Schneider, ABB, Siemens Post Double-Digit China Growth as Data Centers Reshape Electrical Rivalry

Schneider, ABB and Siemens Return to Double-Digit Growth in China as Data Centers Reshape the Electrical Race

While the market widely assumed domestic substitution would keep advancing and foreign electrical makers would steadily retreat in China, a set of earnings data overturned that view: Schneider Electric, ABB, and Siemens all achieved double-digit growth in China at the same time. Data centers and the semiconductor industry are becoming the core growth engines for foreign electrical giants — and opening a new round of competition in power distribution. This article breaks down the logic behind the rebound and how domestic manufacturers can break into the high-end segment.

1. Behind the numbers: a synchronized rebound, growth sectors fully switched

In Q2 2026, the China results of Schneider, ABB, and Siemens rose together, with similar growth logic: the driver has moved away from traditional real estate and infrastructure toward computing power, semiconductors, and new energy.

Schneider: China and East Asia revenue reached 18% of group total, up 19.7% year on year, among the group's fastest-growing regions; H1 organic growth was 18.7%, driven by data centers, semiconductor plants, and new energy, with DC power demand from AI clusters as the core increment.

ABB: China orders rose 17% year on year, accelerating from 10% a year earlier; growth concentrated in data center construction, grid upgrades, and renewable integration.

Siemens: China orders up 12% and revenue up 8%; Smart Infrastructure orders up 15%, Digital Industries orders up 17%, and localized product revenue up 25%.

All three share a reversal: once tightly bound to real estate and infrastructure and pressured during the downturn, they are now back to double-digit growth on the AI-computing and semiconductor expansion dividend.

2. Structural advantages: the new moat in high-end scenarios

The rebound is not a short-term dividend but the result of three structural barriers.

• Technical and certification barriers in high-end AI data center power supply. High-density AI clusters demand strict reliability, power density, and DC distribution; Schneider and ABB have long built mature products and certifications here and keep winning high-end lots in large intelligent computing centers.
• Equipment dividends from fab construction. As domestic semiconductors keep expanding, demand for cleanroom, precision power distribution, and industrial automation is released — precisely the traditional strength of Schneider, Siemens, and ABB.
• Localized R&D landing. Siemens develops products adapted to domestic conditions, with this business growing 25%; Schneider keeps investing in local R&D and service. Localization is no longer a slogan but a source of orders.

In short, foreign electrical firms have not exited the substitution wave — they have switched sectors, focusing on high-end scenarios domestic vendors cannot yet fully cover, and held onto the technology premium.

3. Domestic vendors: not single-track involution but a defend-attack-cooperate strategy

For domestic electrical companies, the giants' gains are both a warning and an opportunity. The strategy splits into three layers.

• Defend: In medium- and low-voltage distribution, PV inverters, storage converters, and charging piles, domestic firms already hold cost and local-service advantages — their core base, to be protected first.
• Attack: Break into high-end supply technologies such as 800V DC distribution, solid-state circuit breakers, and high-reliability UPS. Leading domestic firms are already pushing here, using technology iteration to enter high-end computing and semiconductor scenarios.
• Cooperate: Enter the domestic supply chains of Schneider and ABB to learn high-end manufacturing and delivery, and bind deeply with domestic computing leaders to go overseas — first integrate, then catch up.

4. Three strategic reflections: redefining the substitution narrative

From "stock substitution" to "high-end substitution." The claim that foreign share keeps shrinking and domestic wins everywhere is one-sided. The giants' double-digit growth proves that in high-barrier tracks like data centers and semiconductors, foreign technology barriers remain strong. The next stage is not endless price wars in the low-to-mid market but breaking through high-end distribution hardware — technology substitution, not just price substitution.

Where demand is, the battlefield is. The same market window is open to domestic vendors; the intelligent-computing and fab construction wave is an industry-wide opportunity. Clinging to legacy stock markets only wastes the growth dividend.

Localization is a two-way proposition. Siemens won Chinese customers with localized products — a playbook domestic firms can use abroad. The experience of defending the home market can become a methodology for localized overseas operations.

Sources

Source: Schneider Electric H1 and Q2 2026 results; ABB Q2 2026 results; Siemens FY2026 Q3 results; Jiemian News, "Three Electrical Giants Regain Double-Digit Growth in China"; Marketscreener; Schneider earnings call notes (August 2026). This article is analysis of public information and does not constitute investment advice.