China's engineering machinery export momentum continues to accelerate, with Hunan Province — home to industry giants Sany Group, Zoomlion, and Sunward Intelligent — leading the charge.
According to data released by Changsha Customs on August 16, Hunan's engineering machinery exports reached 24.73 billion yuan in the first seven months of 2026, up 26.2% year-on-year. Changsha, as the provincial capital and industry hub, contributed 22.47 billion yuan, up 26.4%, accounting for over 90% of the province's total exports.
Belt and Road Markets Lead Expansion
Exports to Belt and Road partner countries reached 20.01 billion yuan in the January–July period, up 28.6% and accounting for more than 80% of Hunan's total engineering machinery exports. The growth rate exceeded the province's overall export growth by 2.6 percentage points, underscoring the strong pull of infrastructure and mining projects across developing regions.
Product Highlights
Tracked excavators and mobile concrete mixers emerged as the most popular products in overseas markets. In the first seven months, Hunan exported 4.64 billion yuan worth of tracked excavators, up 50.9%, and 1.87 billion yuan of mobile concrete mixers, up 43.2%.
Emerging and High-End Markets Gain Traction
The export landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift, with emerging and high-end markets advancing in parallel. Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America — driven by infrastructure investment and mining development — have become core sources of export growth. At the same time, Chinese equipment is progressively penetrating high-end markets such as Europe, supported by technological upgrades and competitive pricing.
Notably, green equipment — including electric excavators, electric loaders, and new energy mining trucks — is outperforming the industry average, emerging as a new growth engine.
Industry Momentum Continues
The strong export performance aligns with broader industry trends. According to the China Construction Machinery Association, industry revenue among key enterprises in the first half of the year grew 15.5% year-on-year, while total engineering machinery exports for the first half reached $34.373 billion, up 21.7%.
Meanwhile, bauma CHINA 2026 — the Asia-Pacific region's premier construction machinery exhibition — recently marked its 100-day countdown. The event will debut a "one show, two venues" format across the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center and the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, with a record 400,000 square meters of exhibition space and nearly 4,000 exhibitors expected. The show is set to feature cutting-edge technologies including remote control, autonomous driving, embodied intelligence, and AI-powered smart mining solutions.
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