China's Manufacturing Competitiveness Defies Global Headwinds

China's net goods exports have surpassed $1 trillion, with electric vehicles, batteries and machinery expanding their global presence despite trade tensions, the pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and supply‑chain re‑configurations. While some analysts point to direct subsidies as a key factor, the support Chinese firms receive is not markedly higher than that in other major economies. Studies that cite “below‑market borrowings” (BMBs) often compare corporate borrowing rates to the loan prime rate (LPR), which sits above funding‑market rates used for advanced economies, inflating the apparent size of BMBs. Moreover, many of these studies lack transparency about the firms sampled and ignore survival bias, where weaker firms that received aid but later exited the market are omitted. Consequently, the most globally competitive Chinese manufacturers are typically not the ones receiving the largest subsidies or cheapest financing; instead, less efficient, financially weaker firms tend to obtain local rescue‑type support.