China high-tech exports · 2024
$856.8BWorld Bank WDI · high-technology export value ↗
current US dollars · WDI TX.VAL.TECH.CD
Innovation · technology-intensive trade
High-technology exports
This page uses the World Bank WDI definition: exports of products with high R&D intensity, such as aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments and electrical machinery. It is a product-based gross-export measure, not domestic high-tech value added or output by high-tech firms.
China share of world · 2023
23.08%World Bank WDI · high-technology export value ↗
WLD export value stops in 2023, so no 2024 world share is published
Share of manufactured exports · 2024
26.28%World Bank WDI · share of manufactured exports ↗
World in the same year: 24.72%
Broad global value ranking · 2024
#1
126 real economies observed; every frame requires at least 120
Three different questions
Scale, export-basket composition and world share are not the same metric
Export value answers “how much was exported”; the manufactured-export share answers “what fraction of manufactured exports were high-tech products”; world share answers “what fraction of same-year world high-tech exports came from China”. They are not interchangeable.
Key boundaries
Product classification ≠ firm-industry classification
Gross exports ≠ domestic value added
Current US$ ≠ real export-volume index
High percentage ≠ large absolute scale
Hong Kong SAR is a separate reporter and re-exports affect rankings
01
What counts as high technology
WDI uses product R&D intensity, not the industrial identity of the exporting firm
The WDI source note gives aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments and electrical machinery as examples of high-R&D-intensity products. This page does not extend that trade classification into a measure of national high-tech value added or domestic technological content.
02
China’s long-run scale
The series peaked in 2021; China still had the largest observed value in 2024
China’s WDI amount series begins in 2007, peaked at about US$936.4 billion in 2021 and stood at US$856.8 billion in 2024. Current-US-dollar changes combine quantity, price and exchange-rate effects.
China export-value trend
High-technology export value, 2007–2024
Unit: billion current US dollars; the 2021 series peak is marked.
View milestone values
| Year | US$bn |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 343.559 |
| 2010 | 474.738 |
| 2015 | 652.412 |
| 2020 | 757.484 |
| 2021 | 936.395 |
| 2024 | 856.765 |
Source: World Bank WDI · high-technology export value ↗ · WDI TX.VAL.TECH.CD; high-R&D-intensity products; current US dollarschinainfigures.com
03
Scale versus composition
In 2024, high-tech products were 26.28% of China’s manufactured exports versus 24.72% for the world
A higher composition share does not automatically mean a larger export value. Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong SAR have much higher high-tech shares of manufactured exports than China, while their absolute export values differ greatly.
Export-basket composition
China vs world: high-tech share of manufactured exports
Uses the published WDI TX.VAL.TECH.MF.ZS series directly rather than rebuilding the ratio with a different manufactured-export denominator.
Source: World Bank WDI · share of manufactured exports ↗ · WDI TX.VAL.TECH.MF.ZS; composition share, not absolute scalechinainfigures.com
04
China share of world
China accounted for about 23.08% of world high-tech exports in 2023; the WLD value has no 2024 observation
World share uses same-year CHN and WLD values from the same WDI snapshot. China’s amount is available for 2024, but the WLD amount stops in 2023, so this page never divides a 2024 China value by a 2023 world denominator.
Same-source world share
China share of world high-technology exports, 2011–2023
Formula: same-year China TX.VAL.TECH.CD ÷ same-year WLD TX.VAL.TECH.CD × 100.
