Wind Comes from the East: Chinese Manufacturing Brings a Cooling Revolution to Europe

In the scorching summer of 2026, an unprecedented extreme heat wave swept across the European continent. Temperatures in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other countries ranged from 5°C to 12°C above seasonal averages, with many regions consistently exceeding 40°C. In the face of this oppressive heat, the traditional “low-tech” cooling methods that Europeans had relied on for centuries suddenly proved woefully inadequate—the passive thermal insulation design of thick walls and narrow windows in Southern Europe, the louvered shutters that Spaniards once took pride in, the German habit of closing windows and drawing curtains during the day, and the natural ventilation plus localized fan solutions recommended by experts from University College London—all of them collectively failed under extreme temperatures. The World Health Organization issued a clear warning: when temperatures exceed 40°C, electric fans actually accelerate heat transfer to the human body.

In this predicament, European consumers launched a frenzy of “air-conditioner grabbing.” Carrefour sold 30,000 air conditioners and fans on June 22 alone—roughly 1,000 times its normal daily sales volume. And the overwhelming force filling this market gap was none other than Chinese-made air conditioning products.

The latest data from China’s General Administration of Customs show that in the first half of 2026, China’s air conditioner exports to the EU reached US$3.76 billion, up 43.2% year-on-year, hitting a record high for the period. In June alone, exports to Europe surged 72.8% year-on-year. Even more striking, the market share of Chinese brands in Europe’s air conditioning market jumped from 27% in 2023 to 41%, surpassing Japan and South Korea for the first time to become Europe’s largest source of air conditioner supply. Midea’s PortaSplit portable split-type air conditioner, specifically designed for the European market, had shipped more than 200,000 units by June 2026—doubling its total sales volume for all of 2025—with new orders exceeding 160,000 units by the end of June. Haier’s air conditioner sales in Western European countries including France, the UK, and Germany surged nearly 140% in June. Gree Electric’s air conditioners were completely sold out across all sales channels in Europe. In many parts of Germany and France, Chinese-brand air conditioners were directly out of stock.

The fact that Chinese air conditioners became “hard to find” in Europe was by no means a stroke of luck or a “windfall order”—it was the result of targeted innovation addressing local pain points, combined with the resilience of China’s industrial supply chain.

Traditional home air conditioning in Europe has truly been “too expensive and too difficult to install”—the average household air conditioner penetration rate across Europe is only about 20%, and in Western European countries like the UK and Germany, it is even below 5%. In Europe, a large number of historic buildings strictly prohibit exterior facade modifications, professional installation fees can run as high as €1,000 to €2,000, and appointment wait times often stretch to several weeks.

Faced with these formidable obstacles, Chinese companies invested heavily in R&D to deliver customized solutions. Midea’s PortaSplit, developed over three years, requires no drilling, no professional installation, and is plug-and-play, with the outdoor unit strictly weighing under 10 kilograms. Haier launched its Expert series of high-end wall-mounted units with a “one-screw” easy-disassembly design, cutting installation time by 50% and making it easy for frequently moving European renters to take their units with them. Professor Su Jian of Peking University’s School of Economics noted that the core advantage of Chinese brands lies in moving beyond one-size-fits-all product thinking to carry out finely tuned, customized R&D tailored to European scenarios.

The highly efficient collaborative capability of China’s air conditioning industry provided solid support for this “timely relief.” China’s air conditioner production accounts for roughly 80% of the global total—from final assembly in Shunde, Guangdong, to compressor manufacturing capacity distributed across the country, forming a powerful system capable of rapidly responding to global emergency demand. Faced with surging orders, factories expedited production schedules, compressing the normal 30-to-40-day production cycle to under 10 days. The China-Europe Railway Express reaches Europe in 15 to 25 days, significantly shortening shipping times compared to traditional maritime transport. Haier’s Jiaozhou air conditioner smart factory and its Thailand manufacturing base operated at full capacity 24/7, prioritizing production of European models. From the laboratory to the production line, from components to finished products, from logistics to after-sales service—every link is tightly interlocked. This is the systemic industrial advantage that Chinese manufacturing has built up over decades of development.

Recently, China’s air conditioner exports to Europe have shown an upward trend. At the same time, “overcapacity” has become a frequently mentioned term in EU industrial policy discussions. While facing potential barriers at the policy level, Chinese air conditioners continue to maintain strong sales momentum in the European retail market.Europe’s domestic air conditioner production capacity is only 3.2 million units per year, while annual market demand exceeds 10 million units—more than 60% of the market gap depends on imports to fill. The so-called “overcapacity” is, in fact, a precise alignment of high-quality production capacity with genuine demand. German tech media outlet home&smart gave Midea’s PortaSplit a high score of 95, naming it the “Best Mobile Air Conditioner of 2026.” “Made in China” is transforming in Europe from a byword for “value for money” to a synonym for “premium quality and advanced technology.”

At a deeper level, Chinese manufacturing is evolving from “selling to the world” to “benefiting the world.” A large number of Chinese companies are establishing R&D bases overseas and extending their supply chain collaboration capabilities globally. In Egypt, Chinese home appliance companies are building industrial bases to serve the Middle Eastern and African markets; in Bangladesh, Chinese air conditioner brands offer 10-year free maintenance and have created more than 7,000 jobs in total.

Amid the rolling heat waves, Chinese air conditioners are bringing cool relief to Europe; amid the rolling tides, Chinese manufacturing—with its innovation, vitality, and competitiveness—is writing a new chapter of global renown. As Europeans bid farewell to the stuffiness beneath their shutters and welcome the comfort brought by intelligent Chinese air conditioners, this transcontinental “cooling revolution” tells the world: Chinese manufacturing wins not only with efficiency, but also with wisdom and responsibility, releasing new value and igniting new vitality in the global restructuring of industry.