How Chinese innovation drives shared growth from Shenzhen to Asia-Pacific

详细摘要

From a battery anode materials plant built from scratch in Indonesia to a surgical robot in a Kuala Lumpur operating room and solar panels atop a century-old Thai university, companies from China's southern tech hub of Shenzhen have established a presence across the Asia-Pacific region.

BTR New Material Group (BTR), a Shenzhen-based battery materials maker, opened an anode material plant in Indonesia's Kendal Industrial Park in August 2024 -- the first overseas anode production base built by a Chinese company in the sector, said He Xueqin, the group's chairman.

Before this plant, Indonesia had no lithium-ion battery anode manufacturing industry at all, He said. Then-Indonesian president Joko Widodo attended the opening, saying it brought the country a step closer to building an electric-vehicle ecosystem, the Economic Daily reported at the time.

Two years on, a second phase is in full operation, doubling annual capacity to 160,000 metric tons. The Indonesian subsidiary's revenue jumped 161 percent year-on-year to 1.71 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, supplying battery makers in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Europe and the United States.

Before the plant, Indonesia had already built a cathode materials industry from its nickel resources, and BTR added the anode link. "By 2026, separator and electrolyte production has also landed in Indonesia, completing the four main battery materials and laying a solid foundation for the electric-vehicle ecosystem," He said.

The deeper shift is what BTR calls "chain-style overseas expansion," with the company having urged its strategic suppliers to move with it, helping them with local research, assessment and site selection. Packaging and crucible suppliers have already set up operations in Indonesia.

Shenzhen SED Industry Co Ltd (SED), a subsidiary of China Electronics Corporation, is exporting plant-building capability itself. For an optical module project in Thailand, its design team analyzed years of local climate data rather than copying domestic designs, adding safeguards against heat and humidity in everything from equipment selection to insulation and cleanroom airtightness.

At an electronics plant in Thailand's 304 Industrial Park, SED applied digital technology across design, construction and…

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