Chinese supply chain and logistics executives are prioritising supply chain resilience and AI adoption amid global trade uncertainty, according to DP World’s Global Trade Observatory.
The report, based on a survey of 292 Chinese supply chain and logistics executives conducted late last year, found that 58% plan to increase the number of suppliers to diversify sourcing in 2026, ahead of nearshoring (38%), friendshoring (36%) and increased inventories (32%).
Meanwhile, 43% of respondents attributed expected growth over the next one to three years to demand from new markets, and 34% to new value chains.
Technology was also identified as a key growth driver looking ahead, with half citing AI deployment and 44% pointing to wider digitalisation.
China’s resilience strategy “has shifted from absorbing disruption to outpacing it”, the report noted. It found strategic changes were driven not only by efforts to manage disruption, but also by factors including sustainability requirements, new technologies, trade policies, tariffs and expansion into new markets.
The findings reflect a “shift in supply chains towards regional and partner-country networks”, DP World added, as China reduces exposure to US markets amid President Donald Trump’s protectionist tariff regime, and pivots towards Southeast Asia, Africa and the Gulf.
The survey also highlighted the availability of trade finance as a key strength for the country’s exporters in 2026, with half of respondents saying it is readily available on “reasonable terms” in China, compared with a global average of 39%.
Going forward, trade facilitation, free trade agreements and digitalisation support emerged as the policy priorities for supply chain leaders in the country.
DP World’s Asia Pacific CEO and managing director, Glen Hilton, said: “China’s next trade advantage will come from resilience and adaptability, not just scale. Chinese companies are already diversifying suppliers, entering new corridors and investing in digital systems and AI.”
DP World, which handles around 10% of global containerised trade, pointed to gains at its own terminals in China as evidence of digitalisation benefits – its Qingdao facility has recorded a 6% efficiency gain and 15% rise in container throughput since completing a third expansion phase in late 2023, while automation at its Yantai terminal has delivered efficiency gains of more than 20%.
China now has 52 automated container and bulk cargo terminals, more than any other country, according to the report.
However, the research also found that customs clearance remained “the key friction point” despite strong digital trade efforts. Among logistics executives citing China as a key market, nearly half identified customs clearance as a cause of operational delays, below the global average of 60%.
That is despite China’s Smart Customs programme, which uses AI-based targeting and automated inspection, and had been rolled out across 269 ports by 2024.
“Where frictions persist, they cluster around digitalisation gaps (37%), documentation requirements (36%), warehousing capacity (35%), and port and terminal congestion (33%),” DP World’s report reads.
“These point to the remaining integration challenges between agencies and across the logistics chain rather than to border clearance itself.”
Non-tariff barriers have also risen sharply. The report cited 1,731 new non-tariff measures introduced globally in the first seven months of 2025 – including sustainability requirements, sanitary standards and documentation rules – up from 400 in 2018, which it said weighed disproportionately on smaller exporters.
Against a volatile global trade landscape, Chinese supply chain executives had a more measured growth outlook than their global peers – 43% expect trade growth to accelerate in 2026, and 50% expect it to remain similar to last year, compared with 54% and 40% globally.
But at the same time, they were the most confident in their ability to respond to trade barriers, with 35% expecting changes in tariffs and non-tariff barriers to affect their business positively, and only 26% expecting a negative impact.
“This likely reflects China’s successful pivot to more diversified export markets,” DP World said.
The findings come as governments continue efforts to deepen trade ties amid global volatility, with UK and Chinese officials this week holding talks aimed at expanding bilateral trade in services.
