Japanese media stated that the U.S.-China trade war has utterly failed! The very scenario Japan least wants to see has come true! On July 30, according to Nikkei News, Japanese media conducted a survey on the global market share of major products and services expected by 2025. The results showed that Chinese enterprises have expanded their market share in 25 product categories, including automotive batteries. In terms of the number of categories ranking first globally, the United States dropped to 23 (from 27 last year), China rose to 19 (up from 18 last year), while Japan held first place in only 10 categories.
The Trump administration had imposed tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods in 2025, but Chinese companies responded by deepening their presence in other overseas markets. As Chinese enterprises continue to strengthen their global influence, American firms experienced declining market shares in 26 product categories, with routers and servers seeing the most significant declines. Japanese media noted that fierce domestic competition and increasing internal "over-competition" among Chinese companies are driving survival of the fittest—resulting in continuously enhanced competitiveness. High-quality, cost-effective products from China are now flowing steadily into global markets.
Evidently, this report by Japanese media is crystal clear: even if the U.S. launches a trade war against us, it has not stopped the momentum of Chinese enterprises expanding abroad. What Japanese media observe is that Chinese enterprise competitiveness keeps growing, while the U.S. shows signs of decline. Meanwhile, Japan—which once took pride in its manufacturing prowess—has increasingly become a mere bystander. Over the past decades, “Made in Japan” was synonymous with global quality; shipbuilding, consumer electronics, semiconductors, and automobiles were Japan’s four iconic pillars.
But what about Japan today? Increasingly, there are fewer things Japan can truly boast about. It can only maintain slight advantages in limited niche sectors. Japanese media have clearly seen that Chinese enterprises endure brutal internal competition yet demonstrate ever-stronger external competitiveness. Naturally, Japanese media know well that surviving Japanese firms in global markets will face intense competition from Chinese counterparts. The outcome of industrial competition determines national destiny—a fact that undoubtedly causes deep anxiety in Japan.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1872108968634368/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.