OECD flags state subsidies as key driver of China's market-share surge
An OECD analysis finds subsidized Chinese firms have driven roughly 60% of their global market-share gains since 2005, with 2024 support for Chinese companies running eight times higher on average than OECD peers. Subsidies across 15 sectors propelled rapid gains in autos, shipbuilding, solar and especially semiconductors (Chinese firms’ subsidies reached about 10% of revenue in 2021–22). The MAGIC database tracks 525 large firms and shows global subsidies at $108bn in 2024, with 52% in China. Much of Chinese support comes as below-market loans, enabling cheap funding even for weaker firms, but the OECD warns subsidies boost market share without improving productivity or profitability, risking distortion and prompting calls for greater transparency and policy tools like tariffs or quotas.
- Chinese firms’ market share gains driven by subsidies, says OECD Financial Times
- OECD Says 60% of Chinese Gains in Market Share Driven by Subsidies WSJ
- China Leads Economic Shift to Industrial ‘Doping,’ OECD Says Bloomberg.com
- Global subsidies rebound, especially in China, OECD says Reuters
- Massive China subsidies distorting markets, OECD says Euronews.com
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