View exact 13-year world-share values
| Year | China US$bn | World US$bn | China share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 540.461 | 2,150.066 | 25.137% |
| 2012 | 594.110 | 2,206.044 | 26.931% |
| 2013 | 656.130 | 2,314.704 | 28.346% |
| 2014 | 654.031 | 2,363.112 | 27.677% |
| 2015 | 652.412 | 2,278.314 | 28.636% |
| 2016 | 594.754 | 2,231.979 | 26.647% |
| 2017 | 654.255 | 2,666.214 | 24.539% |
| 2018 | 731.389 | 2,911.325 | 25.122% |
| 2019 | 715.336 | 2,863.835 | 24.978% |
| 2020 | 757.484 | 2,860.014 | 26.485% |
| 2021 | 936.395 | 3,451.355 | 27.131% |
| 2022 | 924.393 | 3,732.331 | 24.767% |
| 2023 | 825.045 | 3,575.436 | 23.075% |
Source: World Bank WDI · high-technology export value ↗ · Same WDI snapshot and year for CHN/WLD; missing world denominators are never extrapolatedchinainfigures.com
05
How to read the ranking
Each 2009–2024 frame requires at least 120 observed real economies, then selects that year’s top 15
The top 15 is reselected every year using observed values only. Hong Kong SAR remains a separate WDI reporter; its gross exports can contain substantial re-exports, so the ranking is not a direct measure of local production or mainland China’s technological output.
Global top-15 animated ranking
High-technology export value: high to low
2009–2024, 16 frames; 126 real economies have amount observations in 2024.
2024
Sort rule: Actual observed value high to low; top 15; no zero fill, interpolation or carry-forward.
Exact top-15 values for the current year
| Rank | Economy | US$bn |
|---|
Source: World Bank WDI · high-technology export value ↗ · Top 15 real economies; 2009–2024; Hong Kong SAR remains a separate WDI reporterchinainfigures.com
06
Scale and composition together
China had the largest 2024 value, while several smaller exporters had much higher high-tech shares of manufactured exports
The scatter plot combines export value on the x-axis with the high-tech share of manufactured exports on the y-axis. It prevents “large export scale” from being conflated with “high technology intensity of the export basket”.
Fixed 15 economies · 2024
Export value × high-tech share of manufactured exports
The world 2024 composition share was 24.72%, shown as a horizontal reference. The fixed cohort supports stable comparison and is not a complete global ranking.
| Value rank | Economy | US$bn | Share of manufactured |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 856.765 | 26.278% |
| 2 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 422.348 | 75.571% |
| 3 | Germany | 246.638 | 17.977% |
| 4 | United States | 232.907 | 24.323% |
| 5 | Singapore | 223.593 | 59.430% |
| 6 | Korea, Rep. | 216.203 | 36.258% |
| 7 | Malaysia | 134.786 | 58.628% |
| 8 | Ireland | 117.637 | 53.518% |
| 9 | France | 116.591 | 23.137% |
| 10 | Netherlands | 103.035 | 23.468% |
| 11 | Japan | 102.451 | 17.555% |
| 12 | Mexico | 94.524 | 19.304% |
| 13 | Switzerland | 89.523 | 29.624% |
| 14 | United Kingdom | 84.768 | 29.233% |
| 15 | India | 54.141 | 18.572% |
Source: World Bank WDI · high-technology export value ↗ · World Bank WDI · share of manufactured exports ↗ · Fixed 15 economies; amount TX.VAL.TECH.CD; composition TX.VAL.TECH.MF.ZSchinainfigures.com
Gross exports
Imported content and re-exports can be included
The value is therefore not domestic high-tech value added or a net measure of local production.
Current US$
Value is not a real-volume index
Long-run changes combine quantities, prices and exchange-rate effects.
Composition share
High percentage does not imply large scale
Small open economies can have very high high-tech shares while exporting far less in absolute dollars.
World-share year
Latest formal value is 2023
The WLD amount has no 2024 observation, so the world denominator is never extrapolated.
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Revision and update timeline
High-technology exports indicator prepared
Prepared World Bank WDI high-technology export amount and manufactured-export-share data, a same-source China/world export-share series for 2011–2023, a fixed 15-economy 2024 comparison and a 2009–2024 broad-coverage top-15 global ranking.
Related sources: World Bank ↗ · World Bank ↗
Sources and definitions registered; automated checks passed
Data downloads and revision timeline added
Added page-level formal-data CSV files, chart-level CSV/PNG/SVG exports and a bilingual revision timeline to all indicator pages.
Sources and definitions registered; automated checks passed