliances "from world's factory to world brand" a longer time coordinate, we chart the key milestones in chronological order, from the early reform-and-opening years of the 1980s to 2026. This chronicle strings together the key fragments of Chinese home appliances' journey from importing and OEM work to homegrown brands, overseas acquisitions, and the global summit.

1984, Zhang Ruimin became director of the Qingdao Refrigerator General Factory (Haier's predecessor). The following year, he publicly smashed 76 defective refrigerators — the "smashing the refrigerators" story became the landmark event of Chinese home appliances establishing quality consciousness, and the starting point of Haier's brand journey.

The 1990s, China's home-appliance industry started from importing foreign technology and production lines and grew rapidly. Capacity in categories such as air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and microwave ovens expanded quickly, and China began to become a major global production base for home appliances. Galanz's microwave ovens, Gree's air conditioners, and Midea's multi-category lineup all rose in this period.

2009, Haier reached for the first time the top of Euromonitor International's ranking as the world's number-one major-appliance brand by retail volume — the starting point of Chinese home-appliance brands summiting globally. Thereafter, Haier held this top spot for 17 consecutive years (through 2025).

2011, Haier acquired the white-goods business of Japan's Sanyo, entering the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets, from which the AQUA brand came — the beginning of Haier's overseas acquisitions.

2012, Haier acquired New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel, entering the Australia-New Zealand market, with Fisher & Paykel becoming Haier's ultra-high-end brand.

2016 was the peak year for Chinese home appliances' overseas acquisitions. Haier acquired the US General Electric's appliance business (GE Appliances) for about 5.58 billion USD, breaking into the North American market; Midea acquired about 94.55% of Germany's KUKA for about 3.7 billion euros, entering the ToB field of industrial robots; Midea acquired 80.1% of Japan's Toshiba home appliances for about 470 million USD, and also acquired Italy's Clivet and the US's Eureka. That year, the two Chinese home-appliance champions (Haier, Midea) greatly expanded globally and toward the high end through acquisitions.

2018, Gree established Zhuhai Zero Boundary Integrated Circuit and Midea established Shanghai Mr Semiconductor — Chinese home-appliance giants began developing chips in-house, tackling the choke point of appliance chips.

2018 to 2019, Haier acquired Italy's Candy for 475 million euros, entering the European market — Haier's global brand empire (the seven major brands Haier, Casarte, Fisher & Paykel, GE Appliances, Candy, AQUA, Leader) essentially took shape.

2024, China rolled out a large-scale equipment-renewal and consumer-goods trade-in policy (150 billion yuan of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds), driving the sale of over 62 million home appliances; the same year, China's home-appliance export value hit a record high (about 112.4 billion USD, up 14%). That same year, Chinese robot vacuums overtook the US's iRobot — Roborock surpassed iRobot in both shipments and revenue.

2025 was dubbed the inaugural year of China's home-appliance "AI+" race — Haier designated 2025 its "inaugural year of full AI deployment" and integrated the DeepSeek large model, while Mijia and Huawei HarmonyOS Smart Link advanced AI appliances. That same year, the trade-in quota doubled to 300 billion yuan. The top five in global robot vacuums were all Chinese brands (65.6% combined), and Roborock topped global market share for the full year; the US's iRobot was acquired by Chinese capital. That same year, Samsung Electronics' TV-plus-appliance business posted its first annual loss and announced its exit from the mainland-China home-appliance market, and Whirlpool sold its China business to Galanz — the Western and Japanese-Korean veterans receding.

From February 2025, the United States imposed additional tariffs on Chinese home appliances (most appliances rising to 35%, major appliances and components an additional 50%, up to 54% at the heaviest), and Chinese home-appliance exports to the US fell nearly 20%; Chinese home appliances accelerated moving capacity abroad (Vietnam, Mexico, Egypt, Thailand) and rebalanced the focus of going abroad toward Europe and emerging markets.

Fiscal year 2025, the performance of China's three home-appliance giants diverged — Midea revenue of 458.5 billion yuan (net profit up 14%), becoming the world's largest appliance enterprise by revenue; Haier Smart Home revenue of 302.3 billion yuan (breaking 300 billion for the first time), over half from overseas, the world's number-one brand for 17 consecutive years; Gree revenue of 170.4 billion yuan (down 9.9%), running into difficulties going abroad. Haier's Casarte reached a unit price 2.4 times the industry's, leading the high end for 10 consecutive years.

First half of 2026, China's air-conditioner exports to the EU surged 43% (driven by the energy crisis); copper prices soared (LME copper about 13,000 USD per ton, up 44%), adding 200 to 300 yuan to the cost of a single air conditioner, with the home-appliance industry facing a cost squeeze and a wave of price increases; the trade-in quota shrank to 62.5 billion yuan, and domestic sales faced the risk of a post-overdraft pullback.

This chronicle strings together the key fragments of Chinese home appliances from Zhang Ruimin smashing the refrigerators in 1984 to 2026 — from importing and OEM work, to homegrown brands (Haier's global summit in 2009), to overseas acquisitions (the two champions' major buyouts in 2016), to summiting core components (compressors, chip breakthroughs), leading new categories (robot vacuums' global dominance), and the global reversal of the landscape (Western and Japanese-Korean players receding). These fragments together sketch out Chinese home appliances' most successful, most complete road of upgrading "from world's factory to world brand."

Data Sources and Key References

The data and facts on which this article relies come from the public channels below. To help readers verify, we list the main sources by category and note certain data that involve multiple measures or require secondary verification.

