China's manufacturing rise benefits developing nations: Report

China's ongoing advancements in manufacturing are delivering significant benefits for developing countries, experts said at a symposium.

Organized by the Chenghai Institute of Global Development and Security at Renmin University of China, the symposium featured the release of the institute's report titled, Assessment of China's Manufacturing Powerhouse Ambition and National Security.

The report highlights China's achievements over the past decades in becoming a manufacturing powerhouse, developing into the world's largest and most comprehensive industrial system, with output consistently ranking first globally and breakthroughs achieved in many key technological areas, it said.

However, this progress has heightened anxieties in countries like the United States regarding the erosion of their technological dominance and concerns about their national security, the report said, adding that this anxiety has translated into concrete measures to contain China, including stricter export controls on technology, pushes to "de-risk" critical supply chains from China, and the formation of exclusive technological alliances.

Ding Yifan, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Global Governance and Development at Renmin University of China, argued that the so-called "de-risking" strategy toward China is an act of protectionism and dismissed allegations of overcapacity as "utterly groundless".

World Bank data reveals that exports of goods and services account for around 20 percent of China's GDP, compared to 33.9 percent for France, 41.4 percent for Germany, and 44.4 percent for South Korea.

While certain Western nations try to cast China's manufacturing development in a negative light, the newly released report underscores that Chinese manufacturing benefits developing countries in many ways.

According to the report, the sustained, significant drop in prices of manufactured goods, driven by China's manufacturing development, is profoundly reshaping the global industrial division and profit distribution, thus benefiting developing countries.

Di Dongsheng, dean of the School of Global and Area Studies at Renmin University of China, further elaborated on the advantages brought by China's manufacturing upgrade to the Global South.

"The 'price revolution' led by China allows developing countries to access the fruits of modernization at affordable prices," he said. "This raises the living standards of people in the Global South, which helps to enhance their political and social security."

He added that the boom in China's renewable energy technologies has drastically reduced the cost of clean energy, enabling developing countries to obtain stable energy supplies at minimal cost and gradually reduce their dependence on external energy sources, thereby enhancing their resource and economic security.

Di noted that China is providing open-source, affordable computing power and artificial intelligence services globally, which effectively helps bridge the "governance gap" faced by the Global South, assisting developing countries in improving their political, social, and technological security.