"China’s export to production ratio, having peaked at 18% in 2004, is 13% in 2020 – almost back to its 1995 level of 11%...This is explained by the meteoric rise in Chinese domestic consumption, which has absorbed an increasing share of its manufacturing production since 2004."

"Chinese manufacturing, in short, is no longer as dependent on exports as many might believe. True, the first part of the rapid growth period involved exports growing faster than production... But then production grows faster than exports, implying that domestic sales were...

...becoming relatively more important, compared to export sales...This dispels the myth that China’s success can be entirely attributed to exports. From around 2004, China increasingly became its own best customer."