Fact of the Week: Chinese Firms Receive Three to Eight Times More Government Support Than OECD-Based Firms

Source: “OECD MAGIC Database of Industrial Subsidies” (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, June 2026).; “MAGIC Database of Industrial Subsidies,”Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.

Commentary: China provides its industrial firms with substantially more government support than other major economies do. Between 2005 and 2024, Chinese firms received, on average, three to eight times more government support than firms based in OECD economies, even while using conservative estimates. The disparity extends across several strategically important industries. The data used is from 2010 to 2024. Chinese aerospace producers consistently received subsidies equivalent to a larger share of their revenues than their OECD-based competitors, often by a factor of two to five. Chinese carmakers received roughly twice as much government support in absolute terms and four times as much relative to revenue as OECD-based automakers. Chinese chemical and heavy-machinery producers likewise generally received substantially greater support than competitors based outside China. And while Chinese semiconductor manufacturers received relatively modest subsidies in absolute terms, government support reached nearly 10 percent of their revenues in the early 2020s. Although industrial subsidies have increased in many economies in recent years, the gap between the support received by Chinese firms and firms elsewhere remained significant in 2024. China’s extensive use of industrial subsidies illustrates the scale of resources it is willing to devote to supporting domestic producers, particularly in industries it views as strategically important.