Reuters reveals 'Made in China' marking path from T-shirts to AI
China is ramping up supplies of AI equipment, robots and cars, while exports of shoes and toys are stagnating or declining. Reuters told how the meaning of labeling “Made in China” is changing
The "Made in China" label, which has been associated for years with cheap T-shirts and plastic toys, increasingly denotes cars, industrial robots and AI equipment. This writes Reuters, comparing data on exports and estimates of industry organizations and surveyed economists.
According to the agency, Chinese manufacturers are mastering the production of complex products previously associated with Japan, Europe and the United States. Exports of data center equipment, chemical products and industrial machinery are growing, while overseas sales of footwear, toys and furniture are declining or stagnating. Reuters attributes the change to state support for technological development, which Beijing has been providing for more than a decade.
One of the areas is AI infrastructure. Although the most advanced AI chips are developed by American companies and manufactured in Taiwan, they require numerous components from China: chips made using mastered technologies, memory, server parts, transformers, cables and control boards.
“AI is changing the structure of Chinese trade. If you look at the chips that are made using the mastered technologies and the physical components necessary for their operation, China is again ahead, Ruby Osman, senior geopolitical adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, told Reuters. According to the agency, in the first half of 2026, Chinese exports of chips almost doubled, to $ 177.28 billion, and shipments of computers and servers grew by 41.3%.
China has also become a factory for factories, Reuters reported. Since 2015, its exports of industrial robots have grown more than 300 percent, while shipments from the US, Germany and Italy have declined. This complicates other countries’ efforts to reduce their dependence on Chinese manufacturing through tariffs and building their own businesses.
Another notable sign of change has been Chinese cars. According to Reuters, China sells more cars abroad than Germany and the United States combined. The value of Chinese auto exports has risen 1871% since 2015. The agency explains competitive prices, including excess production capacity and the search for foreign buyers.
Back in 2025, China was breaking export records despite US tariffs. The reorientation of commodity flows helped to support foreign sales: Chinese manufacturers expanded supplies to Asia, Europe and Africa in a few months.
In parallel, China is building up its own artificial intelligence infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, hundreds of data centers are being built in regions with cheap electricity, and some large centers receive electricity subsidies using Chinese chips. In overseas markets, Beijing is promoting AI models along with cloud computing, hardware and internet infrastructure, primarily in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
