China leverages high-tech manufacturing for global edge

For many families in China and abroad, everyday items such as phone stands, household organizers, small replacement parts and educational models no longer need to be bought from supermarkets or e-commerce platforms. Instead, they are increasingly made at home, enabled by the wider adoption of user-friendly, high-precision 3D printers.

In a lab at Shenzhen Anycubic Technology Co Ltd, rows of 3D printers hum steadily as new models take shape layer by layer, their smooth surfaces and raised details underscoring the machines' precision.

Beyond the lab, the exhibition hall and offices of the Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based company showcase that capability through an array of creatively designed 3D-printed items, from decorative pieces to finely detailed figurines of its own employees.

Chen Zhixing, director of Anycubic's marketing department, said Chinese-made 3D printers have gained strong traction in overseas markets, thanks to their ability to deliver stable, high-quality output of customized products.

"For consumers, the most critical factor in choosing a 3D printer is stability," said Chen. "Print precision and surface fineness come next, followed by time and material efficiency. Our latest model delivers a 50 percent reduction in both printing time and material consumption compared with the previous generation."

With continued improvements in performance and usability, home and desktop 3D printers are being adopted across a growing range of application scenarios globally. Common uses of 3D printing technology include anime and figurine production, jewelry design, educational learning tools, and medical and dental applications, further expanding the market potential for consumer-grade 3D printers.

Not only are large-scale equipment products such as ships, construction machinery and electric vehicles gaining popularity worldwide, but a growing number of Chinese-made consumer electronics and high-value-added industrial products, driven by sustained innovation and rapid product upgrades, are also standing out in overseas markets.

In 2025, China's exports reached 26.99 trillion yuan ($3.88 trillion), up 6.1 percent year-on-year. Exports of high-tech products rose 13.2 percent in value, contributing 2.4 percentage points to overall export growth, data from the General Administration of Customs show.

In addition to the strong growth in exports of high-tech products such as industrial robots, high-end machine tools and aerospace components, shipments of consumer goods — including 3C electronics (computer, communication and consumer electronics), household items, fashion accessories and small home appliances — have emerged as an important driver of export expansion.

Beyond hardware performance, strong modeling ecosystems and software capabilities have notably become key factors behind the overseas popularity of Chinese-made 3D printers.

Chen Bo, co-founder of Shenzhen Elegoo Technology Co Ltd, another Shenzhen-based 3D printer manufacturer with more than 1,000 employees globally, said that more than 90 percent of the company's products are being exported.

"To attract overseas consumers, we have built a comprehensive model library, offering a vast range of downloadable designs for our users," said Chen, adding his company's model library currently contains more than 100,000 designs.

"For an average household user, even if the printer is used throughout its entire lifecycle, they would still not be able to print even one-tenth of the models available in our library," Chen said.

Ranging from toys and decorative items to camera accessories and everyday household products, the model files are frequently downloaded by overseas users, a trend that has in turn driven stronger exports of domestically produced 3D printers, he added.

Elegoo's annual revenue rose from 1.6 billion yuan in 2024 to 2.5 billion yuan in 2025. Its products and services now reach users in more than 150 countries and regions, said Shenzhen Customs.