China’s power equipment firms ride AI boom amid demand from US, emerging markets

The race to develop artificial intelligence has pushed governments and technology giants to build new electricity plants and upgrade their decades-old grid networks, creating significant opportunities for Chinese power equipment companies, according to analysts.

Chinese firms have been benefiting from the spillover of a US order boom, which was driven by US President Donald Trump’s push for tech leaders like Meta and SoftBank to invest in AI infrastructure.

“The US buys products from Japan and South Korea instead of China amid geopolitical tensions,” said Pierre Lau Hin-tat, China equity strategist and head of Asian utilities and clean energy research at Citigroup Global Markets. “Now the pipeline for Japanese and Korean firms is as long as three years, so companies from emerging markets turn to mainland suppliers.”

Lau added that the upcycle for Chinese suppliers would be sustained “as long as Trump remains the person in charge”.

China exported US$7.3 billion worth of transformers and US$4.3 billion worth of high-voltage gas-insulated switchgears (GIS) in the first 10 months of the year, up 37.8 per cent and 28.5 per cent, respectively, from a year earlier. That compares with a 5.3 per cent rise in overall outbound shipments.