The size of China’s connector market has exceeded 230 billion yuan, presenting development opportunities for the precision hardware sector

According to the latest data from the China Electronic Components Industry Association and the China Business Industry Research Institute, the market size of China’s connector industry is projected to reach 231.2 billion yuan by 2025, representing a significant increase from the 143.8 billion yuan recorded in 2020, with the compound annual growth rate remaining at a high level of 8%–10%
. This growth trend has consolidated China’s position as the world’s largest connector manufacturing base.
From a global perspective, the global connector industry market size exceeded US$100 billion in 2024, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.4%, and is projected to expand further to US$112.4 billion by 2025. Within this global landscape, the Chinese market accounts for over 35% of the total, with growth rates consistently exceeding the global average.
The core driver of this growth stems from the continuous expansion of downstream application sectors. The telecommunications sector leads connector applications with a 23.8% share; the construction of 5G base stations, data centre upgrades and the in-depth advancement of the ‘East Data, West Computing’ initiative have created substantial demand for telecommunications connectors.
The automotive sector follows closely with a 21.9% share; the explosive growth of new energy vehicles has driven a surge in demand for high-voltage and high-speed connectors. Furthermore, the industrial connector segment has performed particularly well, with the market size reaching 27.917 billion yuan in 2024 and a CAGR of 11%, and is projected to grow to 29.594 billion yuan by 2025.
From an industrial chain perspective, the connector industry has formed a complete industrial ecosystem comprising upstream raw material supply, midstream precision manufacturing, and downstream application markets. The stability of basic materials such as copper, the design and manufacturing capabilities of precision moulds, and the sophistication of surface treatment processes collectively determine the final performance of connector products. Precision metalworking manufacturers play a pivotal role in this industrial chain.
Faced with this historic opportunity, the precision metalworking industry will continue to specialise in the field of precision manufacturing, leveraging micron-level machining accuracy and comprehensive customisation capabilities to capitalise on the industry’s growth dividends.