Foremost among this article's data sources is the Tianxia Gongchang Industry Platform (www.tianxiagongchang.com) — a Chinese factory database and industrial-chain data platform, which provided the underlying support for this report's analysis of the industrial chain, enterprises, and manufacturing capabilities. The remaining sources are as follows:

Global landscape and brand rankings

• Euromonitor International, as released by Haier — Haier the world's number-one major-appliance brand by retail volume for 17 consecutive years (2009 to 2025), refrigerators number one worldwide for 18 consecutive years and washing machines for 17 consecutive years.
• Mordor Intelligence, Fortune Business Insights, Statista, etc. — the global and China home-appliance market size (measures differ greatly across institutions; this article presents them side by side).
• China's share of global output by home-appliance category (air conditioners about 84%, microwave ovens about 67%, refrigerators and washing machines about 50%) are industry estimates across multiple measures, as noted in this article.

Leading enterprises' financial reports (FY2025)

• Company annual reports and mainstream financial media (Sina Finance, Jiemian News, East Money, Yicai, Tonghuashun, etc.) — Midea Group revenue of 458.5 billion yuan / net profit of 43.95 billion yuan, Haier Smart Home revenue of 302.3 billion yuan / net profit of 19.553 billion yuan, Gree Electric revenue of 170.4 billion yuan / net profit of 29 billion yuan; as well as data for Hisense, TCL, Skyworth, Changhong, Xiaomi, Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Supor, Joyoung, Donlim, etc. Note that "yiyuan" (亿元) is 100 million yuan (to avoid confusion with the English "billion"). Data for some enterprises (Dreame and Galanz are unlisted; Hisense Home Appliances and Supor for full-year 2025) are noted in this article as requiring verification.

Overseas acquisitions and going abroad

• SCMP, GE News, Caixin, Fortune, CKGSB, People's Daily, Toshiba, etc. — Haier's acquisitions of GE Appliances (about 5.58 billion USD), Fisher & Paykel, Candy (475 million euros), and Sanyo; Midea's acquisitions of KUKA (about 3.7 billion euros), Toshiba home appliances (80.1%), Clivet, and Eureka.
• China Venture, TMTPost, Yicai Global, etc. — the three giants' overseas revenue shares (Haier over half, Midea 42.7%, Gree 16%), brand-based going abroad vs. OEM-based going abroad, US tariffs, and moving capacity abroad.

Core components

• Sina Finance, Baixing Home Appliance Net, Gelonghui, Reportshall, etc. — air-conditioner compressors (China accounting for nearly 95% of the world, GMCC about 45%, Landa, Highly, Rechi), refrigerator compressors (the Huayi group among the world's leaders).
• 36Kr, EET-China, EEFocus, Sina Tech, OFweek, etc. — white-goods MCU domestic-production rate (from under 2% in 2016 to about 27% in 2023), high-end power-device self-sufficiency rate under 10%, imports mainly from Japan and Germany; domestic substitution by Gree Zero Boundary, Midea Mr, Sinowealth, Silan Micro, etc.
• Zhiyan Consulting, Sohu, etc. — BLDC motors (surpassing 100 billion yuan in 2025), variable-frequency air-conditioner penetration of 89%; PjTime, OFweek — TV panels (China about 70% of large-size LCD, BoE and TCL CSOT the world's top two).

High end and new forces

• Sina Finance, Casarte's official site, Huxiu, TMTPost, etc. — Casarte's high-end share and premium (unit price 2.4 times) and hidden worries over its premium; the gap in high-end kitchen appliances (dishwasher penetration under 5% vs. 75% in Europe and America, built-ins about 8% to 10%).
• China Daily, IDC, Roborock, 36Kr, Dreame, etc. — robot vacuums (32.72 million units shipped globally in 2025, the top five Chinese brands 65.6% combined, Roborock at the top, iRobot acquired); Anker (revenue of 30.5 billion yuan, overseas share 96%, Amazon accounting for 52%).

Intelligentization and policy

• Forbes, Global Times, 36Kr, etc. — AI entering home appliances (Haier integrating DeepSeek, Mijia AI, Huawei HarmonyOS Pangu), the battle for the smart-home gateway.
• Ember, Reuters, the Chinese government website, etc. — the trade-in policy (150 billion yuan in 2024, 300 billion yuan in 2025, 62.5 billion yuan of treasury bonds in 2026, driving home-appliance sales and the debate over demand overdraft).
• China Lianhe Credit, Sina Finance, etc. — copper prices (LME about 13,000 USD per ton in early 2026, up 44%), the raw-material cost squeeze, and the industry gross margin of about 22%.

Note: The data for this article are current as of July 2026. Home-appliance industry data draw on multiple sources — Euromonitor brand rankings, corporate annual reports, industry associations, market institutions, industry media, and others — and some data (such as institutions' market-size measures, share of global output by category, the latest financial reports of certain unlisted enterprises and small-appliance firms, and precise self-sufficiency rates for core components) involve differing measures or require secondary verification, as noted in the relevant places; we have tried to adopt authoritative measures and present them side by side. The home-appliance industry is fiercely competitive and its data update quickly, so please regard the latest official and authoritative disclosures as definitive for specific figures. This article aims to provide an overall analytical framework for China's home-appliance industry "from world's factory to world brand, from selling the most to selling the priciest," rather than precise assertions on each individual data point.

— Tianxia Gongchang Industry Research Institute