Matthew Johnson
Executive Summary:The PRC is exporting an integrated system of smart devices, data infrastructure, and governance standards. Through industrial policy, state-backed overproduction, and strategic data asymmetry, Beijing is building a global IoT architecture designed to embed PRC standards, influence, and governance into the connected environments of other countries.
By dominating core components like cellular IoT modules and steering global standards through initiatives like China Standards 2035, Beijing is creating long-term supply chain dependencies and rewriting the rules of digital interoperability.
Devices manufactured by PRC firms often carry embedded risks: unpatched vulnerabilities, mandated government access under China’s Data Security Law, and use in cyber operations like Volt Typhoon and LapDogs.
Expansion into emerging markets is fueled by Digital Silk Road diplomacy, subsidized financing, and turnkey infrastructure deals—seen in Huawei’s smart city platforms and Haier’s bundled appliance systems deployed across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Looking ahead, the global spread of China’s IoT platforms signals a deeper push to shape the foundations of digital infrastructure—where influence over connected devices gradually extends to norms, data flows, and governance models.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) dominates the smart home technologies sector, serving as a powerful illustration of its broader strategy to dominate the global Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. Smart home devices—ranging from voice-activated assistants and connected appliances to security cameras and thermostats—have flooded international markets in recent years. Chinese manufacturers like Haier, TCL, and Hisense capturing significant market shares through aggressive pricing and rapid innovation (Telecom Review, April 12, 2024; ITIF, September 16, 2024). By the end of 2025, the PRC’s smart home market is projected to reach approximately $37 billion in value domestically, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11 percent through 2030 (Statista, 2025 [accessed July 21]). Meanwhile, exports from PRC firms may account for 20–30 percent of global shipments within the next three years (Omdia, November 18, 2024). This export surge is part trade phenomenon, part strategic maneuver, as domestic overproduction—fueled by subsidies—creates excess capacity that undercuts competitors abroad, raising concerns of dumping in markets like the United States and Europe (MERICS, April 1).
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