China moves up the exports value chain

Huawei Technologies Co's latest smartphone model Y6 debuted in Seoul, South Korea, in December 2015. [Photo/China Daily]

An ADB report shows that the country has overtaken Japan, South Korea, Malaysia

About 20 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur, on the platforms of Sri Petaling light rail station, passengers eagerly wait for China-made rakes that can carry them to the heart of the Malaysian capital.

A bunch of state-of-the-art six-car rakes made by China's CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co have been operating on the line since October 2015. Hydraulic brakes provide a quicker and safer stop mechanism to the rakes, which are China's first high-tech railway exports to a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The light rail system symbolizes China's evolution on the exports value chain, a December 2015 report of the Asian Development Bank shows.

Exports of high-tech products are now a key driver of the Chinese economy, the ADB said in the report.

By 2014, China had become the largest exporter of high-tech products in Asia with a 43.7 percent share, overtaking Japan, which had a 30 percent share nearly a decade ago. They are followed by South Korea and Malaysia.

About one-third of exports from China were of high-tech products, according to the ADB report.

Chinese technologies related to railways, nuclear power, shipbuilding and telecommunications are now popular in overseas markets.

Here's a rundown on the China's brightening manufacturing prowess:

Information technology

Telecom equipment exports to Asia drive Chinese manufacturers' profits these days.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's biggest telecom equipment maker, is helping phone companies in Asia to build networks. It also sells smartphones and smartwatches in developed markets, aiming to challenge Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the consumer telecom market.

Li Jin'ge, president of Huawei Asia Pacific, said telecom technologies, particularly broadband, cloud computing, and big data, are already driving the digitization of all industries, which is making Asian economies vibrant.