Heat waves a boon for 'cooling economy'

GUANGZHOU — As scorching heat waves grip the globe this summer, air conditioners are fast becoming essential household appliances, fueling a boom in sales both domestically and abroad.

A local resident of Panjin in Northeast China's Liaoning province, surnamed Dong, described the summer as a relentless "sweat bath", despite it already being August. "This summer is just too hot. Even electric fans can't provide enough relief," Dong said, noting that he held out all summer but finally gave in and ordered air conditioners a few days ago.

This sentiment is shared across coastal cities in Northeast China and Shandong province in East China, where temperatures have climbed above 35 C, turning air conditioners from an optional comfort for northerners into an almost essential refuge from the heat.

Data from Chinese e-commerce giant JD reveal a telling trend. Starting from June, overall transactions for air conditioners on the platform increased by over 60 percent year-on-year, with the number of customers placing orders surging by nearly 90 percent. In the first half of July, purchases of air conditioners in Northeast China's Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang — provinces renowned for ice and snow tourism — soared by 25 times, 10 times and eight times, respectively.

Notably, the number of first-time buyers in these northeastern provinces has jumped by over 800 percent year-on-year. Similar spikes are evident across North, Central, Northwest and Southwest China.

At the Ouya Shopping Center in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin province, customers flocked to the home appliance section to learn about the various air conditioner models and inquire about prices.

To meet the high demand, Hisense's production bases in Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangdong are operating at full capacity. Some popular air conditioner models have even sold out in physical stores in North and Northeast China.

As regions that once relied on fans switch to air conditioners, the industry is responding with innovative solutions and strategic supply chains to keep up with the escalating demand.

To ensure timely installations, companies have launched a "South-to-North workforce transfer," dispatching after-sales service teams to the northern regions for emergency support.

The "cooling economy" is also powering air conditioner exports at a pace that has exceeded expectations. In July, temperatures soared above 40 C across much of Europe, upending the long-held belief that summers could be endured without air conditioning.

Data from the General Administration of Customs show that in the first seven months of this year, China's air conditioner exports amounted to 46.81 billion yuan ($6.52 billion), up 4.9 percent year-on-year, with exports to Europe surging 28.9 percent to 12.92 billion yuan.

This year, Hisense air conditioners have seen strong demand in many key overseas markets, such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. "With our continuous optimization in local marketing, product adaptation and channel layout, Hisense's air conditioner export growth rate reached 17 percent in the first half of 2025," said Yang Xiangxi, brand director of the air conditioning division at Hisense.

In the first half of this year, Midea's air conditioner sales in Europe increased by 35 percent year-on-year. Zhu Zhou, director of the company's European air conditioner division, explained that Midea's Solstice model, featuring AI-powered Ecomaster technology, cuts unnecessary energy use by over 30 percent, and has seen strong sales in Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy.

To tackle high installation costs in Europe, Midea developed the innovative PortaSplit air conditioner, designed for easy self-installation. This summer, Google searches for "Midea/PortaSplit" in Germany surged 20-fold year-on-year, with cumulative sales exceeding 80,000 units.

China accounts for nearly 80 percent of the world's air conditioning production capacity, supplying energy-saving, efficient and low-carbon products globally. With climate extremes worsening and demand rising in developing countries, China's air conditioning export potential looks strong for the future, said Zhou Nan, secretary-general of the home appliances branch at the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.