A few years ago, we saw the collapse of Evergrande, a Chinese property developer that collapsed with a debt of over $300 billion, You can go search online for more on that, as it’s a very interesting story, but the other day, there were murmurings that something similar was going on with Chinese automakers.

There are “concerns” being expressed around BYD and Geely, both huge Chinese automakers with BYD doing much more than vehicles. And if all the rumours prove to be true even partly, it might highlight the dangers of artificially pumping growth through government subsidies or other means of support. Often this seems to be with some sort of state ownership or involvement. 

So the thought was, is there a possibility that could happen with the appliance industry as well, given the rapid rise in Chinese products or Chinese-owned brands in the EU now?

I started to dig into it, and it’s complicated to say the least.

Midea

Not the first Chinese behemoth I looked at but by far the easiest one to explain.

Midea is a private company (so much as one can be in China) and late last year, in October of 2024, raised $4.6 billion in an IPO, bought some stuff in 2025 but then out the blue signed a deal with Hisense to share a lot of resources.

It’s not a merger, at least not in name, with Hisense but it should save both companies stacks of cash.

Midea has not said that they have been funded in any way by the CCP, but there’s really no way to see if they have been or not. However, the general view seems to be it’s not. 

What’s clear is, looking at what they’ve acquired and the deal with Hisense, Midea is looking to grow quite rapidly.

Hisense

Which brings me to Hisense.

Best known for TVs, they dominate in China and are one of the world’s largest TV producers. They moved into domestic appliances many years ago.

As with many budget brands, which they were when they started, they were widely dismissed in the UK and ignored. Those of us with long memories will recall ISDAL dealing with the brand for the UK till they collapsed. 

The info on where the money comes from to allow the massive expansion of Hisense in recent years, acquiring a number of EU brands, is murky. But from what can be found it does appear that the company in China has indeed received funding, in one way or another, from the Chinese Government.

Haier

Of all the Chinese companies I looked into this is the most complex.

What they did to buy the Candy Group is beyond most people to understand, I expect. There’s a brilliant Substack on the topic here. Be warned, though, it’s not an easy read as it’s complex and technical, taking into account not only how the money for the deal was raised but the politics/geopolitics of it as well.

If you read that (or try to), you’ll get why I say that it’s complicated.

From what I can gather, the bulk of the funds to buy Candy came from the Chinese government, somehow, with a hunk of it from other investors.

Why Look At This

Pure curiosity.

Evergrande collapsed spectacularly once the truth could no longer be contained about its debt burden. It struck me that Chinese manufacturers had gone from nothing to owning a bunch of high-profile EU brands costing billions in a scant few years.

The question was simply, where did the cash come from and is all this sustainable? Is it possible that something similar to Evergrande could happen in the major appliance industry?

So far as I can tell, it’s all above board and stable, at least on the face of it. However, it should be noted that it’s not often what can be seen that is a problem; it’s what can’t be.

To be clear: I am not saying that Chinese companies are bad, not at all, if anything, the reverse, as what they have achieved in the time they achieved it is impressive. And they do seem very keen to retain the individuality of the brands that they have acquired.