Global manufacturing structures have diverged sharply over the past three decades. While the manufacturing share of GDP has declined steadily in the U.S., EU, Japan and Germany—reflecting the long-term shift toward services—China has sustained an unusually high manufacturing intensity throughout the period.

This structural divergence is the foundation of the modern global production system. Most advanced economies normalised toward 12-18% manufacturing shares; China remained above 25% even as its economy grew tenfold.

This sustained industrial structure helps explain China’s centrality in global supply chains. After 2010 in particular, China maintained an elevated manufacturing share at a time when other major economies were continuing gradual de-industrialisation. This divergence made China uniquely capable of absorbing global production at scale, extending deep supplier networks across electronics, machinery, metals, chemicals and consumer goods.

The fact that China in 2024 is still at 24.9% of manufacturing value added as % of GDP, contrasted with the downward trajectories of the U.S., EU, Japan, and Germany, illustrates why China became the world’s dominant manufacturing hub during the hyper-globalisation era and why it is still central to manufacturing and supply chains.