As David Pierson reports in the L.A. Times, China has strengthened its position in the global supply chain recently. Already the world's largest exporter, China's share of global exports expanded during the recent global downturn, increasing to 10.7% last year from about 9% in 2008.

Remarkably, a major engine of growth last year was still light manufacturing.  China's exports of garments, furniture, shoes and similar goods grew 23% last year and contributed $636 billion to the country's nearly $2 trillion in total exports.

China's fastest-growing category of exports is heavy machinery, such as tractors, turbines and automobiles, and Beijing is determined to climb the value chain and build the countries' brands.

China's Sany Group, the world's sixth-largest construction machinery builder, is buying a 90% stake in Germany's Putzmeister Group, a leading manufacturer of concrete pumps, to boost its presence overseas.

Chinese automakers including Geely, which bought Volvo, and BYD, which counts Warren Buffett among its investors, are exporting to emerging markets to counteract sluggish sales at home. Chinese auto exports grew 49% to 814,300 units last year, according to the China Assn. of Automobile Manufacturers.

The country's investment in heavy machinery will help China increase its share of global exports to an unprecedented 15% or more by 2020, said Janet Zhang, an analyst for GaveKal Dragonomics, a China-based economic research firm.

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