CITIC Construction Investment: China's Power Equipment Export Boom Continues, Strong Expectations Are Turning Into Reality

CITIC Securities research report points out that China’s power equipment going overseas is entering a golden period of development. Customs data for Jan–Feb 2026 show that China’s exports of power transformers continue to maintain growth rates of more than 40%, sustaining a relatively high growth momentum, and continuously confirming strong overseas demand. By market segment, the U.S. and EU markets lead globally in transformer demand scale; demand remains highly buoyant while supply and demand are relatively tight. Chinese companies’ expansion into North America continues to grow at a high rate, and they are expected to further increase market penetration. Under the situation where Europe and the U.S. siphon global production capacity, Chinese companies are seeing a major surge in the Middle East; in 2025, the value of China’s exports of power transformers to Saudi Arabia exceeded RMB 6 billion. We expect that demand in the U.S. and EU markets will continue to remain highly buoyant; under the backdrop of increased demand in non-U.S./non-EU markets such as the Middle East plus the U.S. and EU siphoning global production capacity, Chinese companies will have plenty to do. Leading exporters continue to deliver on fundamentals, and strong expectations keep turning into reality.

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CITIC Securities: High-demand momentum in China’s power equipment going overseas continues, and strong expectations keep turning into reality

China’s power equipment going overseas is entering a golden period of development. Customs data for Jan–Feb 2026 show that China’s exports of power transformers continue to maintain growth rates of more than 40%, sustaining a relatively high growth momentum, and continuously confirming strong overseas demand. By market segment, the U.S. and EU markets lead globally in transformer demand scale; demand remains highly buoyant while supply and demand are relatively tight. Chinese companies’ expansion into North America continues to grow at a high rate, and they are expected to further increase market penetration. Under the situation where Europe and the U.S. siphon global production capacity, Chinese companies are seeing a major surge in the Middle East; in 2025, the value of China’s exports of power transformers to Saudi Arabia exceeded RMB 6 billion. We expect that demand in the U.S. and EU markets will continue to remain highly buoyant; under the backdrop of increased demand in non-U.S./non-EU markets such as the Middle East plus the U.S. and EU siphoning global production capacity, Chinese companies will have plenty to do. Leading exporters continue to deliver on fundamentals, and strong expectations keep turning into reality.

China’s power equipment exports remained in a high-demand cycle in 2026

1）China’s transformer exports going overseas are entering a golden period of development. China’s power equipment manufacturing capability ranks among the world’s best; the power equipment industry chain is complete, risk-resistance capacity is strong, and supply is relatively abundant.

2）Since 2022, the export scale of China’s primary equipment has continued to stay in a high-demand cycle. In full-year 2025, exports of power transformers increased year over year by more than 45%. In Jan–Feb 2026, year over year growth remains high at over 40%, further confirming that strong overseas demand persists, with export growth momentum remaining strong.

North America’s demand remains highly buoyant while supply-demand tightness persists, and Chinese companies’ expansion into North America maintains strong growth

1）North America’s data center construction is constrained by electricity supply, and the U.S. has restarted ultra-high-voltage capacity expansion. Three major U.S. regional grid operators were approved for a combined USD 75 billion transmission expansion projects, with the core being the construction of a batch of 765kV ultra-high-voltage transmission lines.

2）Demand for high-voltage power equipment continues to grow while supply remains insufficient, making supply-demand contradictions increasingly prominent. U.S. power transformers have seen no obvious price correction for more than 20 months; the tightness between supply and demand has not eased.

3）China’s transformer exports to North America continue to grow strongly. In full-year 2025 and Jan–Feb 2026, China’s exports of power transformers to North America continued to register a relatively high growth rate of nearly 40%.

Under Europe and the U.S. siphoning global production capacity, non-U.S./non-EU regions fully embrace China’s production capacity

1）In 2025, the value of China’s exports of power transformers to Saudi Arabia exceeded RMB 6 billion, up more than 100% year over year. Based on data from the past two years, Saudi Arabia has already surpassed the United States to become China’s largest export destination for power transformers.

2）Chinese companies will have plenty to do in the Middle East market. In the future, more companies will set up factories in the Middle East, advance localized development in the Middle East, and open up global markets. With increased demand in non-U.S./non-EU markets plus the backdrop of Europe and the U.S. siphoning global production capacity, we continue to look favorably on opportunities in the Middle East and other non-U.S./non-EU markets.

（Source: Jiemian News）