China produces most home appliances: report

BEIJING -- Chinese home appliance makers have made themselves into dominant players globally in the last decade through acquisitions, brand promotion and innovation, a report said.

A report published by the China Economic Weekly, using data from the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, showed that the nation's production capacity of color televisions accounted for 80 percent of the world's total. Production capacities of air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines accounted for 70 percent, 50 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

The total industrial output of the sector in China hit 1.07 trillion yuan ($169 billion) last year, which was 4.7 times the amount in 2001 when the country became a member of the World Trade Organization.

Chinese brands were fiercely rivaled overseas by competitors such as Hitachi, Toshiba, Panasonic, LG and Samsung, the report said.

However, Chinese firms withstood the intense competition by making cost-effective products, seeking overseas acquisitions and promoting home-grown brands through creating overseas operations.

Those efforts have paid off as data showed that Chinese exports of home appliances exceeded $46 billion last year, which grew by an annual rate of 23 percent during the past decade and up sharply from $8.75 billion of exports in 2002.

Luo Qingqi, an industry expert, predicted that more foreign brands may be merged or acquired by Chinese home appliance companies amid the sluggish global markets.

Hong Shibin, a sales advocate at the CHEAA, said that Chinese companies have made breakthroughs in technological innovations such as the world's first frost-free refrigerator made by Haier. Such innovations have boosted companies, including Gree, Midea and Galanz, into globally-recognized brands.