• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • About Us
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Parcel & Express
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Robotics
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Customer Relationship Management
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • Green Energy
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Management & Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Warehouse Automation
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • WHITEPAPERS
  • VIDEOS
Home » Global Supply Chain Management » The Economist: China is Remaking Global Supply Chains

The Economist: China is Remaking Global Supply Chains

A GRAPHIC SHOWING A RED DRAGON ENCIRCLING THE WORLD

Image: iStock/ensiferum

August 20, 2026
SupplyChainBrain

In what The Economist describes as a “rewiring of global manufacturing” underway, China is emerging as a significant innovator, with Chinese companies growing their global supply chains at “breakneck speed.”

In the past three years alone, Chinese companies have spent more than $200 billion building overseas factories.

But the changes are more wide-ranging than simply investing in manufacturing. The Economist says the character of Chinese companies’ supply chains is also changing, in three ways. First, they are spread more widely, with major production nodes in nearly every region of the globe. Second, they have grown deeper, with many Chinese suppliers following manufacturers into new sites, replicating the tight-knit ecosystems at home. Third, they are increasingly dominated by strategic industries, from electric vehicles and clean energy to hardware for data-centers.

Chinese industrial parks, ports and airports are springing up all over, from Saudi Arabia and Hungary to Brazil and Indonesia. The apparently insatiable expansion is being driven by various factors. Growth in the domestic China consumer market has stalled, turning up the heat on local competition. New geographical markets appeal, not least because the tariffs introduced by the second Trump administration have incentivized production in places with less punitive levies than historic Chinese outposts such as Vietnam.

That latter factor may be losing some of its appeal, however. On August 13, the Trump administration published a report entitled “The Great Transshipment Scam,” The report claims that more than 40 countries have helped China evade U.S. tariffs by routing exports through nations with those lower levies, and vowed to crack down on the practice.

    RELATED CONTENT

    RELATED VIDEOS

    Global Supply Chain Management Global Trade & Economics Regulation & Compliance Sourcing/Procurement/SRM Supply Chain Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Related Articles

      How an Evolving China Is Affecting Global Supply Chains

      How an Evolving China Is Affecting Global Supply Chains

      Watch: How Is the U.S.-China Relationship Impacting Global Supply Chains?

    • Related Directories

      ProcureAbility

    SupplyChainBrain

    Trump’s Planned Beef Imports Fall Short

    More from this author

    Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

    Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

    Featured Product

    Popular Stories

    • A cartoon illustration of a man sitting at a desk in front of a laptop, surrounded by five faceless humanoid robots

      The Productivity Story Everyone is Missing

      Technology
    • A red and black container ship in open ocean

      Hormuz Attacks Against Commercial Shipping Reach Record Highs

      Global Gateways
    • An overhead view of a collection of multicolored lithium-ion batteries

      Building a Resilient U.S. Battery Supply Chain

      Green Energy
    • A blue container ship stacked with multi-colored containers sinking into an ocean of red tape that reads "tariffs"

      From Russian Oil to U.S. Supply Chains: The Hidden Risk of Secondary Tariffs

      Regulation & Compliance
    • An oil rig in the middle of the ocean at sunset on a cloudy day

      U.K. Approves Controversial North Sea Drilling Project

      Global Supply Chain Management

    Digital Edition

    Scb q3 26 cover

    100 Great Supply Chain Partners 2026: The Secret to Supply Chain Success

    VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

    Case Studies

    • Recycled Tagging Fasteners: Small Changes Make a Big Impact

    • A GRAPHIC SHOWING MULTIPLE FORMS OF SHIPPING, WITH A HUMAN STANDING AT THE CENTER, TOUCHING A SYMBOLIC MAP OF THE WORLD

      Enhancing High-Value Electronics Shipment Security with Tive's Real-Time Tracking

    • A GRAPHIC OF INTERLACING HONEYCOMBED ELEMENTS REPRESENTING GLOBAL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

      Moving Robots Site-to-Site

    • JLL Finds Perfect Warehouse Location, Leading to $15M Grant for Startup

    • Robots Speed Fulfillment to Help Apparel Company Scale for Growth

    Visit Our Sponsors

    4flow Amazon Freight Anaplan
    Arkieva AutoStore Blue Yonder
    Canadian National Railway Company Carton Cloud CoEnterprise
    Dassault Descartes Dexory
    Duravant E2Open EPG
    General Logistics Systems GEP Hy-Tek
    iGPS Knapp Korber
    Lyngsoe Odyssey Logistics OMP
    PeakAI Procurability Quinyx
    SAP Sikick Staples
    S&P Global Mobility Systech TADA
    Tive TransImpact US Bank
    Werner WSI
    • More From SCB
      • Featured Content
      • Video Library
      • Think Tank Blog
      • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
      • Whitepapers
      • On-Demand Webinars
      • Upcoming Webinars
    • Digital Offerings
      • Digital Issue
      • Subscribe
      • Manage Email Preferences
      • Newsletters
    • Resources
      • Events Calendar
      • 2026 Event Coverage
      • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
      • Supplier Directory
      • Case Study Showcase
      • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
      • 100 Great Partners Form
    • SCB Corporate
      • Advertise on SCB.COM
      • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Contact Us
      • Data Sharing Opt-Out

    All content copyright ©2026 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

    Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing